By Sarah Robinson
Contributing Writer
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Some professors leave their work in the office after class ends, but Jessica Peterson, an adjunct professor with the Book Arts MFA program, practices the craft she teaches when she leaves campus and heads to her own Northport letterpress business.
Peterson co-owns The Southern Letterpress, which provides letterpress artwork, products and printing to the Southeastern United States.
Peterson said she has been interested in art her entire life, beginning with making books from photocopies and LaserJet printers in high school. She pursued a career as a graphic designer after college to support her book-making habit, working with advertising agencies like GAP and Warner Bros. in New York.
After working in New York, Peterson headed to Alabama to get her MFA in the Book Arts Program. At the University, she was introduced to letterpress printing, the oldest form of printing, where raised portions of a metal or hard plastic polymer printing plate is doused in ink and then pressed on paper, leaving letters or images.
“It was a historical message, and that really interested me,” Peterson said. “It was compelling how text and image has been made and distributed for the last 500 years. I have been making art for most of my life, and it’s something I need to do.”
She opened her first shop in 2011 in Columbus, Miss., and co-owner Bridget Elmer joined her in 2012. On Sept. 6, 2012, Peterson opened The Southern Letterpress shop in Northport, Ala.
“We feel like the Southeast doesn’t really have as many print shops as much as it should, so we try hard to provide services to the Southeast,” Peterson said.
Ashley Gorham, a second-year student in the MFA Book Arts Program, volunteers at The Southern Letterpress.
“The Southern is an inspiring space that seems to be a really good addition to downtown Northport,” Gorham said. “It brings some youth and excitement to the neighborhood.”
Sonja Rossow, an MFA Book Arts Program graduate, also volunteers at The Southern. Rossow, who has known Peterson for three years, said the shop adds something to the town.
“It gives a added dimension to the arts theme around the Northport and Tuscaloosa area,” Rossow said.
She said Peterson often takes any opportunity to apply her artwork to things going on in the community.
Gorham has been printing for a year, and she said Peterson’s passion for art is apparent.
“She’s obsessed with printing, and I mean that in the most positive way,” Gorham said. “Her passion is contagious, and I think The Southern is that passion made manifest.”
