13) Meet the Press

The house has several studios with names that only make sense to residents; Studio 1, 2, the Writer’s Room and the Bodega.

The Bodega is on the ground floor and covers a large part of the house. It was named after its heritage; the olives were processed here when this building was a farm. It features a special machine, The Press.
A large blue iron body with heavy legs firmly built into the ground.

A press in an art school or professional studio has a technician operating it. There will often be several presses: one set for linoleum, one for paper and one for wood. You tell the operator what you need, and he will execute it for you.

Here at Canserrat, the art of printing is a little more laissez-faire, and Elise and Foon experiment with different kinds of materials, resetting the two heavy spools as they go.

I watch Elise roll a layer of ink onto a transparent plastic sheet. Then she

carefully draws lines in the ink, and she wipes away areas with a cloth for broader strokes. Those markings will light up on the final print. It reminds me of negative printing in photography.

As she draws a new design in the ink, based on a landscape sketch in her notebook, she tells me: "I love that I have an idea, but the final outcome is unpredictable. The amount of ink, the pressure you use and the speed with which you roll it through the press result in a different piece than you'd anticipated. She adds: "You take your idea on a journey, leading to new ideas. You and the press collaborate, and the outcome is a joint effort."