Come for the Crabcakes, Stay for the Letter Press

30 Jan Come for the Crabcakes, Stay for the Letter Press

As an undergrad I took many classes that did not count towards my degree; some to pursue personal interests and some were out of confusion as to community college and university requirements.  One such class I erroneously enrolled in was printmaking with The’ Nguyen.  This class was a lower division linocut and woodcut class where I was also taught collagraph, letter press, photo transfer, silkscreen, reductive block printing, and etching into plexi from one man with endless ideas; this was in addition to meeting my current boyfriend, meeting my roommate and being invited into my first art show from this one semiweekly class.  Needless to say while woodblock printing had no impact on my degree, it was pivotal in my life.  I went on to enroll in etching, and have not missed an end of the semester campus print show in six years.

While I cannot claim printmaking with The’ will change your life the way it did mine, I can invite you to meet this man with so much inspiration and so many fans.  Under the guise of a club, current students, former students and creative types meet, eat, and make their kind of art.  As printmaking has become increasingly underrated–there is currently no full-time printmaking faculty at CSUF, and semesters have passed with no classes offered–there will be fewer opportunities to explore this classic art. -Krystal

If you are interested in printmaking all community colleges in Orange County offer at least one class.  Another option, for anyone not looking for a commitment, is dropping by the print studio at CSUF: