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Mr. Darcy and I have spent a lot of time like this this past week. I managed to sprain my ankle on Christmas Eve, so sitting up with it down on the floor at my work table is less comfortable than being on the couch just now. Mr. Darcy likes this new approach to working. He's been keeping me company very happily.
Above is a new letterpress block, and below are illustrations for the new e-book I'm working on called the Night Squad by David Goodis. This is my second project for the new publishing imprint called Chalk Line Press.
Above is a new letterpress block, and below are illustrations for the new e-book I'm working on called the Night Squad by David Goodis. This is my second project for the new publishing imprint called Chalk Line Press.
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I was having a discussion with a music playing friend about strong blueswomen and the badass women of bluegrass. Think Little Maggie and Darlin' Corey. I love that they all play banjos. (That's a quote from "Little Maggie" up the side of the poster.) I was saying it's important for me to have a range of songs to see me through the transitions that come with life and be able to sing out all those emotions. I'm still missing Di Anne Price, my favorite blueswoman and also a friend who had a song for every possible situation I could find myself in.
The upshot of this conversation was that I got called a badass wild banjo woman. I loved it. And since I know several more badass wild banjo women, I decided I just had to make some art from this.
I broke out the wood type and set a poster that night. Below was my first proof.
The upshot of this conversation was that I got called a badass wild banjo woman. I loved it. And since I know several more badass wild banjo women, I decided I just had to make some art from this.
I broke out the wood type and set a poster that night. Below was my first proof.
It looked a little bare. My collection of poster ornaments is pretty small, but I did have some not-too-tiny stars I could add for just a little more pizazz and visual cohesion. I'm now thinking I need to carve myself some old time-y poster frills, but I'll have to get through the Christmas crunch time first.
Below on the left you can see the first set up, with just a few blocks on either side of the "bad ass" lettering. On the right I've added the stars. It's a lot like a jigsaw puzzle. I had to fill in the spaces with blocks and slivers of wood just the right sizes to make it all fit snugly in the frame. I love this kind of puzzle. It's fun with the big type and a little more challenging and persnickety when I'm using smaller metal type. But still fun.
Below on the left you can see the first set up, with just a few blocks on either side of the "bad ass" lettering. On the right I've added the stars. It's a lot like a jigsaw puzzle. I had to fill in the spaces with blocks and slivers of wood just the right sizes to make it all fit snugly in the frame. I love this kind of puzzle. It's fun with the big type and a little more challenging and persnickety when I'm using smaller metal type. But still fun.
I'll be mailing out a few of these posters to the banjo women who have been kind enough to mentor me in my playing and help me have more fun with my banjo. I have several more left from the edition of 20, and I'm selling them in my online store for $20 each.
I'm also sending one to a friend with a new banjo who, God help her, is looking to me for a little of that mentoring. Fortunately she also has some other folks to call on. But I love the banjo sisterhood. Long live badass wild banjo women!
I'm also sending one to a friend with a new banjo who, God help her, is looking to me for a little of that mentoring. Fortunately she also has some other folks to call on. But I love the banjo sisterhood. Long live badass wild banjo women!
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I spent much of the day running note cards for WKNO fm, our local NPR station. I had fun getting the slightly battered, large wooden type out for the project.
Here's a short video of the press operating. I had to hold it myself, so it's a bird's eye view from the printer. It's also a little slower (not too much) than my usual press speed, since I was trying to handle the camera as well.
Final results.
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I'm printing invitations to our home show today. I've got a 1909 Chandler and Price letterpress that I am the current caretaker for, and I feel so privileged to have it in my home. I mostly carve blocks for it and do note cards, but occasionally I have an invitation I'd like to print, and (thanks to a letterpress fairy godmother here in town who's traded me type for paintings), I have type I can set to create my own postcard. It's a satisfying process to do that from start to finish.
