Saturday, December 13; 10am–4pm CT
In this in-person workshop, you’ll learn a variety of inking and typesetting techniques that break away from traditional typography and letterpress printing to reimagine the shapes of our alphabet.
We’ll use metal and wood type to create texture, pattern, and abstract forms and produce one-of-a-kind pieces that celebrate the visual qualities of letterforms. You’ll leave with a handful of singular prints—complete works in themselves or starting points for new compositions to complete on your own. This workshop is all about experimentation, surprises, and reveling in the hidden potential of type.
Ingrid Ankerson (she/they, Ypsilanti, MI) is an educator, graphic designer, maker, and letterpress printer from southeast Michigan. With an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin and a graduate degree in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore, she has worked as a web and print designer, writer, editor, and instructor since the early days of the internet. She is full-time graphic design faculty at Washtenaw Community College (Ann Arbor, MI) and has taught letterpress workshops from her studio, Signal-Return (Detroit, MI), and Penland School of Craft (Bakersville, NC).
This visiting artist workshop is offered in coordination with Just Letters, an exhibition featuring letterpress work that focuses on type as image at Bethel University’s Olson Gallery, October 30–December 19, 2025.
Level: Beginner. Experience is required. Participants must have taken Letterpress 1: Printing Basics or a similar introductory letterpress workshop before registering for this workshop.
Certificate: 6 hours, Category B or C
Pricing
$180 | $90 Scholarship | $270 Pay-It-Forward
$20 materials fee
Scholarships are available for individuals facing adversity as it relates to identity, income/wealth, and lack of access to arts resources. The Pay-It-Forward rate (tuition, plus 50%) supports MCBA’s efforts to make scholarships available. We leave it to you to choose the rate that is meaningful to you based on your income, wealth, and privilege status. MCBA members receive a 10% discount on tuition.
