[ravenpress] Alicia Bailey.
Aurora, Colorado:, 2020.
Aurora, Colorado:: ravenpress,, 2020.. Edition of 9. 7.9 x 6.9 x 1.9". Materials: book board, shellac, oil paint, wax, book cloth with surface applied acrylic, brass rods, linen thread, paper, mica, cast acrylic, digital archival ink, letterpress ink, foam board, drawing inks. Signed and numbered by the artist. Alicia Bailey: "This project began with a batch of biology notebooks from my great-aunt Ruth's archive that were created in1920 as part of her undergraduate education. I inked over several of her pencil drawings detailing frogbiology, treated the pages so they would be receptive to oil paint, then painted a variety of frogs, one to apage. Scanned at high-resolution, these images were printed on hand-dyed Mohawk Superfine Text paperwith archival digital inks. The images were each mounted on a core of museum board wrapped with elephanthide paper with further details about the depicted frog hand-written in red ink. The pages are bound using awire edge structure, onto metal rods. The book and box covers have been treated with shellac, thenoverpainted with gesso, oil and wax. The covers each have a hand-painted frog behind a laser etched micalabels. The diamond shaped book is housed in a custom box with text laser etched into the tray corner pieces.The base of the box has a print out of a circle graph with a hand-written legend under a layer of cast acrylic..
Matthews, Sarah and Lauren Emeritz.
Columbia, Maryland:, 2022.
Columbia, Maryland:: Matthews/Emeritz,, 2022.. Variable Edition of 14. 5.75 x 9". Letterpress printing. Sewn binding. Pages created from the project prints. Each book in the edition has the same structure but the printing and inclusions are different. Handmade envelope on back interior containing information about the project. Band closure made of the prints. Signed and numbered by both artists. Artist statement: "'SPACE: Known / Unknown', is a collaborative project between Lauren Emeritz & Sarah Matthews. They explore the universe of book arts using 'space' as a metaphor and immerse themselves in the possibilities of letterpress and sculptural book techniques "'SPACE: Known / Unknown' incorporated hand-carved letters, Stars from Galileo's 'Sidereus Nuncius' (Starry Messenger), wood and metal type and printing blocks, to create a set of five prints. Three of the prints feature quotes … while the other two prints are abstract compositions of letters and stars. The prints are printed on French Paper Pop-tone Black using transparent white, silver, yellow, and orange inks. Emeritz & Matthews used a Vandercook Universal 1 and Vandercook 4T to print 200 copies of each print; 1,000 prints total. "'SPACE: Known/Unknown' then became a book art project. Emeritz & Matthews folded, glued, sewed, foil-stamped, die-cut, and bound the prints to create a multitude of book structures, including: Flag Books, 1-page Accordion books, Star books, Sewn books, Japanese Stab books, Roll books, and fishbone books." MCBA statement: "Emeritz & Matthews (E&M) use the form and function of letterpress printing and book arts as a vehicle to express their creativity. They tapped into their existing bookbinding knowledge and explored other unknown book structures. E&M researched Galileo Galilei's book called 'Sidereus Nuncius.' Galileo's charting and illustrating of the constellations inspired them. You can find the illustrations embedded within the letterpress prints that E&M designed and printed. "Lauren Emeritz's work explores making things by hand. She combines traditional and modern techniques to create bright, colorful pieces to bring joy to the universe. Lauren's favorite color is orange, and she incorporates it in everything she does. "Sarah Matthews's work documents the struggles of finding answers to long-standing questions about race, equality, and gender and breaking through barriers while shining a light on social injustice. She loves to layer multiple forms of printmaking and creates artist's books from those prints. Sarah's favorite color is yellow, and she was excited to incorporate it into this collaboration.
Marsh, Darren.
[Manchester, England]:, 2023.
[Manchester, England]:: Darren Marsh,, 2023.. Edition of 12. 30 pages; Dimensions 15cm x 15cm x 15cm, Unfolded 18cm x 18cm x 18cm. Polyhedron . Materials: Canon Chromalife 100+ Inkjet print on 120gsm paper; Archival PVA. Mapping images acredited to IAU and Sky & Telescope. Creative Commons By 3.0. Edited in Adobe Photoshop. Darren Marsh: "'We came from the Stars' is a star shaped polyhedron constructed from a star chart mapped across 30 individual pages. Each page has been duplex printed then folded into an origami boat which may be opened and read. Collectively all pages can be opened to form a second celestial object. "Stars are the birthplace of nearly every known element in the universe and essential to all life on earth. Most of the elements in our bodies were formed in stars over the course of billions of years. "The idea we came from the stars is also rooted in many human cultures and civilisations. At different places and at different times humans have divided and organised celestial objects to create their own unique constellation cultures. Stories once held in the sky, inspired by myth, legend and cultural belief. "Celestial wayfaring or steering by the stars is a method of determining one's position on earth based on observations of astronomical bodies in the night sky. Fifty-eight stars across thirty-eight constellations hold a special status in the field of celestial navigation; stars that once guided us safely across earth's oceans and seas, predicted events such as seasons and tides and connected us with the world around us. "Books and stars both tell their stories. We are all looking at the same sky - just with different filters.
