1 // Shop / Working in Bruton 2023
A Typographic Map . . .
‘Working in Bruton 2023’ was designed / set & printed in the letterpress workshop by the students on ‘The Early Summer School’ — a four-day workshop in July
Each year we undertake two Summer Schools —
(early & late) & a few one & two-day classes
This simple graphic idea — concentrating on Bruton High Street — conveys the various trades & professions /
Different fonts aim to express different activities
It works as a specimen of typefaces / but hopefully captures the energy of a small working town /
roads / paths / bartons & bridges are all kept as negative space / there’s even a nod to the stepping stones on the River Brue.
. . .
Designed, hand-set & Printed Letterpress
in Bruton / in a very Limited Edition of 15
Printed in an Olive & Bright Green
(especially mixed) /
on 280gsm Somerset Satin White paper /
with a blind de-bossed credit /
760 x 560mm (30 x 22 inches)
SOLD UNFRAMED £200
2 // Shop / 26 Distinctive Characters
Mr Smith’s A–Z / 26 Characters of Distinction (Gold)
Initially designed for Hole & Corner Magazine as a series of double page spreads discussing my ‘favourite’ wood letterforms kept in the workshop.
Each character had a small paragraph describing the font / its size / origin & where or from who it was acquired.
. . .
Designed / hand-set & printed
by Kelvyn Laurence Smith
Printed letterpress in a limited edition of 26
in Gold ink with a blind debossed credit
on 280gsm Somerset Satin off White
30 x 11 inches (760×280 mm)
Signed by the artist
SOLD UNFRAMED £150
(2 left)
3 // Shop / Glaukonome
GLAUKONOME / The Nereid of the ‘Mastering the Grey’ sea
This ornamental composition acts as a visual representation of the subject matter. A solid, strong form at the centre — surrounded by a configured ‘wall’ — holding back and gradually controlling the complexity of the vast multi layered ‘Grey’ Sea.
Commissioned by Karoline Newman as a response to ‘Simon Lewty & The Nereids’ at The Lettering arts Trust, Snape Maltings, Suffolk.
Depictions of the ‘Mythical Nereids’ created by 26 Artists represented by the Lettering Arts Trust.
. . .
Designed / hand-set & composed
by Kelvyn Laurence Smith
with a careful selection of monotype ornaments / decorative borders & typographic sorts
Printed letterpress on a Vandercook Universal 4 /
in various Greys / Greens & Silvers /
on a GF Smith 270gsm Colourplan Real Grey
in a very limited edition of 6
12 x 12inches (300x300mm)
Signed on the reverse by the artist
SOLD UNFRAMED £100
4 // Shop / Typographic Ornament prints
The ‘Typographic Ornament’ prints are constructed from a unique collection of metal type borders and ornaments. As an antidote to the decorative nature of the material — the borders are formally hand-set on a simple 12 pica grid system to reinforce the graphic beauty of the original cuts and the grace of the formal arrangement.
These are designed, hand-set & printed in very limited editions and are printed in various colours on BFK Rives, Somerset & Zerkall cotton printmaking papers. It is the same set essentially in various colour ways.
Typographic Ornament — A Landscape
Letterpress Print — Pink on Grey
Designed / hand-set & Printed letterpress
in Fluorescent Pink ink
on 280gsm BFK Rives Grey
with a blind de-bossed credit
in a Limited Edition of 3
760 x 380 mm (30 x 15 inches)
Signed by the Artist
Typographic Ornament — A Landscape
Letterpress Print — Orange on Grey
Designed / hand-set & Printed
in Fluorescent Orange ink
on 280gsm BFK Rives Grey /
with a blind de-bossed credit
in a Limited Edition of 3
760 x 380 mm (30 x 15 inches)
Signed by the Artist
Typographic Ornament — A Landscape
Letterpress Print — Gold on Tan
Designed / hand-set & printed
in Gold ink
on 280gsm BFK Rives Tan
with a blind de-bossed credit
in a Limited Edition of 3
760 x 380 mm (30 x 15 inches)
Signed by the Artist
Typographic Ornament — A Landscape
Letterpress Print — Gold on Black
Designed / hand-set & Printed letterpress
in Gold ink
on 280gsm BFK Rives Black
with a blind de-bossed credit
in a Limited Edition of 3
760 x 380 mm (30 x 15 inches)
Signed by the Artist
Typographic Ornament 1240
Series 1240 — Square
An extension of the typographic Ornament Series, — This monotype border ‘number 1240’ at 18pt seemed to be the ornament of choice to accompany much of the work I was doing. It’s a flexible ornament that locks together well with itself to make a visually interesting & complex negative and positive pattern. Used on its own it gives a sense of nobility — a simple but complex pattern — in a square configuration it lacks tension and sits quietly on the page. In the more extreme formats it carries weight or floats effortlessly . . .
. . .
