Aurora, NY,

Wells College has appointed Richard Kegler as the new Director of the Wells Book Arts Center. Kegler is the founder of P22 type foundry and the Western New York Book Arts Center in Buffalo, New York. As a trustee for the American Printing History Association, Kegler’s forays into contemporary book arts and the history of fine press and printing have been far reaching. Kegler is taking over for Nancy Gil who is retiring from the position this month. Gil has taught French and English as a Second Language at Wells College since 1974 and she was appointed as Director of the Book Arts Center in 2007.

The Wells Book Arts Center has a long tradition of teaching traditional book arts and letterpress printing to undergraduates and for the Wells Summer Institute. The Book Arts Center traces its roots back to Wells College Press which was founded in 1941 by Victor Hammer, who fled Europe during the Second World War and moved to Aurora, New York where he taught art and set up the Wells College Press and his personal Hammer Press. During his time in Aurora, he cut the Aurora and American Uncial typefaces.

Kegler looks forward to positioning the Center into a more prominent place in the current world of book arts. He says of the appointment: “I see great potential in this incredible collection of type and equipment… The student work produced at Wells has been outstanding and I hope to increase the program’s visibility and help guide the program to become one of the world’s preeminent college book arts centers.”

Our new website – wellsbookartscenter.org – is up and running! The most exciting part? It will soon include an online store with special products hand-crafted right at the center. Check it out!

It’s been a busy June for the folks here at the Wells Book Arts Center. After printing diplomas for the graduating class of 2012, organizing and exhibiting the Book Arts Minor Show, and preparing for finals and graduation, we’ve all been very busy with several different (and very exciting) projects and life events.

Our dear work study student, Stephanie Goodwin, graduated this past May and has recently received notice of her acceptance to the MFA Psychology Program at the University of Buffalo for the Fall of 2012. We are thrilled to share this wonderful news, and so very proud of Stephanie for her achievements.

We are also very happy for our faithful, hardworking, and extremely dedicated book artist and Book Arts Center advocate, Alex Schloop (who also graduated with the Class of 2012), as he’s found a new home in Aurora and a fantastic new career at the Aurora Inn. Besides being an absolutely brilliant designer, Alex has helped the Book Arts Center without question or hesitation ever since he became a Book Arts Minor in his junior year. Those of us who are still attending Wells and working at the Center are beyond grateful for his hard work and dedication, and we are so excited that he will still be gracing the Book Arts Center with his positive spirit in the following year(s).

Katie Baldwin, our talented, passionate, and hardworking Victor Hammer Fellow (2011-2013), has been busy at work preparing for her solo exhibition, which will be held in Philadelphia in September (2012). Carving blocks of wood into what will become their beautiful destiny, Katie is an inspiration to those of us up and coming to the competitive art world. Katie has been printing for her exhibition at both the Women’s Studio Workshop and the Wells Book Arts Center. She is also preparing for her course, Poets at the Press, which will run in the third session of the Wells Book Arts Summer Institute.

Work study student and Wells College Senior and Visual Arts Major (with a concentration in Book Arts), Jessie Reich, has been busy at work during a summer internship at The Cracker Factory in Geneva, New York. The Women’s Rights National Historic Park donated their printing equipment to Amy and Brandon Phillips at The Cracker Factory, and needs to be sorted through and organized. Jessie was recruited for the internship by Victor Hammer Fellow, Katie Baldwin, who in turn found out about the organization by past Victor Hammer Fellow, Sarah Bryant, a dear friend of the folks at The Cracker Factory. It’s a small and precious world in the realm of book arts.

So, as you can see, those of us at the Wells Book Arts Center haven’t stopped turning our wheels (or should I say, rollers?) since the semester ended! Our fearless leader, Book Arts Director Nancy Gil, has been immersed in preparations for the Summer Institute, which is coming up right around the corner!

Keep a look out for the a series of blog posts that will highlight in more detail all of the exciting projects and adventures that are taking place with all of us here at the Wells Book Arts Center.

The presses are busy as ever during this diploma season! At the center we letterpress print each graduating senior’s diploma by hand. It’s a lot of work but it means that our diplomas are the most elegant around.