Ketelhodt, Ines von.
Flörsheim / Main, Germany:, 2021.
Flörsheim / Main, Germany:: Ines von Ketelhodt,, 2021.. Edition of 35. Design, hand-set, letterpress and bookbinding by Ines von Ketelhodt. Embossed cloth-covered boards (28.6 x 19.9 cm) housed in a paper-covered clamshell box (29.8 x 20.7 x 1.8 cm), glassine paper (50 g/m2), Zerkall mouldmade paper (115 g/m2), 96 pages, 35 numbered and signed copies Ines von Ketelhodt: "Franz Kafka's story is about a strange thing - or creature - called "Odradek." "At first glance it looks like a flat star-shaped spool for thread, and indeed it does seem to have thread wound upon it; to be sure, they are only old, broken-off bits of thread, knotted and tangled together, of the most varied sorts and colors. But it is not only a spool, […] Odradek is extraordinarily nimble and can never be laid hold of. […] Am I to suppose, then, that he will always be rolling down the stairs, with ends of thread trailing after him, right before the feet of my children, and my children's children? He does no harm to anyone that one can see; but the idea that he is likely to survive me I find almost painful." Kafka's text is broken down into short phrases and spread out across all the pages of the book. There is only one line per page. Due to the transparency of the glassine book pages, the phrases on the following pages show through. The switch to individual lines seems to have interrupted the narrative thread, so that one "loses the thread" while reading. In order to stitch the narration back together and to create a complete textual fabric, the individual text segments are connected by a piece of red thread about 8 meters (26 feet) long. From one page to the next, the red silk thread pierces the glassine paper and ultimately continues through the entire book, connecting the line of text on each page with the following one. When the book is opened, the reader sees not only a space with lines of text in differing lengths, but also the red thread, which "moves with" the pages each time they are turned. Thus the reader/viewer is constantly changing the appearance of the double pages while turning the pages.
Moog, Hannah.
[Burke, Virginia]:, 2023.
[Burke, Virginia]:: Hannah Moog,, 2023.. Edition of 24. 6.5 x 7.5 x 1". Four Layer tunnel book with spinning volvelle. Letterpress printed with polymer plates at Penland School of Craft. Drawn, letterpress printed , cut and assembled by the artist. Signed and numbered by the artist. Book artist Hannah Moog creates in her work interactive elements that can be used to hide, reveal, and transform images to aid the narrative. In "First Light Flickers" transforms a short tunnel book into a volvelle at the end of the tunnel. Because there is no text the observer can then imagine their own story as the volvelle turns.
Meador, Clifton.
[Boone, North Carolina]:, 2023.
[Boone, North Carolina]:: Clifton Meador,, 2023.. Edition of 90. 15.5 cm by 25.5 cm; 64 pages. Offset lithography in silver and black ink on black and gray paper. Illustrated pastedowns and endpapers. Cloth spine with black and silver illustrated paper covered boards. Hand sewn and case bound. Clifton Meador: "One day, about two years ago, I was rereading an article about the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet, and I was reminded about Termas. A Terma, in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, is a hidden teaching that is discovered or revealed by a person who is then called a Tertön. Termas can be located in physical objects or in the minds of people, and they are often encoded in a nonhuman writing system, only legible to the Tertön, called Dakini script. Padmasambhava, who is supposed to have brought Buddhism to Tibet during the Eighth Century CE, had some teachings that he knew the people were not ready to hear yet. He hid these teachings in physical objects and in the minds of people in the future. These teachings have been discovered by various masters over the years, in a process of continuing revelation. "I thought about how I had been struggling to make photographs readable in a certain way, and it occurred to me that the photographs themselves might become the source of a writing system. I went through the photographs, found tonal highlight sections of the images that could be isolated, rotated and duplicated, and thus translated into glyphs. They form a text that is not immediately legible and that accumulates page by page through the work. Of course, for the right person this text will become readable. "To produce Empty Throne, I took a physical copy of the visual narrative book I had been struggling with for years, and I photographed each page spread as I held it in my hand while walking up the hill beside my studio. I designed the book so that most page spreads have the original image printed on one side, and an image of the book with the same image on the other side. The silver glyphs accumulate on each page spread, new glyphs being introduced on the pages with the images from which they are derived. The image on the last page spread in Empty Throne is of the field next to my studio, with the first glyph of the text floating in the sky. I printed the book in two and three colors of black on gray paper in order to totally suppress the highlights of the photographs. The glyphs are all generated from the hidden highlights in the images, and they are meant to be the light in this work. "In early Christian art, as well as in early Buddhist art, an empty throne was a way to portray someone who couldn't be represented: Christ and the Buddha were both represented as empty thrones in early representations, as a way of pointing at something amazing that could not or should not be directly portrayed. This book is full of people lost in the night, empty thrones, empty saddles, struggling frogs, and a text that can't be read.
