(More than a few) Half-Penny Thoughts — 23sept26

When I was but a wee lad (okay, closer to legal adulthood than lad), I went to a high school that happened to be “in the hood”. Literally, and in both senses.

Minneapolis North was my assigned high school by virtue of proximity (slightly closer than the other option, Minneapolis Patrick Henry) and, because of the post-60s civil rights movements of the time, I was going to get bused in even if I lived a couple blocks further north and would have normally be assigned to Henry by virtue of the color of my skin and the word “desegregation”.

Not that I minded. Unlike a number of my Caucasian peers at the time, I was raised to largely be colorblind and it made no difference to me who I schooled with when it came to the color of their skin. It always seemed like an absurd fetish to me to worry about such things.

Click this paragraph to skip my brief history lesson

Anyway, to sweeten the pot for some of the more recalcitrant white students, nearly all of the “magnet” programs were housed at North to draw white students to the school and make busing in seem to be a win instead of a punishment.

Those magnets included a jazz radio station (yes, students mostly ran the station during the 6am-5pm period — supervised, of course); what is now called a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) program called Summatech; and, an arts magnet containing all brands of music classes, visual art, dance, and theater called VPA (visual and performing arts).

And there was the “Fundamental” classes on top of it for the recalcitrant who refused to participate in the integration, or just had no interest in any of the magnets.

You would have thought that would be enough draw, but the district continued to force students who refused to adopt a magnet to participate in an exchange with a nearly 100% Caucasian school across the Mississippi called Minneapolis Edison, where they would spend at least half of the school year for at least four semesters while they went to school at either school unless they had a documented and approved reason to not participate. There were very few approved reasons, so few that I cannot recall what they might have been, although I knew there were at least a few who managed to get the waiver.

I’m not just rehashing old history, but giving you some context as to the environment at the schools at the time.

Part way through my junior year, another flavor of the VPA program emerged: Writing as Performance.

I shifted from my science-math-technology path in a heartbeat. Finally, a dedicated writing class. My parents and peers all thought I was crazy as hell. In many ways, I am still paying for the decision when dealing with my old classmates on social media, who still treat me as a bit of an outsider after that shift. It was the best life decision I’ve ever made. I got to write, which was my passion much more than being a scientist (oops, guess I’m both now).

Moving on… One of the things that came out of that was that I had an opportunity to make a book from scratch. Write it. Make the paper if I wanted (I used stock). Typeset it with movable tin type. Print it in a press. Bind it.

Other students had other ideas of what a “book” might be, but mine was pretty traditional. Scarlet ink on ivory paper and cross-stitch floss that matched the ink to bind it. I could probably find a copy if I dug it around. I believe it was a numbered, limited run of twenty. I’m still pretty proud of that accomplishment.

Sorry for a bit of whiplash here, but my three girls have been after me for several years to get them a 3D printer. They are all artists, but the twins primarily want it to print out minifigures for their D&D campaigns. The eldest wants to make sculptures because she is dissatisfied with how clay behaves and she thinks this will solve some of the integrity issues she experiences.

While they all claim “art” is the primary reason for justifying the purchase, I suspect more “junk” would be produced on the table than art. Toys, gadgets and gizmos. Which is why I have so far been a hard “no” on it.

But one of the twins, bless her heart, is always stepping up to help out around the house and she has been the strongest advocate for getting a 3D printer. She is also the most likely to do art with it on a regular basis and least likely to churn out plastic junk.

Switching back to the original thought in this thread:

I am seriously considering looking into purchasing a 3D printer to support getting into the hand-printing of artistic books. I can 3D print up print plates (instead of typesetting) and do something like a lino-print of short, limited-run handmade books (paper and binding) between ten and twenty-five pages. Guerrilla Press, if you prefer to think of it that way (I’m guessing that name is probably taken, but it would be a fun one to use if it hasn’t been).

It is a very tempting thing, although I have no illusions about the demand for such things (with me as the author, anyway), I think it might be something to build up skills for as a retirement hobby. I can always make blank upcycled paper notebooks to support my bad habit and sell them on Esty. Or have a household full of unused notebooks, LOL.

Does any of this resonate with you all? The desegregation, the magnet programs, the arts, or 3D printing? Have any of you done small press work, paper making or 3D printing and have some advice?