Tiger Food

The End of the Road

2011-12-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

Almost every year I participate in an annual print portfolio exchange with the fall printmaking class at OCAC. Almost every year my print has a car on it.

Go figure, yeah?

2011-12-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

2012 letterpress printed wall calendar ~ available in my online shop.

2011-12-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

I've missed this place.

It's been an unusual few months. I was offered a teaching job that was too good to refuse. And there I've been, immersed, swimming in teaching. Teaching at this level is absolutely new to me. Absolutely new. I haven't been to grad school. I've never had the opportunity to teach as a fellow. I'm years enough out of undergrad that I didn't remember how to critique. I am skillful, and hopefully I've imparted some of that, but mostly I've been floating a-sea. Swimming, swimming, swimming. Treading water.

At the end of this week I'll be seeing my students' final projects. I'm so excited. I have AMAZING students. I'll be sad that next semester they will no longer be such a huge part of my life. They have been an enormous inspiration to me. But I am also ready to recover my own emotions, my own brain, and my own work. I think I'll become a better artist from this experience. I hope some of my students feel the same way.

2011-12-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

Neahkahnie Mountain, July 2011

Ephemeral

2011-08-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

Last week I got to spend three days at the coast, where I saw the most beautiful sand castle. By no means pristine, architecturally true, or precise, it was none-the-less a work of art. It looked like it had risen from the sea, constructed by sea people; a beacon calling to kindred spirits. This was not a castle born from a mold, but one shaped by hands and hearts.

We walked down the beach, tried to fly a kite in the unusually still air, tossed a frisbee. We tracked back along the beach, following our original path, looking for the castle as our beacon. We arrived at a lump of semi-molded sand, a crab leg and a small circle of stones; the ocean had already come to claim its own.

Belatedly, The Hunt, Part I

2011-07-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

The Hunt is coming down today. It's a testament to my procrastination that I have yet to really talk about it, which is in part due to the fact that I have a lot to say and I'm not sure where to begin. In truth, though the show has run its course at OCAC's Hoffman Gallery, I believe the project itself has a long-term trajectory that will take it many places.

Briefly, the project was based on a scavenger hunt, facilitated by Beth Robinson of Robin Press. This is how Beth began describing her idea for The Hunt:

“Scavenger Hunt”
Do you remember as a child going on a scavenger hunt? The challenge of looking for things with a map, compass or trusted instinct, combined with pure exhilaration? Then the enjoyment of the found object while sharing the adventures tale. I would like to propose a scavenger hunt with a group of artist in the Oregon Health and Science University’s Historical Collections & Archives.

Continue reading The Hunt story here.

And a really nice article written by the Oregon Health Sciences University archives staff about the opening can be found here.

These are a few snapshots of my piece in the show. They are monoprints created using layers of stencils on a primed wooden board. The object I received to respond to was an artificial heart valve.

The prints in this series represent the processing of many complicated sets of dual ideas. Valves, by their nature, are mindless gatekeepers. They are almost binary in their function. Yes, No. Open, Closed. The Mitral Valve is itself a bi-leaf structure, and the artificial Mitral Valve first developed and implanted in 1960 by Portland’s Dr. Albert Starr and engineer Lowell Edwards are defined by dualities. The artificial valve is at once representative of improbability and overwhelmingly successful innovation. In the process of making these prints I wanted to explore representing duality using positive and negative space, abstraction and representation. A heart that is not really a heart, the areas where black and white make grey; because in fact, a valve’s function is not simply binary but may comprise many degrees of open and closed.

48 hours in Bend, Oregon

2011-07-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

12:30 pm, Saturday afternoon. Arrive in Bend and head straight to Jackson's Corner because you are starving and hyped up on thermos coffee and excitement to finally be working on a project you first began developing five years ago, and you know you'll want some solid hours in the studio uninterrupted by hunger. Contemplate ordering a whole pizza to devour on site but opt for a turkey sandwich on a roll with everything on it, and a pickle. Sit outside even though it's overcast and threatening rain, because you know that even if it does, it will be drier than where you come from.

1:00 pm. Go directly to A6 and meet with Pat, the owner, who quickly shows you the ropes, sets up a press for you, and lets you set to work.

Don't hesitate.

Even though you haven't got the specific pieces for your project to work with, you still have a lot to learn about the materials, and you're ready to let go of the tedious parts of your process, if only for a little while, in order to let things evolve through hours of work on the press.

