Category Archives: APA News

Note from Mike Anderson

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APA-O-Gram

Notes of interest for members of the
Amalgamated Printers’ Association
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Note from Mike Anderson:

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the members of APA who have been great friends and mentors over the years. The opportunity to meet so many of you at each Wayzgoose that I attended opened up a world of knowledge and friendship.

I am no longer able to go downstairs to my print shop or stand in front of a case; however, I’m glad I had the opportunity and time to meet all of you to discuss printing, type, and the many arts of printing. As I draw near to signing – 30 – I have no regrets and only bright spots, thanks to all. Hot metal forever!

Michael R. Anderson

Mike Anderson (APA #708) diagnosed with cancer

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APA-O-Gram

Note of interest for members of the
Amalgamated Printers’ Association
—————————————————–
Mike Anderson diagnosed with cancer

I don’t mind sending out these “APA-O-Grams with good news such as the most recent one regarding Jen Farrell. But this one I really don’t like. Here’s the message from Mike’s wife Suzanne:

   I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Mike (Anderson) has been diagnosed with cancer.  He asked me to email you.  We had been planning for hip surgery for September 4, after an orthopedic surgeon ruled his hip pain was due to arthritis (from the x-rays).  We tried cortisone shots and physical therapy – which didn’t do much & he stopped.  The earliest surgery we could get was Sept. 4.  In the pre-op appointments in August, our primary care doctor became suspicious that the symptoms sounded more like cancer than arthritis . . . confirmed by blood tests showing high white cell count et al and then lack of appetite, increasing pain.  He ordered a CT Scan which did show cancer – unfortunately it’s invasive and in the liver, lymph nodes of abdomen/stomach, lower lung, and bone (hip/pelvis).  Mike went in yesterday for a liver biopsy and results will take 5 days.  We meet with an oncologist on September 10.  Right now we don’t know the primary site or the grade or the prognosis.  We do know it’s serious.

   All of the family and has been notified of this and word is out, so you are free to let others know about this or to forward this message.   Please consider deleting others’ email addresses before forwarding.  I’ve been notifying people in a series of emails, so some others have already been notified.

   The Big C was not on Mike’s agenda, and this has spun us 180 onto a new path.  He has a Kindle Fire and checks his messages.  If you want to contact him, his bedside cell number is 443-684-1983.   He wears earphones for TV and may not hear the phone – you may have to try a few times.

Jen Farrell (APA #749) Up For Award and We Can Help!

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APA-O-Gram

Note of interest for members of the
Amalgamated Printers’ Association
—————————————————–
Jen Farrell up for award and we can help

Jen Farrell (#749) and her Starshaped Press are up for an award at Martha Stewart American Made Awards and we can help her by voting for her! It’s best to let Jen explain the award and the voting:

I’m not usually a shameless self promoter, but the studio is up for an award at this Martha Stewart American Made Awards, which celebrates people/businesses that make stuff in America. They choose their own favorites in each field, and then there’s an audience choice award, based on votes.

I really wanted to get the studio in front of the eyes of their staff, given that we’re one of the few doing commercial work while preserving the original craft of letterpress, but I’ve gotten an unbelievable amount of votes in the last few days and am now feeling that I have some skin in the game for the other award.

Voting continues for about 2 weeks, and you can vote 6 times a day (it requires registering an email so they can track your voting, but nothing else).

I only thought of it because the point of my nomination is that we’re the only letterpress studio listed (there are a few, but no APA members as far as I can tell) that focuses on printing with antique metal and wood type.

I’ve also been sending little print treats to voters that email me their address, because I want folks to know I really appreciate the effort and support. I’ll attach an image of one in a series I’ve been working on; I’m trying to revive ‘artistic printing’, only with a slightly more modern sensibiltiy. All of the prints in the series (I have 3 done so far) have little printouts on the back that are images of the form so that viewers can appreciate what went into the print. 

Here’s the link to the nomination:

http://www.marthastewart.com/americanmade/nominee/82498

MY ADVICE: VOTE AND VOTE OFTEN! Good luck Jen!!!!

Mike O’Connor