Cynthia Bell

Cynthia Bell was 16 years old when a Mexican linotype operator handed her the first letter of her last name. She studied printmaking in college, apprenticed in a commercial shop in Boston where she learned about letterpress printing, then humbly attended Rhode Island School of Design and the Basel School of Design where she studied and worked in the letterpress workshops. Later in Seattle she developed two children’s typography projects, and worked with a group of middle-school students to create a set of tactile signs for an herb garden. Along with typography, she is most interested in color and materials. She recently spent four years planning and delivering cognitive, sensory, creative, and educational activities to elderly nursing home residents.