[Shandy Press] Susan Viguers and Lily Yeh.
Philadelphia, PA:, [2023].
Philadelphia, PA:: Shandy Press ,, [2023].. Edition of 15. 5 x 6"; 28 pages. Hand sewn binding. Cloth spine with illustrated paper of eco prints over boards. Signed and numbered by the artist. Colophon: "Conceived, the text drafted, and most of the self-portrait images drawn during an In Cahoots residency, August of 2022. The portraits are blind contour drawings … The color fields were hand stenciled. The text and images were letterpress printed using polymer plates. The typeface is Adobe Garamond Pro. The paper is Schiller." Susan Viguers: "'The Thing Is, You Guys' explores the experience of aging - embarrassing, painful, sad, comical. The brief narratives are presented in the context of blind contour self-portraits and a dirge sung by the author/artist in her childhood, 'When you ever see a hearse go by'. … The dirge is a 'song' - as I remember it from my childhood - which we sang when we saw a hearse drive by." A delightful and insightful look at aging. Across the bottom of the pages dance the musical notations from the song "When you ever see a hearse go by remember that some day you're going to die." And, so the song continues across the bottom of the pages while the text above reveals the thoughts of one who is realizing that they are aging and the hearse may be coming sooner than later. Viguers starts her narrative with "The thing is, you guys, you grow old,/ But you don't think you're old. / THAT's the problem. " Through the vignettes little nuggets of realization come through such as "My memory is porous, and I no longer trust it" and "We witness dying from the outside.
[Set in Motion Press] Casey Gardner.
Berkeley, California:, 2020.
Berkeley, California:: Set in Motion Press,, 2020.. Edition of 39. 12.125 x 7.25"; 20 pages, with three fold outs. Map images printed on the pastedowns. Written, drawn, printed and bound by the artist. Signed and numbered by the artist on the colophon which is printed on the back cover. Letterpress printed on a Vandercook 4 cylinder press with photo-polymer plates , wood type, and carved linoleum. Watercolor painted. Hand-bound sewn folios with book board and book cloth. Typefaces are: Goudy Old Style, Kabel, Savoye and various Futuras. Printed on 175 gsm Somerset text, a mouldmade cotton produced in St. Cuthbert's Mill in the United Kingdom; and 300gsm Moulin du Gué, which is cotton and flax, produced in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. Transparent page is acid-free cotton Clearprint. Sewn with linen thread. The book cloth is Duo, which is rayon with acid-free paper backing. Set in Motion Press: "'Avalanche Safety' is a series of books following the story of Stella Wilder exploring how to navigate risk and uncertainty in unstable, overwhelming times. This book is the second in the 'Avalanche Safety Series'. It begins on a cliff. After surviving the avalanche that buried her friend, Stella wrestles with her past as she considers joining an expedition to the Himalaya. How does she trust herself to venture again into wild terrain? "Stella leaves her small town and travels into a world imperiled by fascism and looming war. She also finds great beauty and courage. In her encounters with people and places, she reflects on the power and weight of making choices and on the forces influencing desire. Throughout the book, images of dendritic forms, in leaves, rivers, maps, convey how paths branch into new paths with decisive turns.
[Hiebert, Helen] Helen Hiebert .
Red Cliff, Colorado:, 2021.
