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The Werkman Method
October 4, 2025 @ 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
$170.00An In-Studio Workshop!
Saturday, October 4, 1-5pm
View our current in-studio Health and Safety and Cancellation Policies >>
About this Workshop:
Join us for a special afternoon of type play with visiting artist Frank Baseman! This workshop will introduce participants to the “Werkman Method,” where one collages with type and images on the press. Working with wood type mostly as shapes and forms rather than letters, we’ll roll ink onto the type, place the pieces upside down onto the paper on the printing bed, and roll the cylinder of the press over the type (pressing into the paper) for the impression. It is meant to be a much looser—downright liberating—way of working with letterpress.
After class, hang out for a bit to chat with the artist and learn more about his personal design and letterpress work.
The Werkman Method is named after H. N. Werkman (Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman), an experimental Dutch artist, typographer and printer working in the early 1900s. He set up a clandestine printing house during the Nazi occupation and sadly was shot by the Gestapo in the closing days of World War II.
Level: Beginner – no previous experience is needed!
Registration extended to October 1, 2025. Material fees are included with your registration to cover the supplies provided in class. Students may/will need to gather/purchase additional materials for class (see the materials list below). This list will also be provided with the registration confirmation email.
Featured sample images by Frank Baseman/Base Press
CLASS MATERIALS LIST:
Registration includes a $10 materials fee to cover consumable materials provided in class, including paper and ink. Students may want to consider bringing the following additional supplies:
- (optional) Personal apron (we’ll have extras) and/or wear clothes that can get inky
- (optional) Notebook or sketchbook if you’d like to take notes
Note: For your safety we also recommend short sleeves only, close-toed shoes, and that long hair be tied back.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR:
Base Press is the graphic design and letterpress printing studio of Frank Baseman, a graphic designer, letterpress printer, visual artist, and design educator. The work of Base Press has been exhibited in several solo exhibitions and numerous national and international exhibitions. Base Press work is also included in the permanent collections of the Cary Graphic Arts Collection at RIT; the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, Two Rivers, WI; the Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography at the Cooper Union, NYC; Special Collections, University of Delaware; Tipoteca Italiana Fondazione, Cornuda, Italy; and the Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA among others. Learn more about the work of Base Press at www.basepress.co or follow along on Instagram @basepress.