4:30 pm. Look up at the clock and realize that you've been literally playing for three hours, and that you haven't felt this relaxed and carefree about your process in years. Clean up, which is quick and easy because you are working with water-based inks, and start thinking about dinner.

5:30 pm. Meet your mother at her apartment with fresh greens from your garden and a mixed six-pack of Deschutes Brewery beer. Cook dinner together and talk until 11:00, when you fall into bed and are immediately knocked out until morning.

********

7:00 am, Sunday morning. Wake up surprisingly easily, having slept the sleep of someone who has started something good the day before, and who looks forward to tomorrow. Shower, fill up a water bottle and slip out the door in under a half an hour. Pick up a scone and a bag of fruit at the nearby market, and head to Thump Coffee to catch the tail end of stage 15 of The Tour and to check email. Be a tiny bit alarmed by the ease in which total strangers strike up conversation with you, and remember that Bend is still a small town. Drink a perfect latte and bang out an estimate for a client and knock off a handful of emails. You've been up for just a little over an hour and you've already handled the most mundane tasks of your day. The rest is yours.

9:30 am. Head back to the studio, where you will get so absorbed in learning the properties of the new ink you are using, in anticipating and being surprised by the results, and by just wanting to try *one more thing*, that you work two hours longer than you had planned.

2:30 pm. Find a pizza place with adorable young Central Oregon types who serve you with genuine smiles and inquiries about your day. Pass at least three drum circles on your walk downtown. Discover that the library is an excellent place to get the remainder of your internet business tidied up for the day.

5:00 pm. Go for a walk through the neighborhoods that were once your haunts. Take photos, take notes. Discover that things really haven't changed that much, and that Bend has really always been a hobbit town. Walk past a market with a friendly looking crowd composed of adults drinking pitchers of beer at picnic tables and children carousing around a play area with their families looking on. Decide on a whim to order a beer and sit among the crowd. Doodle an ill-formed contour drawing that tries to capture the wonkiness of the neighboring houses. Be invited into a conversation by a group of friendly locals.

********

9:00 am, Monday morning. This morning you'll take your coffee to go to the studio, maximizing your time before the COCC printmaking class will arrive, and you will have to pack up to go back to Portland. You're starting to find your rhythm in the studio by now, and you're starting to see a theme develop. You begin to feel excited about the idea that through three days of working, just working with your hands and your materials, not over-thinking, not belaboring concept, you've reached am entry point. You've begun to see a path. You're re-discovering your art through your hands, not just through the lens of your conceptual notions.

12:30 pm. Skip out of the studio having cleaned up just under the radar of the incoming class. You're packed and looking forward to going home, back to your own studio, and to seeing the Monkey. But you accidentally on purpose take a wrong turn, and you're heading toward Shevlin Park. You keep going, and when you get there, you take your bike off your car's roof rack, you throw on your helmet and shoes, and you pedal across the river and up the bank on the other side. You become temporarily confused by the blacktop you encounter there, but then you're just as enraptured by the giant Salsify plants waiting for just the right gust of wind to blow them away. You carry on until the path returns to dust, and you ride the ridge, remembering every turn and dip from long ago rides, until you find the entrance to that other trail you used to love riding when you lived here. You climb the loose rock and are happy to find that your legs are up to the task on your single speed, even though you haven't ridden all year. Bend's dirt has given you wings. You fly back down the trail and across the ridge, back to your car, where coconut juice and a drive over the mountains awaits.

Announcing: The Hunt

2011-07-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

Please join us for:

The Hunt

Curated by Beth I. Robinson

July 7- July 27, 2011

The Hoffman Gallery on the Oregon College of Art and Craft Campus

Opening reception on Thursday, July 7 from 4:00-7:00

Home.

2011-07-03T02:19:00.000-07:00

I've noticed something.

I take a lot of photos of the sky.

Even going so far as to sneak up on it, taking a sidelong shot of its reflection in the sea.

Perhaps I feel trapped? Landlocked?

Claustrophobic?

No.

I feel at home.

Holy Moly!

2011-07-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

June is through! Caput! Over!

June was overly busy, stressful, difficult to navigate, strange.

Thank the lawdy lawd it's finally July, and the month that went from stress to stressier to stressiest is now OVER.