Today several people have dropped by to pick up calendars or prints and have gotten to see the press in action. I realize this isn't something most people are able to see in their everyday lives, and one friend too far away to drop by requested a video. So here it is. It's the first time I've used this feature on my small digital camera, so the sound isn't great, but you can see the beauty of the press in orbit.
Here's a scan of the invitation I'm printing. It's fun to try different type and ornaments that Cheryl has given me.
Today several people have dropped by to pick up calendars or prints and have gotten to see the press in action. I realize this isn't something most people are able to see in their everyday lives, and one friend too far away to drop by requested a video. So here it is. It's the first time I've used this feature on my small digital camera, so the sound isn't great, but you can see the beauty of the press in orbit.
Here's a scan of the invitation I'm printing. It's fun to try different type and ornaments that Cheryl has given me.
And here's what the first 100 or so looked like, before I caught the mistake.
At least I'm in good company. I learned in my Meeman Center class on Shakespeare with Mike Leslie earlier this fall that when they were printing Shakespeare's First Folio editions, someone would stand by the press and proofread as it was running. If he found a mistake, he'd yell, "Stop the presses!", and they'd fix it, but they wouldn't waste the pages they had already printed. So there are several different versions of the First Folio floating around with various typographical errors.
In my case, the places for the "a" and the "r" letters in a California case are right next to each other, and obviously I just grabbed the wrong one.
Here's how the letters are laid out in print shops. I still have to use a diagram to go very quickly, but I'm learning. It's a fun trade to learn. I feel connected with centuries' worth of important history as I print with moveable type. My whole church (Presbyterian) sprang out of the printing press and the new ability it offered to spread both vernacular copies of the Bible and theological tracts.
In my case, the places for the "a" and the "r" letters in a California case are right next to each other, and obviously I just grabbed the wrong one.
Here's how the letters are laid out in print shops. I still have to use a diagram to go very quickly, but I'm learning. It's a fun trade to learn. I feel connected with centuries' worth of important history as I print with moveable type. My whole church (Presbyterian) sprang out of the printing press and the new ability it offered to spread both vernacular copies of the Bible and theological tracts.
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One of the many things I love about being married to a fellow artist is hand-made valentines. Elmore forged this heart-shaped hook for me in his small forge made from a fireproof brick. He's been making other hooks and bottle openers for our kitchen, and I love carrying on our daily lives in the midst of things he's created for our home.
In other Valentine news, it's just on a year since Elmore reinforced the floor to receive my new letterpress. He spent four afternoons on his belly in the crawl space digging holes and sinking posts into concrete. It was the best Valentine ever, and I could not be more lucky.
I'm also still madly in love with my letterpress a year on. The first block I carved for it was a valentine. I was thinking of Elmore, of course, but I'm glad to report that the letterpress and I are also thriving in our relationship.
In other Valentine news, it's just on a year since Elmore reinforced the floor to receive my new letterpress. He spent four afternoons on his belly in the crawl space digging holes and sinking posts into concrete. It was the best Valentine ever, and I could not be more lucky.
I'm also still madly in love with my letterpress a year on. The first block I carved for it was a valentine. I was thinking of Elmore, of course, but I'm glad to report that the letterpress and I are also thriving in our relationship.
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One of the great privileges of being an artist is being able to preserve a special or beautiful moment in time and share it with others. I was painting the other day when the moon rose above a line of fir trees. I did the above watercolor sketch quite quickly, before moving on my next planned, much more detailed work.
The scene stayed with me, as several moon rises through the years have done, and on Saturday, I sat down and did a small carved block from it. Yesterday, I ran the block on the letterpress for new note-cards.
The scene stayed with me, as several moon rises through the years have done, and on Saturday, I sat down and did a small carved block from it. Yesterday, I ran the block on the letterpress for new note-cards.
Most of the cards look like the one above, but instead of mixing the ink on a palette, I added the green and blue separately on the ink disc itself, so the first several (before it got mixed thoroughly by the rollers) have a more tie-dyed appearance (called a "rainbow roll" in printmaking). It's more subtle than the tree I did in yellow and blue (mostly because of the darker colors involved), but it's there.
