Create Handcrafted Content
Handcraft your own greeting cards, posters, or ads using the classic style offered by printing press machines.
Learn a Timeless Art
Larks Nest's Welding classes offer a unique chance to learn a form of art that dates back to 1798 and still used in current day for it's irreplaceable style.
Get to Know Ava
In 2007, Ava made up her mind that she would one day establish a center for creativity in her hometown, Dade City. At the time she was mid-way through her Senior year in the University of Delaware’s Fine Art program and was applying to graduate schools around the U.S.
Come Spring Ava would accept an offer from Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI, where she would focus on Art in Public Spaces as part of their MFA program.
In the preceding years, Ava’s academic and work history ran the gamut. She attended colleges in Florida, Alabama, Boston and New York City. She studied music, foreign languages and singing. She was a licensed realtor in Florida and Tennessee, worked for Billboard in Nashville, was a flight attendant and model for Independence Air, freelanced for the Window Department and Interiors at Bergdorf Goodman, and was a backup singer for a handful of musicians. By the time she enrolled at the University of Delaware Ava felt confident she was finally heading in the right direction. Little did she know that she would be trying on a few more hats before too long...READ MORE
Studio Equipment
INTAGLIO PRINTMAKING & LITHOGRAPHY:
LARGE INTAGLIO PRESS - ca 1980s
Provenance - Tim Gibbons, Florida Artist – Printmaker, Painter
Procured from: Artist
Surface: 24" x 36"
M.M. Kelton D Cylinder copperplate press – ca 1890 - 1910 www.amazon.com/Buell-Lee-Whitehead-Printmaker-Lithographer
Provenance - Buell Lee Whitehead, Florida Artist – Printmaker (1919-1993)
Procured from: Ronald Newsome, Arcadia, FL
Cylinder: 14” x 12”
Bed: 15” x 36”
Maximum Plate: 13.5” x 11”
Unknown Cast Iron Etching Press – ca 1900s - 1910s http://www.lasanskyart.com/
Provenance - Mauricio Leib Lasansky – Argentine Artist – Printmaker (1914-2012)
Procured from: Iowa Wesleyan University, Mount Pleasant, IA
Bed: 16” x 40”
Maximum Plate: 15.5” x 36”
Golding & Co. Pearl No.14 Letterpress – ca 1896 https://www.circuitousroot.com/artifice/letters/press/presses/golding/pearl/index.html
Provenance – Unknown
Procured from: Port Charlotte, FL
3 Chases: 9” x 14”
Custom Rollers by Todd’s Press Time, LLC
Kelsey Excelsior letterpress – ca mid 1900s
Provenance – Unknown
Procured from: Brooksville, FL
1 Chase: 3” x 5”
Custom Rollers by Todd’s Press Time, LLC
Stone Lithography: https://litografia.pl/en/process/
Materials: 3 Lithography Stones, Levigator, Ink, Korn Litho Crayons (1-5 hardness)
Etching: https://www.parkwestgallery.com/how-are-etchings-made/
Materials: Copper Plates, Zinc Plates, Hard & Soft Ground, Burin, Etching Powder, Etching Solution, Brunt Plate Oil, Flash Oil, Acids
Engraving: https://www.artlex.com/printing/engraving/ / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engraving
Materials: Gravers (+60 hand gravers, with + 20 different cuts), burnishers, sharpening stones & jigs, Copper plates, Ink, Hot Plate, Linen Cheesecloth, LED Woodblock & Linocut:
Materials: Carving Tools, Sharpening Stones, Wood, Hard & Soft Linoleum, Brayers (Ink Rollers 2” - 6”), Ink (water & oil-based), Mulberry Paper
In-house Reference Library including Example Plates & Original Prints
LETTERPRESS:
Hamilton Oak Job Case Cabinet – ca late 1800s
Provenance – Unknown
Procured from: Boca Raton, FL
48 job cases & lead type – with 1 to 3 fonts per case
2-person standing slanted work surface
Hamilton Metal Job Case Cabinet – ca 1940s – 1950s
Provenance – James McGraw, Ohio
Procured from: James McGraw
22 job cases & lead type
MDF flat work surface
Hamilton Furniture Case with Furniture – ca early 1900s
Provenance – Unknown
Procured from: Port Charlotte, FL
Hamilton Furniture Case – ca early 1900s
Wood Job Case Cabinet-
Provenance – Unknown
Donated By: Jan Norris, Riviera Beach
Also donated by Jan Norris: Furniture, Lead Type, Challenge Proof Press (missing roller brackets/braces), various ink, Metal Job Case Cabinet, various job cases
Woodblock Type – Approximately 25 complete sets in various fonts and sizes
Publishing Cuts – Approximately 250 images
Lead Type – 100+ complete sets PLUS Frames, Wingdings, Shapes & Icons, Bullets, Monograms, Perforations, Lines
Quoins & Composing Sticks
Ink – Variety of Acrylic, Rubber, and Oil-Based Ink including Metallic, Extender & Transparency Medium / Base
BOOK PRESS - Late 1800s
GENERAL MATERIALS:
3’ x 5’ Metal Table
Electric hydraulic craft table (24” to 54” height)
Work Aprons (Small to XXXL), Gloves, Eye protection
Brayers, Inks, Glass inking plates
Solvent Dispenser
Flour sack cloths