We start July with a long weekend. We deserve it, don't we? I'm barely articulate, so I'm going to make this short. Then I'm going to take a long nap. And then, a drink on the porch? A hike? Smooth high desert dusty trails? Here I come.

Before I run, here's a sneak peak into what I've been working on. Details to come soon!

*Price does not include cat feet.*

gift

2011-06-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

I Love the Lonely Places

2011-06-01T22:10:00.000-07:00

The empty places.

The places where the asphalt crumbles around grass grown up through cracks.

The places that feel out of place, out of time.

The places just around the corner from my house, where I can hear the crash and rumble of freighters unloading shipments from faraway places.

Places left to the imagination.

Sow Your Seeds and Jump Back

2011-05-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

At a certain point when I was a young'un growing up on the high, dusty desert of Central Oregon, my grandmother moved from L.A. to be closer to our family in Bend. I remember her talking about the soil and the weather in coastal Southern California, saying something like, "you just toss some seed at the ground and jump back." A foreign concept to me, a child of some of the most un-farmable land west of the Great Divide; a point driven home to me a few years later when, as a teenager, I attempted to cultivate sunflowers in our south facing side yard and was rewarded with a few stunted starts and a whole lot of volcanic sand.

Here in Portland, I've invoked those words from my grandmother many times. It's almost alarming how quickly things grow here. It's the rain. The damned, damned rain. It's what keeps the lush and the green here year 'round.

It's the rain that's made me feel ok that the garden is going in a little late this year. We're about halfway there. We're building raised beds this year in addition to our bit of dug up yard, and it's ok that our greens could have gone in the ground a month ago, because it's still raining. Some time in June, or maybe July, the sun will come out, and maybe sometime in August my sunflowers will tower over my head and remind me that I live in a pretty amazing place.

Help Keep Print Alive

2011-05-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Plazm magazine, bringing arts and culture to you in a beautiful, large format, gorgeously printed, internationally distributed magazine for 20 years, could use a little help with printing issue #30. Issue #30 will feature art by David Lynch and Raymond Pettibon, interviews with Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney) and Bruce Sterling, fiction and poetry, photography and graphic design, and much, much more.

It's ready to go to press. We just need to match our RACC grant to pay the printer.

As much as it sucks to have to fundraise, we think it's worth it, because we don't think a $1.99 download can do justice to the images and artworks featured in this magazine, nor would the the feeling of holding the magazine in your hands, having it on your coffee table or in amongst your vinyl collection compare to reading it on your iPad.

Our Kickstarter project is getting close to the halfway mark, both in dollars pledged and duration of the campaign. We are really excited about this issue, and we hope enough of you are too!

OCAC spring sale

2011-05-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

It's time again for the annual Oregon College of Art and Craft spring sale. This year it will be two full days of shopping in the Book Arts, Metals, Ceramics and Fibers studios.

Saturday May 14 - Sunday May 15

10 AM - 5 PM

Free and open to the public

8245 SW Barnes Rd.

Portland OR 97225

For more information please visit OCAC's events page

or call 503-297-5544

All funds raised will go directly to the artists and to help fund visiting artist lectures and studio equipment. If you're in Portland next weekend, please stop by!

to the left and to the right...

2011-05-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

Listing, listing, listing.

New listings are here and here.

Cards

& blank books.

just kids

2011-05-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Just Kids, Patti Smith's memoir of her first 10 years in NYC, chronicling her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe, her lover and lifelong friend.

I'll admit, though I've loved Patti Smith for years, and I count Robert Mapplethorpe as one of the very first artists to impress me and make me think of becoming an artist myself, I hesitated before picking up this book. I'm weary of druggy memoirs of self-destruction and pain that many rock-and-roll bios are fraught with. Even triumph over adversity is something I felt I didn't have the stamina for.

But Just Kids is far from all of that. It's a tender, insightful love story and coming-of-age tale. The story of two young people who are as much in love with each other as they are with art, and are imbued with a confidence that their path is a true one. It's as much an inspiring tale of two artists finding their voice as it is a public memoir of the characters in late 60s, early 70s New York. In fact, it's their private, quiet growth together - and later as they both begin to grow into their mediums - their growth apart, that carries the most sweetness and honesty.