Designed & hand-set with Metal type Ornaments
& Printed in a Signed Limited Edition of 6 /
in aYellow Mustard ink
on 280gsm BFK Rives Grey
with a blind de-bossed credit
300 x 300 mm (12 x 12 inches)
SOLD UNFRAMED £90
5 // Shop / A study in Ornamental Composition
‘A study in Ornamental Composition’
Is inspired by the final track on Van Morrison’s 1972 album ‘Saint Dominic’s Preview’
Introduction / Inspiration / analysis
For me – Van Morrison’s seminal 10 minute track ‘Almost Independence Day’ seems to connect the awe-inspiring power of the sea with emotional intensity & longing.
Written in the early 70’s – the track represents the physical and abstract descriptions of a vast Pacific Ocean as seen from San Francisco bay.
With the rolling repetitive Moog synth ‘effectively used as a foghorn bass’ – the delicate snare drum triggers electrifying notions of firing synapses, daydreaming, memories – and the whole woven texture is reminiscent of home, family, things past and the excitement of those to come . . . 12-string and 6-string guitars dues and converse with the stuttering, yearning voice – a hypnotic transmission.
Rolling Stone critic Stephen Holden captures perfectly:
“. . . the body of the song is an incantatory montage of simple portentous phrases repeated over and over with varying emotional emphasis . . . the structure of the song is metamorphic, taking the form of a rising and subsiding wave.”
With reference to . . .
Growing up on the Kent coast with the vast flat Greeny-Grey north sea horizons, choppy waves & rolling ‘white horses’, this particular sea has always had an important influence on me. Home, happy, safe; but with the awesome frightening power that the sea brings; exciting ideas of ambition and optimism, the scale of adventure, journeys, future endeavours. Seasonal colour palette – tidal pulses and the angry crashing of stormy swellings.
Idea / concept / intention
The simple conceit of this work was to explore/express a visually elegant way to capture the sensory emotion of the track. The idea ‘nods’ to the musical heritage of the east coast of Britain and encapsulates – in at least a representational and abstract form – the themes of the music, the landscape & the exhibition.
Technical & structural approach
Using a simple typographic structure, the grid acts as a kind of stave and – although not wholly accurate – endeavours to capture the rhythm of the original composition. The horizontal axis forms a time line and plots the progression and interaction of each instrument. Each of these are represented by a different expressive typographic shape or ornament and describe the repetitive nature of the sound. Set individually by hand, these ornaments become a typographic translation and form a swell; a mood, a longing and a simple rhythmic composition that – despite being conceived on the west coast of America – is indicative of my English east coast.
KLS
. . .
Designed & hand-set
with Metal type Ornaments & Metal Type
& Printed in a Limited Edition of 12
in Various Green & Grey inks
with a blind de-bossed lyrics /
on 280gsm BFK Rives Grey /
& a blind de-bossed credit
760 x 380mm (30 x 15 inches)
Signed by the Artist
SOLD UNFRAMED £200
6 / Shop / 6 & 9 Characters in search of a Case
These letterforms are orphans . . .
They don’t belong /
they are oddities /
they arrived without a family /
part of a job lot /
acquired / swapped / donated . . .
But they are all well loved
& certainly well used /
together they don’t say anything /
but they look great
& work well as a team
& at least
they now have a place to rest . . .
. . .
Designed, hand-set & printed Letterpress /
with Wood letter /
in a limited edition of 12 /
Signed by the Artist
Printed in a special Green/Grey ink
on 280gsm BFK Rives Grey /
with a vertical blind de-bossed credit /
3 deckles & 1 torn edge /
Imperial size sheet — 22 x 30 inches
(560 x 760 mm)
Sold as pair UNFRAMED £200
7 // Shop / A Typographic Typology
A Typographic Typology — Grey
A Title
Ampersands
Apostrophes
Exclamation marks
Full stops
Hyphens & Dashes
Pound signs
Q’s
Question marks
. . .
Designed, hand-set & printed Letterpress /
with Wood letter & Metal Type /
in a very limited edition of 6 /
Signed by the Artist
Printed in Grey ink /
on 280gsm BFK Rives Grey /
with a blind de-bossed credit /
3 deckles & 1 torn edge /
Print size: 760 x 280mm (30 x 11 inches)
Framed size: 820 x 335 mm (32 x 15 inches)
SOLD UNFRAMED £100
. . .
Designed, hand-set & printed Letterpress
with Wood letter & Metal Type
in a very limited edition of 6
Printed in Silver & Pink ink
on 280gsm BFK Rives Grey
with a blind de-bossed credit
3 deckles & 1 torn edge
Print size: 760 x 280mm (30 x 11 inches)
Framed size: 820 x 335 mm (32 x 15 inches)
Signed by the Artist
only 2 left
SOLD UNFRAMED £150
A Typology / A Family of Exclamations