The light and dark contrast of a single color block really changed the feel of the image away from the lightness and color of the original watercolor. I'm now working on a three color block that would let me get a little more of the original feel in a print. This scene hasn't quite let me go yet.
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So I got an email a few days ago from the Brooks Museum store asking if I have any Valentines. I personally feel like I only just got done with Christmas. In this first year of having the letterpress, I'm still unused to the retail deadlines and seasonal changes.
I got on the press yesterday to catch up and printed two different Valentines. The first uses a vintage cut that I've borrowed from a friend. I'm going to do some cards for Bridgman Pottery (Melissa stamps all her pots with a honeybee stamp), and I thought this would make a fun, if not highly original, Valentine.
The second is the very first block I carved for the letterpress when I got it last year right about Valentine's Day. Printing it again brought back the exotic, historic feeling I had when the press first came into my home. I love being familiar with its ways and adept in its use, but it was fun to be reminded again of that brand-new, fizzy feeling of doing something new and being the new caretaker of something this amazingly cool.
I got on the press yesterday to catch up and printed two different Valentines. The first uses a vintage cut that I've borrowed from a friend. I'm going to do some cards for Bridgman Pottery (Melissa stamps all her pots with a honeybee stamp), and I thought this would make a fun, if not highly original, Valentine.
The second is the very first block I carved for the letterpress when I got it last year right about Valentine's Day. Printing it again brought back the exotic, historic feeling I had when the press first came into my home. I love being familiar with its ways and adept in its use, but it was fun to be reminded again of that brand-new, fizzy feeling of doing something new and being the new caretaker of something this amazingly cool.
Last year I didn't have any type (nor any idea of how to set it), so I was writing my website by hand on the back of each card. This year I'm thrilled to have a nice collection of type I can use in all kinds of ways.
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Here's the start of a new block I've been carrying around in my head for a couple of weeks but been too busy to start on. I finally got to work on it yesterday and will do more today (though it's also beautiful outside, so I'll be doing some urban sketching as well).
This is the first multi-color block I've tried on the letterpress, and I'll be curious to see how the registration goes. When you're only printing once, there's a lot more wiggle room for dropping the paper in.
This is the first multi-color block I've tried on the letterpress, and I'll be curious to see how the registration goes. When you're only printing once, there's a lot more wiggle room for dropping the paper in.
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I've been busy with Christmas the last few days -- making cookies instead of making art. Tomorrow I'll get back to work. I've got a four-color letterpress block in my head and sketched out, ready to start on. It will be the first one I've tried, a grand experiment, but since my commissions are now down to a manageable level, I've got time to play around a little bit and try some new things.
In the meantime, I hope you and yours are having a marvelous holiday season!
In the meantime, I hope you and yours are having a marvelous holiday season!
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Elmore and I had our annual open house this past weekend, and this year it included a letterpress demonstration both days. I got a fair bit of printing done, including an "m" note card for a couple of people I know and a set of "G" note-cards that had been commissioned.
They're both vintage wood type and show their age a bit (with a crack in the G and a bit of uneven printing in the m), but it's my new favorite font, and I'm thrilled to have it. I don't have a lot of it. t's missing the B, and many of the consonants are only present in singles, but the vowels are a bit more plentiful, so there are some things I'll be able to spell out on posters or t-shirts.
The second day of the open house I ran my new block that I'd proofed but not yet had on the press. I tried mixing the ink on the press instead of on a palette ahead of time, and I enjoyed the "rainbow roll" effect that gave me. I think it's a fun alternative to a solid color, and the organic nature of it suits the subject matter.
This is a small block, for note-cards or bookplates. I need to get on the stick and find some gummed paper so I can start doing bookplates in earnest.
This is a small block, for note-cards or bookplates. I need to get on the stick and find some gummed paper so I can start doing bookplates in earnest.
