This is why I always have my camera with me

Saturday I rushed off to the school to work in the print room and I forgot my camera.

I really shouldn't have.

First of all I was making a poster using wooden type. I had a job hand setting type years ago and all the skills of using the Vandercook Proof Press came right back. But I was using metal type and we had minimal wood type and certainly no wooden spacer bars! OMG. If any of you out there know what I am speaking of, it's totally redonkulous the wooden spacer bar. Wow. I just felt so privileged to have access to this stuff. And on top of that we were using a poster press. I don't really know how to set it properly but we improvised and it worked.

And no camera. So here's a picture of wooden type kind of like what we (me and Shirley) used.

When I left the school I couldn't cross the street to catch the bus because a cop was leading a group of naked cyclists. Yes. Butt naked and chanting "more ass less gas". They were protesting the consumption of petroleum products. Somehow the sight of naked bodies phased me not one bit. I think it's all the life drawing classes. But the majority of the spectators were freaking out. Oh if I had had a camera... I would have taken a picture like this

or this
So I crossed the street after the cyclists rode past and when I got off I saw a bride wearing the poofiest bridal gown I've seen in years. It was right out of that glorious Aaron Spelling creation Dynasty. Again, had I had a camera you'd have seen it but it looked like very similar to one of these gowns - no - it was poofier.

After I had my fill of her gown I noticed a man at the base of the stairs where the bride was posing. He had a GIANT cockatoo on his shoulder and was wearing a bright blue Hawaiian shirt with bright green palm trees. Here's an image kind of like it but what I saw was way more vibrant

Beside the cockatoo lover were two girls. They were obviously trying to get a picture of the cockatoo on the guy's shoulder but they didn't want him to know so one was taking the other's picture and making sure the cockatoo man was in the frame. I found that amusing. Here's a tourist taking a picture. You'll have to imagine the rest, including the poofy bride in the far background.

I just could not believe I didn't have my camera. I reached my destination just before it closed at 4.

I was glad I made the effort. I actually talked wooden type and ludlows, and linotype machines and slugs and Vandercook presses as if it was current technology. I even had imprints of type on my forearms from our printmaking that afternoon to prove I had just been doing that. Nice. I was reminded that letterpress people have THE BEST business cards in the world


Next weekend it's the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair. I'm looking forward to it.