Red Cliff, Colorado:: Helen Hiebert Studio,, 2021.. Edition of 25. Box size: 9.25' x 6" x 1.25". Book size (closed): 8-3/8" x 5-3/8". From the colophon: "Helen Hiebert created all of the handmade paper in this book with a 90% cotton rag/10% abaca fiber blend. She composed the string drawings and stitched them with the assistance of Will Katauskas. The end sheets are machine stitched. Tom Leech printed the text at the Press at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe, New Mexico from polymer plates made by Boxcar Press. The typeface is Dante. Claudia Cohen bound and boxed the book. Helen Hiebert: "Tension is a pulling force in physics. The strings within these pages cannot be pushed to form a definitive shape: when a page is closed, the thread - without tension - goes slack, lying in chaos between the folds. As you turn the page, extending it to 180 degrees, the single thread pulls taut, and the invisible property of tension creates beauty and order. "Each of the string drawings is composed with of a single piece of linen thread - one continuous line, ranging from six to sixteen feet in length - with one exception: two threads were used to create two parabolas in drawing 7. "I constructed each drawing on a flat sheet of paper, punched a pierced pattern, and then stitched in and out of the holes across the scored centerfold - the axis of the page. Two surprisingly different drawings were created in tandem as the needle and thread moved from the front to the back of each page, and there is a sequence to the stitching that is not readily visible. "My father was a physicist who studied how the universe began, and my mother has degrees in psychotherapy and divinity. My thoughts linger between them as I find myself comparing the tangible puzzles I explore in my work to the invisible physical properties my father researched and the emotional tensions my mother explored.
[Old Fan Press] Frank Hamrick.
Ruston, Louisiana:, 2023.
Ruston, Louisiana:: Old Fan Press,, 2023.. Edition of 50. 8.75 x 8.75"; 16 unnumbered pages. 14 Tintype photographs altered. Cover art, Craw Modern typeface, and Old Fan Press logo relief printed using oil-based ink on handmade cotton rag paper. Bound with 18/3 Irish linen thread. Softcover with sewn binding. Inkjet printed on double-sided matte Red River Paper using Epson UltraChrome HDX archival pigment ink. Press numbered. Signed by the artist. Frank Hamrick, Colophon: "The solar eclipse darkened the afternoon sky. Frogs and crickets by the pond started to croak and chirp, then fell silent again when the sun reappeared. My neighbor suggested I fly a toy drone before using the professional drone at work. The manual's translated directions stated the light on the toy drone would flash when first turned on while the propellers accelerate towards operational speed and then be ready to fly when the light becomes eternal. Chance, the simple gardener in 'Being There', became Chauncey Gardiner to others who misinterpreted his conversations about gardens as metaphors for cycles in global economics and relationships between individuals. Some things in life briefly take flight while others achieve orbit. "Moving subjects, shifting light, failing equipment, recycled materials, as well as contaminated, homemade, and exhausted chemistry helped create these original wet plate collodion tintype photographs between 2013 and 2021 in Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and Tennessee.
[Baugnet, Julie] Carter Clapsadle.
St. Paul, Minnesota:, 2023.
St. Paul, Minnesota:: Bluestem Cottage Press,, 2023.. Edition of 9. 5.5" x 11" closed, extends to 33"; six panels. Accordion structure. Printed on Rives BFK buff, and grey. Images include a variety of alternative print techniques such as ink drawdowns, stencils, pochoir, and Tetra Pak printing to simulate intaglio. Letterpress printed on the Vandercook Universal 1 using polymer plates. Housed in a Japanese linen paper envelope. Signed and numbered by the artist. Julie Baugnet: "Concept: Often when we think about dreams we think about the dreams of sleep or the daydreams of our aspirations. We think of dreams in more or less a positive light. But what about the dark dreams? The dreams or visions about revenge, doing something wrong, or even killing? We've all said or heard the phrase, 'I could just kill you!' Such is the case with this poem. Barking dogs interrupt a writer's train of thought and in turn those thoughts plot out methods of disposing the dogs. Tinged with dark humor and irony, the author doesn't enact upon his vision but is caught in a cyclic event.
