In 2024, TBLF welcomed Larry Thompson, Master Printer at the MacOdrum Library Book Arts Lab at Carleton University.

A skilled bookmaker with his own imprint — Greyweathers Press, Larry led two introductory, sold-out workshops, and gave a fantastic artist talk about his own journey into book arts and pedagogy.

With his wealth of show-and-tell content, and his approachable and generous demeanour, Larry inspired workshop participants to produce outstanding work. Cases of metal type and presses were on loan from the local community, so Larry could lead folks in An Introduction to Typesetting with “Impressive Quotations”; each participant left with a hand-set and -printed takeaway. For Drawing with Light: Introduction to Linoleum Printing, Larry introduced lino carvers to techniques of carving out white space to create imagery. Prints and lino blocks in hand, participants left inky but enlightened.

Larry’s artist talk at Eastern Edge not only gave us a look at his sideways entrance into the field of book arts, but also left the audience with a keen impression of students’ enthusiasm for the tactility of the book arts, as exemplified at the MacOdrum Library Book Arts Lab at Carleton University.

You can find Larry’s bio and see more of his work on his website.