New broadside!

Spent the last week printing in San Francisco. It felt fantastic to print my own work, it had been too long.

Werewolf II

Two poems. Handset and printed letterpress. Two color with blind print. Constructed with sheet music, maps, dress pattern material, gold leaf, carnivore teeth and lace. $25 (+$3 shipping). You can order off the Prints page. To send checks or cash, email jessalyn dot wakefield at gmail dot com first. XOXO.

Objects, ephemera and prints around the studio.

Jim’s phone

Elvis and friends

Classic restrikes

On the lip of the main composing table

By the Miehle

A few prints on the wall

The sign

Honestly, paper making is one of the few aspects of book arts and print making that doesn’t get me fired up. But this weekend Colleen’s studio had an open studio event and I encountered Rhiannon Alpers‘ work for the first time. It made me seriously reconsider my attitudes toward the craft. Her work is phenomenal. Being in her in space and surrounded by her work was a nearly spiritual experience. Rapture is really the only way to describe it. Go to her website and click on Artists Books and then click on the second to last triangle on the right. One of my favorite pieces I saw that night. After that, look at everything else. Gorgeous.

Some presses in the Hatch studio.

The “Pure Coffee” block, locked up on one of the Vandercooks. You can see examples of the end product on the Prints page.

This C&P isn’t operational but it is impressive, and utterly gorgeous.

The Miehle.

Jim, making enormous prints on his enormous press.

To say Hatch’s collection of wood type is impressive is a serious understatement. A tiny sampling of the materials:

Letterpress was used to print nearly everything until the ’70’s. Hatch did a great deal of advertising work in addition to show posters, and so letters in every size, from the minuscule to the enormous, were in order.

Stacks.

Case of small wood type.

Walls and walls of carved wooden and linoleum blocks. In the foreground, stacks of posters waiting to go to press or to be put up.

PS I added a rotating image script to the front page. Very pleased. Go look, I totally love it.

I’ve traded in my usual writing music, Cat Power, Animal Collective, Nick Drake, ETC, for Wu-Tang Clan, Lil’ Wayne and that Matt and Lil’ Kim mash up, Double Ice Creams Tonight. I’m producing some seriously quality writing right now.  Coincidence? I think not.

Let’s start at the beginning with these posts. Before I left for Nashville, I did some printing at my home studio, the San Francisco Center for the Book.

My friend Colleen’s 2009 calendar was up in the SFCB calendar show.

Last year Colleen completed a gorgeous book done completely in graphite. She has an interview in the upcoming issue of Ampersand regarding the work. You can see much better photographs of Elemental Edifice on her website, Colleen Stockmann & Analogue Anatomy Press.

I neglected to write down the name of this artist. One of my favorite pieces in the show.

Self printing on a Vandercook SP-15, wearing what Les called “The California printer’s uniform.” Black shirt, blue jeans.

My scanner has totally been in the trunk of my car this whole time. Sometimes my air headed way of navigating my life astounds me, but what the hell, it’s here and that’s fantastic. I spent the better part of the afternoon scanning all my photographs from the last four months. It was so, so satisfying. Starting next week I’ll be updating this journal with photographs from the San Francisco Center for the Book and Hatch. Until then you can check out the Prints page for a tiny taste of things to come.

Not much to report on the home front. Hunkered down in Sacramento and spending most of my days furiously writing and editing and falling in love with my friend here all over again. Still trying to finish up the IS, IS books. I cannot believe how labor intensive they are. I finally got my photographs developed from Hatch but my scanner is in San Francisco SO, you know, a little longer yet before I can post those up…. Working on a significant addition to the am i human site which I’m excited to show off soon. I upgraded my Word Press and accidentally erased all your comments which was a huge bummer. I still can’t figure out how to change the color of the font when you type so you can actually see what you’re typing. Basically trying to tie up the loose ends of various projects before plunging into new things. Expect some serious blooming here as we saunter toward the Solstice.