Works ______ With Others part I

  I'm not going to bore you with stories of busy-ness and certainly there are no excuses. But here is a showcase of some of the things I have printed in the past 2 months.  There has been a lot of collaborating going on, some more successful than others.

hand set type, silver on black paper, printed at SFCB


Thou is touring a bunch these moths.  Which means Andy is out of town and I will probably eat more burritos.  I might even catch up on posting Keep Writing photos to the Tumblr website. Maybe.  The best part is that Thou is coming here with Cloud Rat. Which means I get to see them all play and I got to make this poster for some of the shows here. You have to go the website to see the whole list.  And you can get a peek in Bryan's brain as there are days marked for writing and practicing and a to do list that looks little too familiar.  Anyway, these posters were printed at the San Francisco Center for the Book, using their beautiful collection of handset type and photo plates.  I printed while Andy learned about locking in the type, furniture, distributing type and got snacks for us.   I will have these for sale at the shows for $5 and on etsy if there are any left after that.

5.75 x 8 letterpress on somerset paper, image by cecilia hedin

I was lucky to work with designer Cecilia Hedin again to print another hybrid animal postcard.  She sends me a drawing done in film--coated black plastic that she essentially scratches at. I turn it into a plate and print it with the type she chooses. The Goldfant is her 3rd such creation. Her line work is amazing and the fluorescent makes it so fun!

keep writing numbers 59 and 61!

Jeremy Sedita of Sea Monster Workshop was kind enough to let me use two of his drawing for two months of postcards while I was working too much at non-print endeavors.  The first one came out quite nice but the second one had some issues with poor resolution and added text.  It was a fine enough postcard but not exactly Jeremy's work. He's a sweetie and a great artist so don't let the poor linework fool you. The sloppy/loose/handmade look is all me.

There's more but I will save it for another day soon. Rain finally came to California, which means the plants are all reaching for the endless sun and I light have to go take a little ride around the block to check it out! More soon!

In the Mail! At Your House!

Keep Writing number 49

I probably should not admit publicly that at home, I am a terrible production printer.  I have worked, and currently do work, in shops where we get PDF printouts of a digitally designed image, all to scale and in full color.  I match ink colors to pantone books, weigh inks out for mixing, proof the polymer plates, measure and repeat.  For my own work, since I abandoned handset type a few postcards ago (I'll come back!), I have been using polymer plates.  But instead of all the careful planning I could do, I make plates of images I like, text I might use, sketch it out, try it, rearrange.  I would drive digital designers crazy!  This is why I do not have a stationery card line out.  I would have to repeat the same mixed up, hand set polymer plate design.

That said, here is Keep Writing number 49.  Three cards folded and perforated--though not too deeply as I was worried about how they might hold up in the mail.  I scanned the images from books of old printing cuts, carved the words "hello" out of linoleum based on my own handwriting and here it is.

single postcard does not mean lonely postcard

Also, in case you did not know, you can get single postcards based on the subscription series in my etsy store.  I print a limited number of extra cards each month with a more basic backside.  Also,  I have bundled packs of  older postcards for you, five for five dollars, also available on etsy.  The packs are assorted based on availability but all of them are interactive, that is, there is a card for you to tear off and fill out and return to me.  My address has changed since I printed these so I include an envelope with my most recent address.  Or you can send them to the old address and this guy will get them.  Your choice. 

Customized

I'm not one for keeping a steady pace.  I like a lot of coffee, then no coffee.  Stay up late working, then a few days off.  Last week I got my fill of resting during a little sickness that put me to sleep for 2 days.  Sleep and TV.  No printing, no writing or reading.  I didn't even make my own cup of tea.  Now I am not 100 percent but at least I can stay awake long enough to go to work and cook my own dinner.

A few weeks ago I printed these fun stationery cards for a postcard subscriber.  She let me have free reign with the design and they were fun to print.  I posted partial pictures of the cards, but here they are in full, with the address obscured for privacy.

New postcards are in the mail. I ordered these nerdy poet stamps a few weeks ago and finally the chance to use them.  I have been printing at home on Ben's Vandercook, for the postcards which has been working out wonderfully.  Lucky lucky me.

Sundays are usually for printing but this weekend I made this tiny book instead.  Oh sweet procrastination!  I haven't decided yet if I will sell it on etsy or keep it for notes.  It is the first book I have made with some of the paper I brought back from Italy.  Six months of saving scraps and tickets and take-out bags are collected in a shoebox.  Honestly I thought there was more.  I need a new journal so I suspect you will be seeing it soon.

