Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorna Turner.
Hi Lorna, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Hello, I am Lorna Turner. I wear a few hats: a letterpress artist, a graphic designer, and a teacher. A mentor once likened me to Curious George, always eager to explore new learning pathways, whether investigating a new technique, delving into a theory, listening to someone’s story, or tackling a challenging “what-if” problem. I am a life-long learner and educator.
My creative journey began in an Ohio elementary school when I entered an illustration contest and won an electric toothbrush. Throughout junior high, I was often in the art room with a teacher who sparked ideas I had never considered, inspiring and encouraging the class. It was a place of camaraderie, gathered around her desk, exhausting her with questions and our buzzing creative energy. I briefly considered pursuing architecture during high school, enticed by drafting classes. However, I detoured on another creative path.
In college, I discovered a passion for photography that has not left me. The experience of standing in the black-and-white darkroom as images materialized on paper during film development was pure magic. Through photography, I learned the art of seeing through the viewfinder, patiently awaiting the perfect moment to capture, reassessing compositions, and analyzing the space within the frame. Along with photography, my graphic design courses taught me to appreciate details and understand how the whole image is revealed and connected.
Following my undergraduate studies, I worked as a photograph assistant, newspaper editorial graphic designer, and graphic design teacher in various creative environments. Then, while working in Camden, Maine, I met a well-known graphic designer who offered me a position in Los Angeles. It was a significant leap from a small town, but it was time for a new adventure.
In Los Angeles, I honed my creative skills with exposure to the city’s incredible art/design/architecture talent. I have worked in various graphic design settings, including editorial, retail, screen-based, and even a touch of architecture. All employment adventures offer great learning and creative gratification.
Curious about a broader worldview, I relocated to London for a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art. During this transformative period, I found my true passion for letterpress, guided by renowned artists teaching at the college. Through this art of relief printing, letterpress offered me a unique avenue to blend text and imagery and make imagery out of text.
Fast forward to now: I am back in Los Angeles, juggling multiple visual practices. I have my studio in Santa Monica as a base for freelance graphic design work. I teach graphic design-related courses at So Cal colleges and universities and work at Art Center’s Archetype Press, a letterpress lab. With the students, I often share philosophy and outlook about artists who might inspire their creative journey. Whenever possible, I sneak down to the International Printing Museum in Carson, where I volunteer and teach workshops. Despite not owning a coveted Vandercook Proof Press yet or having an extensive type collection, my involvement with the museum allows me to explore different presses, the deep collection of wood type and metal type, and other hidden treasures. Recently, the museum established its Book Arts Institute, offering workshops in letterpress printing, book structures, other relief printing, and more. I teach at the Institute monthly, either solo or in collaboration.
Learning about letterpress has allowed me to remain a Curious George. I enjoy going beyond the typical printing norms with the press and the traditional ways of engagement through letterpress printing. Exploring new approaches in my creative solutions or helping a student with an alternative technique, there is always a level of problem-solving that presents itself. If you are curious about some artwork created in the workshops, check out @smallchop_shop.
I have not abandoned my love of photography. Through another Instagram account, I am the ‘Archivist’ for the Department of Discarded, @dept_of_discarded, where I record ‘found furniture’ discarded on the streets and sidewalks. Each chair, table, and sofa have a story about the landscape or environment where it lived before being dumped. Eventually, I will compile a small publication reflecting on the phenomena and celebrating where I spotted each object.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to where I am now has been paved and bumpy with lots of turns and a few detours – generally, all directions towards growth and learning.
I have struggled in work settings, from my lack of business savvy to navigating the chemistry that we all bring to a work environment. I am a Capricorn and wear many of the sign’s good and bad traits.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Plenty of good and bad luck goes into finding your way, discovering your passion, and being dedicated to figuring out what makes you you.
It will be worth it if one can embrace pivoting one’s idea, be patient with the many starts and stops, invest hours of comprehensive exploration, ask questions, be open to listening, and have countless failures.
Follow that ‘out there thing’ – that ‘crumb of an idea’ that gives one the spark of excitement; it just might need time to emerge and be realized. I live for encounters with awe, wonderment, and astonishment; man, those are incredible sensations. And when I can transfer that feeling in my teaching, that’s awesome, that’s success!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hellolorna.com
- Instagram: @smallchop_shop, @dept_of_discarded
Image Credits
Lorna Turner
