Tag: letterpress

A Swap….

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Hello people interested in letterpress printing,

I’m recovering from a bout of vertigo– not fun when you want to stand at the press all day.

I am participating in Ladies of Letterpress swap, which means I am creating 100 5×7 posters on my little press. Not only that, I’ve decided to do two colors. This means three passes for each poster- one for the tree, one for the leaves, and one for the poem. Oh, and probably a fourth since I want to put a colophon on the bottom. Seven gazillion hours later, and I’ll have 100 prints to share!

Like my drying rack?

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First Friday

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I’m always exhausted on First Fridays, not that I am complaining. It’s really my body that says– “enough.”

I’ve been up since 5am, a normal time for me, so by 6 tonight, I am plastering on a smile, hoping people don’t see the weariness in my eyes.

Even so, First Friday of Fredericksburg gives artists a wonderful opportunity to show what they do. We are hosting Carol Josefiak, whose work I love. And I also have a chance to talk about letterpress printing!

Stop by if you are local. Or even if you’re not. I promise I’ll be awake.

Selling– or Not

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My husband is in the middle of the volunteer project in which he must ask for money/call people/sell an idea. He was wringing his hands over making the calls.

“I’m the farthest thing from a salesman there is,” he said.

I know that about myself, too. I’ve tried to sell– toys, books, programs, ideas. I don’t sell easily. So why do I letterpress print cards and posters and try to sell them? I love what I do.

But that doesn’t make the selling any easier. When I look at statistics for my shop, I have to ask myself the tough questions: do people like my work? is it the way I present the cards? have I advertised enough?

These questions are important (I’m about to re-do all the photographs on the site). But I know something else. I print because I love to do the work. So, no, I am not a salesperson. I am a printer who really enjoys getting her hands dirty and creating something. There are hundreds of letterpress shops out there, so I have to do this because it matters to me.The_Letterpress_Journals__Typoholic_-_Print_Magazine

Yesterday I spent hours troubleshooting a card I was working on for Fredericksburg Main Street. Though the process was frustrating, when I finally finished I felt a huge sense of satisfaction. Yeah, there it is, I thought.

I guess I’m learning to have faith in myself and my art. And that’s a huge step.

 

 

 

 

photo: Print Magazine, The Foolproof Press

Lancaster Printers Fair

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I don’t know which I liked more at the Lancaster Printers Fair– meeting/seeing old friends or getting new stuff! Wood type from from John Barrett at Letterpress Things and Virgin Wood, a handmade book from Leland Manufactory, cards from Sea Heart City Press and Typecase Industries, and a letterpress t-shirt! Mostly, though, I loved connecting with like-minded printers, who continue to amaze me with their willingness to share and help.

 

Peace

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I’ve always said I print what is in my head. These days I’m thinking about peace. Rick Hanson, author, wrote in his recent newsletter:

“I’ve been reflecting about my tendencies to get attached to views and outcomes: to how I see things and what I hope happens. Normal, sure, but this attachment – this fixation, drivenness, holding on past the point of wisdom . . . no matter how subtle – is still a source of tension, stress, conflicts, and suffering for me, and often for others.”

I think that’s true for so many of us. I am working on being less in the past or future and more in the present. It sounds like such a cliche these days when it seems that mindfulness is so much in the news. But there is a calm truth about the benefits of staying in the moment.

“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” – James Baraz”