Smith's writing is strong and straightforward, the poetry is found in its lack of embellishment. I read or heard somewhere that she wanted to write a book that Robert would have read. She describes their circumstances in their first apartment in Brooklyn, their stay in the famous Chelsea Hotel, and later in a cold loft a few doors down from the hotel with reverence and clarity. Every minute of their lives was devoted to their work and to each other.

It's a book about making the work, as opposed to the work itself. A story of the genius that flows through a receptive artist, rather than the ego. Patti Smith mentioned in an interview that Robert helped her to feel confident to call herself an artist - not an apprentice or a student, as he never doubted that he was an artist. What impressed me was their ability to take hold of that ownership without a sense of entitlement - they worked hard, scraped together dimes, never wanted what they couldn't have.

I'm feeling kind of empty in the way a good book leaves you feeling. I'm searching for extra pages at the back of the book, hoping for a little bite more. But instead, I'm left to carry on here in my own studio. Left to think about the choices I make here and how I want to approach my work now that I've been so inspired.

beauty shots

2011-05-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

This morning I re-photographed some older work that I'd like to place in new venues this spring. I already have beautiful shots taken professionally of these two books, but like the impulse to spring clean, I wanted a couple of fresher shots as well.

These are a few 'outakes.' They're sort of like beauty shots. I book can convey a lot of emotion, just in its form. The printed word, and the touch and smell of real books.

Plazm magazine is turning 20!

2011-05-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

Portlanders - please join us to celebrate at Powell's Books downtown next Monday, May 9, at 7 pm. Start the evening off with theremin music by Larold Will, followed by readings by:

Jon Raymond, author of the novel The Half Life and screenwriter for the films Wendy and Lucy, Old Joy, and most recently, Meek's Cutoff.

Leanne Grabel, poet, teacher, and former owner of Portland's longest running poetry open mike venue, Cafe Lena.

Tiffany Lee Brown, writer and multi-disciplinary artist and author of A Compendium of Miniatures.

and Kevin Sampsell, founder of Future Tense Books and author of the memoir A Common Pornography.

For full details please visit the Plazm blog.

five (or so) things I've learned from doing craft fairs

2011-05-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not that great at craft fairs, I've got to admit. As well-prepared as I try to be, as early as I try to get my game going and build my stock, it's always a slightly torturous process for me. Despite the fact that I'd been producing at a steady pace and keeping very close to my schedule, I still found myself awake at 3 am the morning of the Rieke fair, up after working all day making last minute adjustments to my displays and packing last minute cards into cello bags.

In my 3 am angst, in anticipation of the scant hours of sleep I was destined to before the fair, I questioned myself, "why am I doing this again?"

Even in the midst of my early morning exhaustion, the source of what drives me to do this to myself over and over again was still apparent.

I like it. I was enjoying myself.

Not the torture part, but the challenge and the pushing myself, and the satisfaction that I've done all that I can to make this the best it can be - for now - and for the next time, there are the lessons learned and the growth that occurs from putting yourself out there in slightly uncomfortable circumstances.

The five (or so) things I've learned doing art fairs:

1. There's nothing like a deadline to kick you in the pants.

2. The opportunity to place your work among that of other artists you know make excellent work, and who have been doing it for a lot longer than you creates an excellent opportunity to challenge yourself.

3. The craft fair milieu itself challenges me to think about a specific audience, which is a good exercise in and of itself.

4. The networking is great! This Sunday I met a handful of really talented local artists, including Cathy McMurray, painter and multi-media artist. Her gorgeous work can be found on Etsy here, and on her blog, Habit of Art, which is a wealth of beautiful eye candy and helpful information on the business of art making.

5. This is perhaps the most important, yet the most difficult point for me to digest - that the part of my practice that is making ephemeral printed things and blank books for craft fairs, for selling on Etsy, and for -honestly- my own personal enjoyment, is just as important to me as making so-called fine art. I'm inexplicably drawn to this process, probably because it's personally challenging to me. I'm unearthing a part of me that I've buried for a long time, the part of me that wants to be good at this and not be dismissive of my stationery as an incidental pastime, while also acknowledging that the many facets of what I make and do are more integrated than they are compartmentalized.

***

P.S. Spring seems to really be here! I hope you're getting at least as much lovely weather as we are here in the great PNW.

***

P.P.S. I have a TON of things to photograph and list for ye olde shoppes. Updates to follow in the next few days.

***

P.P.P.S. Check out the awesome displays The Monkey built for my cards and posters!