[Big Jump Press] Ben Mitchell.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama:, 2023.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama:: Big Jump Press,, 2023.. Edition of 66 (26 lettered, 40 numbered). 5.5 x 9"; 20 pages. Colophon: "Text for this project was gathered, edited, and recombined by Sarah Bryant from a series of recorded interviews conducted in 2022. Imagery in this book comes from photographs of Burmese letterforms taken by Ben Mitchell as part of his design process. Examples of the Burmese letter Na were traced and carved in linoleum by Sarah Bryant. Papers for this book include Zerkall Book, Clearprint Design Vellum, and Colorplan. The text has been digitally set in Arno, a typeface designed by Robert Slimbach, and Sanomat Burmese, designed by Ben Mitchell, and printed letterpress from polymer plates." Handsewn pamphlet style binding. Stiff paper wrapper with printed illustration on front cover. Laid in letter fold wrapper. Produced in an edition of 44, of which 26 lettered copies bound individually and 40 bound alongside other collaborative components of the 'Acts of Translation" project. Signed by Mitchell and Bryant. Numbered. This is the third in a series of collaborative books from Big Jump Press devoted to translation and communication. This collaboration begins with the question "What is the essential form of a letter?" The text then becomes Mitchell's philosophy of looking for the archetype of the written letter of a language. His views are accompanied by letterform discoveries that help translate a writing system that will be "a link between language communities and the computer, between the hand and the keyboard, between the archetype and the printed word." The letterforms illustrated are accompanied with bibliographic information as to where that form was discovered. For example under "Attestations of Burmese Letter NA": "Stone-carved inscription at eastern entrance to Dhammayazika Zedi, Pwasaw, 19996 CE" and "Lettering painted on a shop sign, Ein Daw Yar Pagoda, Mandalay, photographed in November 2015." Acts of Translation: Ben Mitchell, cover flap: "Ben Mitchell is a UK-based type designer and founding director of The Fontpad Ltd. He has been visiting Southeast Asia since the 1990s, and lived in Thailand from 2003 to 2006. With a long-held interest in visual communication and especially different writing systems, he has become one of the foremost researchers of Southeast Asian scripts. He has designed and consulted on fonts for Burmese, Buginese, Chak, Cham, Hmer, Kwekor (Myainggyingu), Lao, New Tai Lue, Tai Phake, Thai, Tham and Vietnamese, and regularly makes research trips to Southeast Asia to study typography, lettering an handwriting, which help inform his professional practice. "Mitchell studied his master's in typeface design at the University of Reading … His research and dissertation traced the evolution of the Burmese alphabet from its Brahmi roots in inscriptions, palm-leaf manuscripts and traditional folding books, through its initial casting in metal type in 1776, to its modern-day form. "Alongside his design work, Mitchell researches and documents the graphical and technical aspects of lesser-known writing systems of Southeast Asia, particularly those used by minority groups. To help preserve these written languages, he compiles his findings in Unicode proposals that ensure those scripts can become digitally enabled." "Proceeds from the sale of the lettered edition of this book will be donated to Health&HopeUK, a charity working with vulnerable rural communities in Myanmar (Burma), particularly in and around Chin State.
Simmons, Rachel .
Orlando, Florida:, 2023.
Orlando, Florida:: Rachel Simmons ,, 2023.. Edition of 10. Doubled-sided accordion in a hard cover magnetic enclosure with letterpress and screen prints on French and Thai kozo papers, book cloth, and decorative Japanese paper. Closed dimensions are 13.5” tall x 6.75” wide x .78” deep. Open dimensions are 13.5” tall x 16” wide x .5” deep, and for standing display, the dimensions are 13.5” tall x 50” wide x 4” deep. Written, designed and printed by Rachel Simmons, Numbered. Rachel Simmons: "Through cinematic visual language, Dream of the Golden Empress tells the story of an arrogant emperor bent on environmental destruction. The characters in this allegory— the Emperor, the Golden Empress and the People— are archetypes referencing actors from the current political landscape in the United States. Like shadow puppets, each character embodies easily recognizable traits like greed, selfishness, compassion, anger and love. The lush color palette of violet, black, gold, emerald green and bright orange alludes to elitist behaviors of excess and unchecked power. Across the book, a linear narrative in fuchsia floats over repeated storm clouds, disrupted by a sequence of five-line protest poems, each multi-layered through pressure printing on wood type. The textural quality of these prints evokes a sense of vibration or disruption, hampering one’s ability to read the message as it glitches. These two distinct but interwoven threads, the narrative and the poetry, capture two ideas: the historical retelling of a political disaster, and the interruptions caused by cacophonous voices of dissent, warning and protest. The moral of the allegory is revealed in the colophon where readers are asked to take responsibility for their political choices, because despite what fairytales tell us, there are no heroic figures who can save us from ourselves. On the reverse side of the accordion, the Golden Empress is illustrated through Lego relief prints in a style inspired by Balinese shadow puppets. She moves through a series of poses—perhaps dancing or fighting—as befitting her dream to inspire the People to move, respond and take action.
[Goodale, Rebecca] Carrie Scanga and Rebecca Goodale.
Portland, Maine:, 2023.
