Ornamental Patterns is a limited edition publication by designer and printmaker Julia Syrzistie. The piece has been printed in two editions; the first edition of 9 in navy, and the second in an edition of 28 in blue. The first edition was printed in Helsinki, Finland at S/O Helsinki during Julia’s internship with the design studio. For the second edition she travelled back to Tartu, Estonia to work at the letterpress and paper art centre TYPA, where she has been working sine 2022.
Having worked with letterpress for several years, printer’s ornaments were something Julia has always been drawn to visually, but never worked with prior to this project. She tells us; “While doing an internship at S/O Helsinki over the summer, I decided to finally work on a project utilising metal type ornaments”. After printing a series of patterns, creating a publication was an intuitive way for her to assemble them together. “I was interested in seeing how printer’s ornaments can be taken out of their original function and used as a way to create intricate and detailed patterns,” says the printmaker. She printed all of the patterns in black (an usual choice for Julia, as she usually works with colour) in order to draw attention to the shapes created.
Her process included typesetting squares of approx. 5 x 5 cm using printer’s ornaments, which are often very small pieces of type. She then used a proofing press to print an edition of each print, and assembled and saddle stitch bound them into a small publication.
Julia hopes to continue making new editions in other letterpress studios, particularly at The Caseroom SWG3 in Glasgow, where her interest in letterpress began. She is also currently developing a thesis project for her MFA Printmaking at the Fine Arts Academy in Helsinki, and will use printer’s ornaments as a starting point to develop a larger series of prints.
Drop her a message to grab your copy, and Ornamental Patterns will soon be available at Good Press in Glasgow.
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