I loved reading and words first, since before I thought about expressing myself with images. So I’m a sucker for artwork that involves words and letters. I find Hamilton to be deeply fascinating – the tactility of letterpress printing (especially in this digital age); the combination of museum and working shop; the intersection of nature (wood type) and machine; the communal aspect of printing, bringing people together in one physical space. And then, the energy circulated by all the people helping to keep Hamilton alive and growing!

My internship at Hamilton was short (4 weeks) but gave me exposure to all of these elements. I got up-close knowledge of some of the wood type while cleaning it. I learned (or attempted to learn!) about Hamilton’s history within Two Rivers and the letterpress community by speaking with volunteer docents, reading, examining all the displays, and asking many, many questions of Hamilton staff and volunteers.

I helped prepare for, attend and cleaned up after a letterpress workshop, which was a fantastic experience seeing how to tailor Hamilton’s resources to serve the specific people in the workshop and help them interact with the wood type and printing process. Dismounting a gallery exhibit and helping to mount the next exhibit gave me hands-on knowledge of exhibit procedures, as well as close-up looks at all the art works. On the retail side of things, I helped maintain the online shop inventory (adding new items was fun!), wrote copy for social media posts and formatted pictures for Wayzgoose promotion.

The time at Hamilton was a fun and enriching adventure “behind the curtains” of a place I love and want to see keep going.