Learn, Think, Write

Organizing myself online

Talking to Myself

Things are finally calming down around here. Mom is happy in her new place, where they are taking such good care of her. I can pop in every day since it’s so close. She doesn’t remember much beyond the present, but isn’t that something all of us could do? Wow, living in the moment. What a concept.

I am printing again, which is so gratifying.

I’ve learned that simply recognizing a feeling, acknowledging it, and moving on is the key to staying relaxed and out of the anxiety zone. I listen to Untangle every morning, where I find ways to stay on the right track (and other good people to follow and learn from).

Snow has arrived. The cold will keep me inside, but that’s not a bad thing.

When Being Bold Doesn’t Come Easily


Being a badass is not the advice you necessarily want to give to a son or daughter.

Yet, I wish I’d been told this when I was growing up. Actually, I equate being a badass with not caring so much what others think of you, standing up for yourself.

I’ve struggled with this my entire life. It’s not an easy trait to change. So, as I often do, I print what I need to see. I’m also experimenting with watercolor washes under the text.

Does it get your attention?

Home and Jane

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This Jane Austen quote appeals to me, but it was a friend who asked me to make a gift card for a friend. Shhhh, that’s all I can say at this point, and I can’t reveal the back.

It’s fun to be challenged to learn new things– like printing on the back of the card, which means lining up everything.

My next challenge is two-color registration. Stay tuned!

Three Things I Learned on Vacation

  1. I need to be by the water. This is nothing new. But I was reminded once again how my heart opens when I pause.
  2. Time away from the press helps me think of new ideas. Sitting and doing nothing actually helps me create.
  3. Being alone comes naturally. I spent so much of my time in Rhode Island by myself. And I was perfectly ok with that.

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The Itinerant Printer

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Fredericksburg can be a lonely city when it comes to letterpress printing.

This is one reason I am so excited that Chris Fritton, The Itinerant Printer, is coming to visit for a few days.
We’ll get to talk about printing, his travels, and have a chance to see his work. I plan on learning all I can from him. And we’re having a Meet and Greet so you can learn, too.
Here’s more from his website:

The Itinerant Printer will visit letterpress printshops across America throughout 2015 & 2016, producing unique prints at each venue culled from their idiosyncratic collections of wood type, metal type, cuts, ornaments, and polymer plates. These prints will be mailed back to followers and supporters of the project as postcards (and care packages) from the road.

The project intends to capture the spirit of the analog revival, send real samples of it into people’s mailboxes, and convey the ethos of the handmade to a broader audience via social media, and as a culmination, result in a coffee table book that features photos all of the prints, printshops, and people from the adventure.

It is also about reviving that sense of adventure in printing, along with the analog sharing of information. It’s about going out into the world, seeking work based on your skill set, making something with your hands, and delivering that object to someone. It’s about an exchange of ideas, of techniques, of information, of style, and of the consummation of all those things: prints.

Chris Fritton is The Itinerant Printer – check out his full bio here.

For more on the history of Tramp Printers, check out the info here, or just peruse this poem by Robert W. Service:

A Race of Men

There’s a race of men, that don’t fit in
A race that can’t sit still.
So they break the hearts of kith and kin
And roam the world at will.
They range the field and rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don’t know how to rest.

If they just went straight they might go far –
They are strong, and brave and true;
But they’re always tired of things that are
And they want the strange and new.
They say, ‘Could I find my proper groove,
What a deep mark I would make.’
So they keep on going and each new move
Is only a fresh mistake.

– Robert W. Service

 I know. You can’t wait to meet him, right? Stop by Water Street Studio on Feb 26 between 5-8. We’ll be printing, talking, and we’ll have refreshments, too.

“Printing…is the preservative of all arts.” Isaiah Thomas