text (n.) late 14c., "wording of anything written”
text (v.) "to send a text message by mobile system,” 2005
—Online Etymology Dictionary
Texting absorbs our minds, fingers, and attention with fast-paced interactions. In this workshop, artist and inventor Michael Swaine invites us to take back our sense of time with deliberate, face-to-face connections. Join the slow text movement and create letterpress messages using ink, wooden blocks, paper, and the combined weight of workshop participants.
Design a text using moveable type to be physically delivered to someone in your life. Once your message is set, join your fellows on the printing platform to squeeze paper and type together—forming connections from the soles of your feet to the souls of those who’ll receive the prints.
Letterpress type for this event was graciously lent by the San Francisco Center for the Book
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Michael Swaine is an inventor and designer working in many media. He has collaborated with artist collective Futurefarmers since 1997, where he is considered the analog anchor of the studio. Their interdisciplinary projects range from fingerprint video games to an outdoor mapping workshop in Toronto. Michael is dedicated to working in the community; his "Reap What You Sew" Generosity Project involved him pushing an old-fashioned cart equipped with a treadle-operated sewing machine through the streets of San Francisco. He teaches at California College of the Arts and Mills College.