Portland, Maine:: Rebecca Goodale,, 2023.. Edition of 5 (3 copies available). 10 x 14.25"; 33 pages which include two horizontal page fold outs and two vertical fold ups. Accordion structure. Illustrated endpapers and pastedowns. Cloth covered boards with illustration inset on front board. Signed and numbered by the artists on the colophon. Colophon: "This book was made in Maine, designed, printed, and bound by Carrie Scanga and Rebecca Goodale. … The pages are intaglio and relief printed with chine colle and some hand coloring and were made by the artists in Carrie's Portland studio, Rebecca's Freeport Studio, and at Circling the Square Fine Art Press in Gardiner. Scott Vile, at Ascensius Press in Bar Mills, designed and letterpress printed the text. Scott Mullenberg, at Mullenberg Designs in Portland, fabricated the drop spine boxes. Artist Statement: "In 2022 Carrie Scanga and Rebecca Goodale visited Pettengill Farm, a study site stewarded by the Freeport Historical Society. "The site features an empty farmhouse and acres of fields and woods located on the Harraseeket River estuary. The first floor of the house has remnants of wallpaper and linoleum, a few pieces of furniture, and a rock and shell collection. On the second floor there are images, previously hidden by wallpaper, of boats and sea creatures scratched (sgraffitto) into the plaster walls. These drawings were made in the early nineteenth century by an unknown resident who lived there years before the Pettingills did. "Millie Pettengill, the last resident in the house, lived in the farmhouse for most of her life surrounded by pets, livestock, fruit trees and gardens filled with flowers. She moved away in 1965 at the age of 82. "The visit inspired this work, a third collaboration, between Carrie Scanga and Rebecca Goodale." A beautiful collaboration by two Maine artists. The images are compelling and lovely. Leaving the reader wondering and interested in the house, its occupants and their shared history.
[sailorBOYpress] Jeffrey W. Morin.
Stevens Point, Wisconsin:, 2023.
Stevens Point, Wisconsin:: sailorBOYpress,, 2023.. Edition of 50. 8.5 x 11"; 25 pages (unnumbered). Letterpress printed on handmade paper. Bound in paper covered boards with exposed sewn binding. Colophon: "The text type for this book is Poliphilus, initially cut by Francesco Griffo, circa 1499, for Aldus Manutius and redesigned by Stanley Morrison for the Monotype Corporation in 1923. The body of this book was set at the press and letterfoundry of Michael Bixler in 2021." Press numbered. Jeffrey Morin: " I am writing this in the summer of 2021, a time of pandemic, cries for social justice, and what can only be described as batshit crazy politicians trying to deny the election of a US president. I grew up in Madawaska, Maine, 205 miles north of Bangor. Madawaska is another town on a river with a bridge. I was born 99 days before Charlie Howard, who shares my husband's birth date and year. "On July 7th, 1984, I was working 488 miles away, in the Catskills of New York. I have long wanted to bring to the foreground the story of Charlie's last day but struggled with the connection to today, the contemporary relevance. There is strong connective tissue between Bangor and Palmyra or Ahvaz. There is a shared fate for Charlie Howard, Hawas Mallah, Mohammed Salameh, Ali Fazeli Monfared, and so many others. There, but for the grace of God, go I, over a bridge guiderail, off a hotel rooftop, thrown head first from the highest point, beheaded by family members." Morin lays out in "Singing for our Lives" three instances in which young men were murdered because they were not, in what some in society, considered sexually normal. In Palmyra, Syria, two men were thrown off a roof by IS militants for what they said was "the punishment for practicing the crime of Lot's people." In 1984 in Garland, Maine, three male teenagers chase Charlie Howard, beat him, throw him off a bridge knowing he cannot swim. On May 5, 2021, in Ahvaz, Iran, an attractive 20-year-old man was beheaded when his family learned of his sexual orientation. Colophon: "This paper was made by Brian Borchardt, Lisa Beth Robinson, Caren Heft, and me in a glorious, though unbeknownst to us, pre-pandemic summer. Some was made by the same crew and others as we started shedding this pandemic. Most was made with the intension of being the substrate for 'The Flying Men of Syria.' Now it transforms into a paper boar journeying down the Kenduskeag Stream, heading into Bangor. … This book … is for the gentle, angry people singing, singing for their lives.
[Springtide Press] Jessica Spring and Kerri Cushman.
Tacoma, WA:, 2022.
