Learn, Think, Write

Organizing myself online

Pushing On

I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.

Marissa Mayer

I am not sure I always did this. But at some point in my life, I wanted to figure things out. Printer broken? Take it apart. Need a room networked? Run the cables.
So I am trying to do this with my printing as well. But, wow, does it take time. There are so many variables that can go wrong- ink, lock up, type, pressure, humidity in the air. Each time I get ready to print, I check the packing, the placement of the base or the type, and even the different paper styles I use.

People wonder why I even bother to do this. “You can print whatever you want digitally now,” they say. “This looks like too much work.”

Yes, but it’s fun work. It’s the figuring it out that I love. And when I get a print that is nearly perfect (because nothing in letterpress is perfect), I smile with satisfaction.

Searching for Happiness

Well, I’m not searching, I’m happy.

But this post  makes me think.

Doland recommends taking one day every week or every month to simply observe yourself:

It’s about tuning in to what you are doing, who you are doing it with and how it makes you feel. How much worry, stress, anger, joy or contentment do you experience on a given day?

Your happiness audit should assess not only major elements of your life, like your job and relationship, but also seemingly inconsequential aspects like how you occupy yourself on your commute and what you eat for lunch. Check in with how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking. You’ll find that certain, perhaps surprising, things give you more pleasure than others, just as some detract.

The solution, according to Dolan, is to deliberately make it very easy to do the things that make us happy. Dolan believes we can structure our time and design our surroundings in such a way that we can quickly make a habit out of doing things that make us happy. These changes are small and incremental, but this is precisely why he thinks they work so well.

Ya, makes me think.type

Courage

IMG_0820I think a lot about fear. Fear of flying, situations, world events. Sometimes it’s crippling.

I also believe in stories. The stories we tell ourselves help us learn, live, and relate.

The phrase “the courage to own your own story” is one I’ve seen for years. But lately the words have resonated even more. It is far too easy to believe what our thoughts tell us is truth. To me, figuring out my story means letting go of rigid memories, thoughts, or beliefs about my past or who I am.

Fears can block us from being creative, pursuing projects, and even putting ourselves in new situations. I mentioned to someone that I tend to be a person who leaps and then looks for the net. But the last few years, not so much.

Now I am working my way back out, and that’s freeing.

Last week I took some of my letterpress printed cards to a lovely gift store in town called Heather Boutique. I am really delighted they are going to carry my line. (That sounds cool, doesn’t it? “my line”) Yesterday I began working on a series of 5×7 posters, inspirational and motivational, to frame and sell.

But I want to keep my focus. I began printing the words I wanted to see on my own walls. Now that I’ve begun to sell them, I want to continue that, not be swayed by what might sell. What matters is doing the work I care about. And that’s my story.

Am I Screaming?

IMG_1137I was bemoaning to a friend in the shop yesterday that I hate “selling.”

“You have to yell this time of year to be heard,” he said.

I wonder. What happens to our minds in all of this loud noise? Can we filter?

I dislike filling the social media I handle with pleas for people to come see us (even though I love what we do). This time of year is crazy. Everyone wants to get their message out there.  And dealing with so many accounts (I volunteer with two organizations), I am proud that I’ve only put the wrong photo on the wrong social media twice in the last week.  Not bad, eh?

Seth Godin says, “the people who care are the people who will listen.” So, friends, here you are if you care to listen :)

In the meantime, I’m going back to my press for a while.

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But can she teach it?

My base for the Pearl arrived from Boxcar today, IMG_0820 and I printed some of these bookmarks to hand out at our party at the studio tonight. Though I prefer working with my metal and wood type, I can see why people design with Illustrator and use polymer plates on their presses. Designing for polymer does give you more flexibility with type faces and sizes. And it’s faster–stick it on the base and print. Then wipe it off, peel it off the base, and you’re finished. Of course, the press still needs to be cleaned, which takes time.

Having two presses helps me problem solve. I was struggling with one plate that had a rather large illustration that should have printed black ink. Since the Pearl doesn’t give much of an impression, that section wasn’t printing. So I actually put the chase in the Pearl and let the rollers ink it up — then moved the chase to the proof press, to which I can apply more pressure.  Ta da! Problem solved, and I didn’t have to hand-ink it.

Next week, I need to figure out if I can actually teach someone else to do this. I’ve had many requests for a workshop as there are not many people who do letterpress printing in our area. Even though I’ve been working at this for nearly a year, I still feel like a beginner.

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I enjoyed seeing old and new friends at the party tonight, but it’s been a crazy busy week with two other groups I volunteer with. My introverted self is looking forward to some quiet time in the studio–after a trip to the mountains for some hiking and talking to the fall leaves.