THE ENERGY OF INTERNS

February 26, 2021

It was unusually quiet in the KBAC studios between November and mid-January, when colleges closed in-person learning and we had to shorten the semester for our Western Michigan University interns. We not only missed the hum of the press as it printed letterpress cards and our paper beaters clanging while preparing pulp, but also the talk and excitement that comes from having young people learning about book arts and practicing craft.  

The KBAC relies on interns for many activities in our studio and in return they receive an education in papermaking, letterpress and relief printing, book binding, and how an arts non-profit operates. As the Studio Manager, I’ve been working with interns at the KBAC since we moved into our current space in 2008. We have had over 150 interns with some staying for multiple semesters. Most of them are students from Western Michigan University, but during the summer we accept students from other collages as well as high school students. View fullsize

After our students finish their internships, they often go on to do great things. We’ve got dozens of stories to tell but can’t share them all.  Here are just a few: 

Kelly Clare was an intern in the summer of 2015 and afterward helped open a letterpress studio that she managed for a year at her undergraduate institution. She said, “The generosity, time, and knowledge I found at the KBAC was essential not only in terms of craft-based knowledge, but also for my evolving relationship with language as an artist." Another intern that managed a university letterpress studio is Sophia Pelle. She was one of our high school interns, with us for several summers, and went on to the University of Michigan to complete her BFA.

 Megan Eiswerth moved to Brooklyn to work in graphic design after her internship and says "[The skills I learned] were great in influencing my artistic creativity and improving my craft. As a graphic designer. I really appreciate that the KBAC employees utilized my skills and allowed me to design posters/flyers/handouts for events. It gave me valuable "real life" practice providing a client with the design they were looking for and working with what they give me.”

I love working with the interns. We have learned new styles of book binding together, studied how the PH of the water used for papermaking effects natural pigments, and found solutions to difficult print jobs. We talk while we work and become friends, I’ve even attended one intern’s wedding!

We support our internship programming through grants and donations. Not only is the experience beneficial for each of them, it also contributes to the KBAC and whatever creative community they move on to next.  

Katie

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