Tacoma, WA:: Springtide Press,, 2022.. Edition of 10. 21 x 6.25"; 8 pages including front and back. Handmade paper. Materials: pigments, wood type. Printed using a Vandercook 325 G. Four fold enclosure. Signed and numbered by the artists. Springtide Press: "Papermaker Kerri Cushman & printer Jessica Spring met in grad school in 2001. They met papermaker and printer Ray Tomasso 15 years later. Their paths continued to crisscross through ink and paper, both artists inspired by Ray's infectious energy. Though he passed away in 2020, Ray's spirit dwells at InterOcean Studio thanks to founder Diane Tomasso (Ray's wife) as well as Rhiannon Alpers (our friend & grad school colleague). The garden's walls include a huge collection of vintage signage that - along with life's fortuitous intersections - inspired this project. We begin our book with "Sei qui!" ("You are here!" in Italian.) As the reader follows through handmade paper pages filled with brightly colored pulp imaging and letterpress prints, the centerfold offers a reminder: "Fate, serendipity, kismet: a moment easily ignored as mere coincidence or embraced as a signal to move. Stay alert for waking dreams. " WAYFINDING was produced during a residency at InterOcean Studios in Englewood, Colorado with generous assistance from Rhiannon & Diane. Our handmade paper was enhanced with Ray's collections: pure pigments, rare wood type and his Vandercook 325G. The wrapper was made at Longwood University and completed at Springtide Press in 2023. Ray made the sheet this colophon is printed upon, found tucked away, for our paths to cross again.
[Melville Press] Dylan Thomas.
Pacific Palisades, California:, 2003.
Pacific Palisades, California:: The Melville Press,, 2003.. Edition of 150. 8.5 x 12.25"; 34 pages. Letterpress printed and bound by Lawrence Van Velzer and Peggy Gotthold at Foolscap Press. Centaur typeface printed on Pescia 100% cotton mould-made paper. Art printed letterpress from Catherine Kanner's original linoleum blocks. Bound with a self-closing, two-fold cover of black Japanese silk with shell clasp. Title of book stamped in silver foil on spine. Signed and numbered by Kanner. The Melville Press: "Originally published in the 'A Prospect of the Sea' in 1939, 'In the Direction of the Beginning' is a powerful prose poem of love and the sea. Dylan Thomas' imagery is pointedly black and white, so follows the book's design. "Catherine Kanner has designed the edition on a generous scale … The shell pin was designed by the artist, and manufactured in Asia. For this edition, Ms. Kanner has created nine new images printed letterpress by Lawrence Van Velzer of Foolscap Press from her original linoleum blocks. The text, which holds to a central point on each page suggest the ocean's horizon. Typeface is Centaur; a refined font with enough substance to hold up the bold black and white prints. The paper is Pescia 100% cotton mould-made, dampened before printing to aid in accepting the large inked areas of the images. The book was bound by Peggy Gottheld of Foolscap Press, and was hand sewn to allow the prints to cross the central gutter of the book without interruption.
Wolff, Stephanie.
Vermont:, 2023.
Vermont:: Stephanie Wolff,, 2023.. Editions of 14 + 2 Ap. 4.25 x 6.25 x .375" closed. Letterpress printed in Bell from polymer plates at May Day Studio. Monotypes printed at Two Rivers Printmaking Studio. A volvelle of the ten skies included in the back pocket. Hardcover pamphlet-bound book. Housed in a softcover slipcase. Production supported by a 2022 Book Artist-in-Residence award from Maine Media Workshops + College. Numbered. Stephanie Wolff: "The sky has long been a source of wonder and inspiration. 'The Pocket Sky Atlas' holds ten original monotypes depicting skies of different weather and conditions presented alongside ten texts from a variety of sources, including Luke Howard, Thomas Cole, H.D. Thoreau, Maria Mitchell, and Willa Cather. The stepped foredge exposes all the pages, allowing glimpses of the variation of skies."
[Melville Press] Robert Louis Stevenson.
