Printing Press Under the Pear Tree

Thomas and one of his printing presses

Johannes Gutenberg's invention of mechanical movable type printing around 1439 started the Printing Revolution and is widely regarded as one of the most important events of the modern period. It played a key role in the development of the Renaissance, Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Scientific Revolution and laid the material basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.

---

Thomas in his "Print Shop under the Pear Tree"

Thomas Senff is passionate about printing, and you can see it in his printshop.  He will take you back to the days before there were laser printers and "print" buttons on the computer, and he will show you how to set your own 200 character or less text. Then after your text is set, he will show you how to add artistic elements of all types to create a true original piece, which has never before seen a laser or a Photoshop-type software program. Thomas, who is a printer by trade and is currently teaching printing seminars at the University of the Arts (Universität der Künste) in Potsdam, provides you with a unique opportunity to actually work under his pear tree and to learn about this fascinating art form.

---

Thomas brings a broad variety of work experience and creativity to this hands-on workshop, which, weather permitting, is indeed conducted under the pear tree and in his former goats’ stable print shop.
Time: 6 three-hour sessions over three days
Cost:  €250 (material included, postage and shipping of finished work extra)
Level: beginner to advanced
Participants: minimum 2, maximum 6
Dates: See schedule

---