Cut and Paste Forever

 

 

Happy Groundhog's Day

I've been working a lot, printing other people's computer-generated designs.  And I've been printing my own computer-assisted designs.  Which is fine.  I like printing.  Maybe a little less at 10 pm on a Saturday night when there is a warm bed and a book waiting for me but it still beats out everything else I could do for "work". 

channeling the spirit of Astropress

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, there have been many work-induced headaches lately.  At my roommate's suggestion, I thought about playing hookey today but the things I wanted to do are, well, things I want to do.   I thought I'd give it a go before I head out into the sunshine (there is still time for that).  I busted out the paper and exacto and pencil, demoted the computer to streaming Italian music only and worked on the postcard  idea I've been carrying around for a week.  You'll have to wait until next month to see it.  And the sketch rarely looks like the final project but here's a start.

keep writing number 49

Even in printing using polymer plates, I can't help cut and rearrrange.  Handset polymer plates, we've been calling it.  It's kind of a pain but I like results.  I hope Viva Snail Mail does too.  She writes a great blog about mail with lots of great photos.  She was also the first person to respond to my offer of custom postcard printing for only the cost of materials.  Here are some peeks at my printing the cards I designed for you.  I will post a photo of the finished project once she receives her cards!

our shop's current soundsystem.  note that it plugs in.

also did a little press maintenance

Coffee Will Only Get You So Far...

adding a hand-drawn line to a negative for a plate

From zero to three cups of coffee a day in a week,that is how it is going here.  Tonight, all the coffee in my cup can't convince me to design what I meant to.  I've been working extra hours at my job, printing a wedding invitation with the usual complications.  And I've been printing my own stuff at work  and volunteering at the San Fransisco Center for the Book.   At night I've been trying to do all the things I usually do on my days off--cooking fun things, addressing postcards, grocery shopping, hanging with friends.  And so, here I am, finally too tired to catch up with one more day before I get a day off.  The good news is that your postcard will go in the mail tomorrow.  But nothing else will be done tonight.  Here are some photos of working on my own work at Painted Tongue Studios, where, during the week, I am a printer on their Heidelberg Windmill.  Good night!

metal-backed polymer plates for this month's postcards

sneak peek at my first custom postcard

postcards on the press!

The Holiday Season

I've been folding holiday cards since October. Not my holiday cards, someone else's, who is much more prepared for the holiday sales than I am. Last weekend I finally posted a bunch of new items on etsy, including individual postcards from the keep writing series. They do not include the interactive, tear-away-and-send-back but function in the traditional post card way. Image on one side, room for you to write on the other.

Part of this preparation is for the first studio sale since last winter. My table is covered with things that need to be primped, priced and put into a bag, probably a waterproof bag since it is supposed to rain all weekend. If you live near North Berkely and want to stop by, check out this.

Ah winter. Even in California the CSA might need a break. We have pumpkin for the whole winter and enough frozen tomato sauce to actually damage our freezer ( I moved the piles away from the fan inside and everything sounds better). Still I will miss the twice a week box of delicious surprises.

It is not work all the time over here. Last weekend I rode to North Berkely to meet Andy after work and climb onto a rock to watch the sun set over the whole bay. Sigh.

Postcard Collection

I've been home sick for three days and have been too tired to do much. I am tempted, with all this time, to bind books, organize shelves, bake cookies, got o the store. Then I fall asleep instead. Today I sat on the floor and sorted through postcards, mostly stuff I brought back from Europe, though also from friends and things I've had for a while. I but a bunch of things together but now I am too tired to hang it on the wall. But here is a glimpse of images that inspire me.

Postcard Exceptions

Since I finished school in Milan, postcards have not been too consistent. I hear that number 42, sent from Spain the first week of June, arrived just a few weeks ago. I took a month off as Andy and I traversed Europe. Back in New Orleans, I printed Keep Writing number 43 at Fitzgerald Letterpress in New Orleans. I bought 130 postcards while in Europe, mostly in Italy, and printed on the backs. I thought it would give me time to catch up to moving.

In August I handset this, which you might remember seeing locked up. I never had a chance to proof it as a hurricane hit and we left the city a few days later, still without electricity. Again, John helped out by printing the text I had left onto the chipboard Kathryn had donated to the cause. He kindly sent multiple messages to me, which I did not receive because of phone and internet issues in Oakland and eventually had to guess the placement of my text according to my awful notes. The finished postcards are in the mail. Now back to work on setting next month's, using the facilities at the San Francisco Center for the book.

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.

Still Cold Here

Apparently, I am not the only one not used to snow. The news here is full of talk about people having trouble with the cold, dying, getting snowed it. It is sort of crazy to see photos of Rome with snowplows because it was so hot when I was there in 2010.