Pacific Palisades, California:: Melville Press.. Edition of 200. 5.5 x 9.25"; 42 unnumbered pages. Bound in brick red silk, blind stamped with a double orchid. In dust jacket with orchid illustration. Thai red endpapers with mango leaves. Letter press printed by Bonnie Thompson Norman of The Windowpane Press. Bembo type face printed on handmade Hiromi Sansui rice paper. Handbound by Allwyn O'Mara with French folded signatures, binding within each fold an interleaving paper to promote opacity. Signed and numbered by Kanner. Prayers Written at Vailima" was first published in England in 1904 with an introduction by Mrs. R. L. Stevenson. The Melville Press: "The design of this edition from The Melville Press reflects the beauty and simplicity of R. L. Stevenson's prayers. Catherine Kanner began her design with linoleum cut illustrations of Mrs. R.L. Stevenson's introduction. These images carry the reader to the island of Vailima and up to the Stevenson home where the prayers were read by the family and their Samoan friends. Each of the prayers is accompanied by a picture which reflects Stevenson's deep appreciation of his island home." University of Utah Marriott Library Blog, Dec 03, 2018: "In 1889, Robert Louis Stevenson moved his family to Vailima in the South Sea island of Samoa. The Scottish novelist and poet was in failing health. His doctors hoped that a change in climate would help. Stevenson believed in the power of prayer and composed many of his own. He held evening prayer services in his home, attended by his family members and his Samoan servants. The Samoans had a strong tradition of closing each day with prayer and hymns. "Stevenson lived for another four years, dying on December 3rd. In 1910, Fanny Stevenson had her husband's prayers published as an ornate gift book, to which she added her own introduction. There is a morning prayer and two evening prayers, a prayer for time and a prayer for rain, a prayer for separation, a prayer for friends and a prayer for family, a prayer for Sunday, a prayer for self-blame and a prayer for self-forgetfulness, and a prayer for joy "In this edition, both book and jacket have a delicate, handmade quality that reflects the subject matter of native prayers in a far corner of the world. Designed by Catherine Kanner, with her linoleum cuts used directly to print the many illustrations. … The binding design is a collaboration between the book's designer and Allwyn O'Mara, the binder.
Dhatt, Insiya.
San Francisco, California:, 2023.
San Francisco, California:: Insiya Dhatt,, 2023.. Edition of 20. 14.5 x 10"; 16 pages. Case-bound presentation album, consisting of 10 pages of Arches BFK Rives 270gsm paper. Photographs composed and taken by the artist in her studio in San Francisco. Typeface is Garamond Premier Pro. Photographs are printed on Canon Premium Glossy paper with an Epson Inkjet Printer. Concieved and created in 2023 by Insiya Dhatt. Signed and numbered by the artist. Insiya Dhatt: "The book 'These are just objects', explores the concept that objects can evoke diverse interpretations depending on the context in which they are viewed. The six pages serve as windows into different aspects of the world, inviting viewers to contemplate the varying perspectives that arise when encountering these objects. Each image encapsulates a distinct narrative, shedding light on the complexities and disparities present in our society. "The first page, 'Like a compass seeking direction or the qibla,' highlights the subjective nature of right and wrong, illustrating that these concepts are not fixed absolutes, but rather subjective viewpoints influenced by the diverse cultures we encounter. "On the second page, 'A girl rarely gets to choose between Deen or Duniya,' delves into the burden imposed upon girls to walk the path of godliness without a choice. This societal expectation fosters inequality, as religious teachings often took precedence over other aspects for girls, hindering personal growth and autonomy. "The third page, 'Virasaat, inheritance laws dictate,' exposes the unjust treatment of daughters in inheritance practices. These archaic beliefs diminish a daughter's rightful share compared to her brother's, perpetuating the notion that she is somehow less valued within the family structure. "The fourth page, 'Mehr, serving as a wife's financial safety net,' explores the dynamics of a marriage dowry system. The symbolic wealth bestowed upon a wife is often locked away, requiring the husband's consent for access, further perpetuating unequal power dynamics within marriage. "On the fifth page, 'Nose piercing - naak vindavanu without her consent,' captures the nuanced issue of consent and the subtle messages present in societies that still practice circumcision as a rite of passage for young girls. Such practices can inadvertently contribute to the normalization of similar violations in adulthood. "Finally, on the sixth page, 'When a woman's desires stray from the conventional norms,' challenges society's tendency to label women as 'churail,' associating them with instability and perceived malevolence when they defy societal expectations. This image urges us to question and transcend the limitations imposed by rigid norms, celebrating the courage of those who dare to pursue their own desires.
[Coracle] Simon Cutts & Erica Van Horn .
Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland:, 2021.
Clonmel, Tipperary, Ireland:: Coracle,, 2021.. Unstated. 1 folded sheet producing 4 pages (5.25 x 6.5"). Black knotted string. Housed in sleeve envelope with title printed on one side, publisher and year on the other side. There is not an artist statement with this very simple one opening book. There is a printed image on the front cover that reminds me of a headboard on a frame. When opened there are strings that attach the front cover to the back cover. On the back Erica Van Horn, Journal, 29 January Saturday [2021]: "The act of making a bed look fresh and tidy, with clean sheets, or simply with some pulling and tucking and smoothing, is To Dress The Bed. When someone has been sleeping in a bed and it has not yet been dressed, the expression to describe the disheveled bed is that It Has Been Tossed.
