Rain Sweet Rain

So maybe you are thinking this is nice, Hope, hearing you list and describe the places you've been and whether or not it rained but don't you have work to do? Maybe you think that I here, at Gutwrench Press should be pressing something. Or at least drawing. I have been doing lots. Not as much as when I had a desk in the print dungeon at LSU but here in my little but bright shared apartment in Milan, I have been busy. I will take you on a tour.

First is my tiny desk/nightstand. I like postcards. It not just a crazy money-making scheme I've developed. I have a small but growing collection over my desk here.

I use the Gocco printer at the kitchen table. I have to wait until everyone is asleep or out of town. I take over our kitchen/living room. Yesterday I busted out 2 layers for May and June's cards, as I will be on the road starting mid-May. I am slowly getting the hang of Gocco printing, the last layer even looked good.

I want to use these stamps on everything. If you got a letter from me lately, or are about to, it will probably include these stamps of Don Luigi Sturzo, an anti-fascist Catholic priest with Socialist leanings. And a great peachy and brown color scheme. I buy them from the tobacco shop near school four at a time, much to to chagrin of the cashier. Somedays I also buy a piece of chocolate. And this is why I cannot complain about my life.

After printing all morning, I took a break for a tomato and cheese on arugula lunch. I ate the same thing today with 2 scrambled eggs. I did not eat it on top of the postcards. I just wanted to show off a little of the new cards without giving anything away. Thanks for visiting my temporary studio. In a few weeks, it will be packed up, shipped or stored to be reunited with the rest of my things in New Orleans. And then...oh you will just have to wait. Until then, many travels over here.

Test Run

How will I send you postcards from Italy? With this. I am slow to the gocco print trend but I was convinced to bring one in my suitcase to Milan. Tonight I tested my first drawing for Keep Writing number 38 and the screen looks good. So easy. Complete with toxic lightbulbs. I have been asking for donations to cover the extra postage (about 2 dollars a postcard) and I am excited about this plan. I am printing the gocco tomorrow, the letterpress soon. I don't know what customs will think of me. Or my roommates in Milan. But I think I am not going to want to travel without this again.



One thing I am leaving behind that isn't mentioned in next month's postcard is my garden plot at the Hill Farm Community Garden. Even when I only stop by once a week to pick hot peppers or lettuce, or check on this crazy cauliflower, it always made me feel so much better. It is a great quiet spot in the middle of crazy campus. Not to mention all the saurkraut. I have a second giant batch of sour veggies on the fridge right now so I can leave A. with plenty of fermented food while I am away. I guess I should go back to packing.