Visual Arts Graduate Diploma student, Jill Laudet, recently made a visit to the studio workshop of Sarah Byrant, a Brighton-based letterpress printer and bookbinder specializing in the production of editioned artist's books under her imprint, Big Jump Press.
Gently flex it, this way - that way, feel the grain. Lay it down squarely and, with pencil, deftly mark. Cut it decisively/swiftly with razor-sharp blade. Lightly dampen the paper, let it curl - relax, inhale - and exhale. With light fingertips, slowly fold it, coax it, smooth it into place. Purposively, with bone folder, stroke it firmly, paste it down.Sarah's work can be found in dozens of collections including The Yale Arts Library, The Houghton Library at Harvard University, The New York Public Library and The Darling Bio-medical Library at UCLA. She has taught bookbinding and letterpress printing courses at West Dean College and at a number of universities in the United States, her country of origin. Sarah's next exhibition is a group show of the Shift-Lab collective at the [bracket] Gallery, San Francisco Center for the Book.