Along with the USPS, this month I have to thank Andy G. and the man at the American Airlines info desk at JFK for helping to get this month's postcard out on time. Andy took the first 50 postcards and presumably mailed them after I left town. I took the other 50, addressed them on my flight to New York and finished them before going through security at JFK. The American Airlines employee said I could leave mail with him and the mail carrier would pick them up. I don't think he expected 50 postcards.



Yesterday, after getting my metro pass (too old for a student pass! but I am a student!), I ventured out to Lambrate Station to see this large peice by Blu. Bike crushes cars! It was a little worn away but still awesome. Yeah! for art in Italy.

I'm Back!

What a few weeks it has been! My computer broke down around Thanksgiving, my show went up a week later and my visa application went in the mail the following week. But here we are, back on track with these chocolate-cherry jam cookies I baked last week. Andy and I are preparing to bake for Christmas. Maybe I will even start eating at home.



The show went well, better than I could have hoped. Kathryn and Dave at the Ephemeral Gallery were amazing. My mom came and sat at the desk and told folks to write postcards. It was stunning. I dreamt about setting up a show for the following three nights. I don't want to hang anything from a ceiling for a while.
Some photos are posted on the gutwrench facebook page.



And I finally had a chance to bind a pile of datebooks. If you are looking for last minute Christmas gifts, I have five of these, handbound letterpressed dayplanners. You can see them on my etsy page.

Seridipity

At the New Orleans Bookfair, some friends gave me this fortune which they have been holding onto for a few months. (ps my name is Hope not Gutwrench which is why this is funny). It is also funny because I have not been drinking so much coffee and I wake up early without an alarm, when I am not sick.



Down to business. Here is Keep Writing no. 35, BFA show card announcement and self-portrait postcard. If you want an invitation to my show and did not get on in the mail, contact me. The show will be December 3rd at the Ephemeral Gallery in Baton Rouge, located at Main St and North 18t, from 7-10 pm. There will be drinks food made from recipes from senders, prints, handmade paper balloons and, of course, postcards.



Also at the New Orleans Bookfair, my friend Case came by to hand deliver a few completed postcards only to realize they had fallen out of his backpocket somewhere in the Bywater. Amazingly, Sarah P. found one of them (without knowing their fate) dropped it in the mail and here it is. Case! I have your self-portrait! Thanks Sarah. Now it is Saturday night and I should be in the studio but I might stay home and study.

Where Is My Mind?

A perfect example of my week: I somehow managed to publish this post with just the title before I wrote anything else. Not enough sleep and constant revisions of a mental to-do list leaves me wondering how the rest of the semester will go if I can't pull it together. I finally have a photo of the ten-days late Keep Writing number 33.



I have continued the weekly vegan cookie extravaganza but neglected to photograph the delicious chocolate with surprise-peanut-butter-center treats. I also built this, the first of at least seven large hot air balloons. Well, this is the frame. Before I covered it with paper. Wet paper. And when it dried, I realized I may have a lot more work to do. But this is all I have to show you for now. Since my brain isn't working, I'm going to dancing.

Best Weekend

I am aware that sending mail is not a contest and this one would be a fixed game but this is the best mail I received yesterday. In exchange for his postcard subscription, Lasse sends me a box of vegan cookies and treats every December. When I visited him in Berlin last summer, he brought me to his favorite liquorice shop because I too love liquorice. Now he sends a variety of gelatin-free liquorice every few months. The thing about Scandinavian liquorice, is that they like it sweet but also salty. I drew myself a little diagram of my favorite pieces so I would not be fooled by the salt-centers. I sent the picture to Lasse as a thank you. He brought it to the liquorice shop and voila (or, however you might say that in german) a package of my favorite treats. The only draw back is now that I know I love each kind, I eat them so much faster. Really, those pillowy cube ones are delicious.



A great start to the weekend. Followed by this Saturday morning breakfast of cheesy fried grits with basil (you may as well call it polenta at this point) and coffee. I sometimes work at a diner that is very busy on the weekends. I never eat there on weekends. I often work on Saturdays. But this morning was all mine. I continued working on the NY Times crossword like I had nothing else to do.



But I did...these postcards are the slowest progressing. One spooky layer of lovely ladies. Let;s hope for the best for tomorrow. I'm calling it an early night.

Swimming Leo Lion

Andy G. might not like the beach as much as I do but he is willing to drive to Florida AGAIN because 1) its almost my birthday, 2)we have friends in Gainesville and 3) he knows that any road trip with me is planned around where we can eat. We will leave our lovely blooming zinnia and follow the heatwave east.


Before we go, in about five days, I will finish my print for the Current Event Print Exchange, even if my only photo so far is of the plans in my notebook. I am about to head to the studio to add two layers of letterpress.


Also, now that most folks should have received there new postcard, I can post this photo of Keep Writing number 31. Also before we leave Sunday, I will set all the type for a text heavy number 32. I can't wait.