They're a little hard to see in this photo - but they're much fancier that I ever would have dreamed up had I built them, and completely collapsable and assemble-able without any hardware, (gotta love living with a machinist) so there's an upside to running out of time and delegating tasks to willing co-conspirators.

Rieke Art Fair & Fundraiser

2011-04-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'll be there, kickin' it with the brand spanking new display stands The Monkey has been constructing for me, along with all of these other fine artisans:

Jill Bliss

Talia Brown

Clare Carpenter - Tiger Food Press

Anna Foulkes

Emily Highkin - Emily Sock Monkies

Elita Hill - Ginza Girl

JoAnn Lupton - Dolcetti

Destiny Morris - Destiny Ray Jewelry

Roberta Palmer

Siri Schillios - Siri Art

Alex Wijnen

Heather Wolf - Flat Glass Mama

Susan Rankin

Jill Mayberg

Kim & Brian Davies

Corby Barnes

Carolyn Holman

Mindy Baldwin - I Heart Shade

2 Monkees - Teri Sprouse

Lee White Illustration

Shannon Hardin - Auntie Tanker

Paula Short - PM Shore

Alisa Palister

Cathy McMurray

Michelle Gay - Eclectic Kid

Jody Howard - Elysium Jewelry

Suki Allen - Birds Eye View

Amy Honeyman - Otto Designs

Jackie Imdahl - Scrumptious Suds

Sandra Green & Tuesday Shellmire - S& T Designs

Karina Potestio - Luna

Lori Telles - The Frock Goddess

So please join us!

a day in shades of green and grey

2011-04-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

Eggs in jadeite.

My favorite kind of work. The kind that I'm doing right now.

Highly practical boots.

Discovering a new place to put in my little canoe. Oh the plans - a reward for a long day at the Rieke fair next Sunday.

Time for reflection. (ha! *groan!*)

Art for the birds and other wild things.

Speaking of wild things, I'm about to pop this audiobook on and bind the night away.

Cheers, everyone. I hope you all had delicious, delicate, sunny (at least in heart) Easters.

2011-04-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

I bring in daffodils in a mason jar. Spring rain. The smell of earth, bread rising, coffee poured. Ink stains on my fingers.

Peace.

on creativity and chasing the minutes of the day

2011-04-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been thinking about the way we present ourselves online. I love reading blogs and getting caught up in the nearly magical sleight of hand that happens. There is so much beautiful eye candy to behold, and I'm no less guilty of trying to present myself and my work as appealingly as possible.

I'd like to take a moment to talk honestly about what happens behind the scenes here at Tiger Food Press. Sit and have a cup of french press and a slab of rhubarb crunch.

I'm not complaining in the least bit when I tell you that I piece together about three or four jobs that comprise the bulk of *what I do for a living.* It's all creative, book and letterpress related work. Some of it happens in my home studio, some of it happens in the class rooms and studios of Oregon College of Art and Craft. I create work for my Etsy stores and craft sales, I print and bind commissioned work, I try to find time for fine art making, I teach, and I'm a studio manager. I tell you, I feel supremely lucky - seriously, seriously lucky to be able to do what I do for a living.

There are times, like right now, when I feel particularly pressed in one direction or another. In the next few days my focus is on finishing work for the Rieke Art Fair, on trying to get up to campus to put some hours in, and on researching grants for upcoming projects. In between I need to write estimates for clients, source paper, prepare for a demo I'm doing this weekend at another school, chair a board meeting for the arts organization I work with, and the list goes on.

I feel that what I do, how I cobble together bits of work that is meaningful to me, is a pretty common phenomenon. We are all scheduled to our teeth. So many of us are pulled in multiple directions, and many are in much more dire straights or enjoy far fewer hours in their studios than I do.

I feel so lucky to have the small hours in my studio, and I absolutely luxuriate in the days that I have an entire day to print or draw or bind. I will be the first to admit I'm not adept at figuring out the best use of my time when I'm faced with multiple, equally important jobs to do. It is a blessing and curse (to drop an overused phrase) to have as flexible a schedule as I do. It's been a long road of discovery - when are my most productive hours in my studio? When do they need me most on campus? When should I schedule meetings to maximize the time in the rest of my day? Many of these decisions are beyond my control. Deadlines, meetings, clients - they all come first. Everything else fits into slots.

And I guess that's partly where I'm going with this post. For a couple of years now, I've attempted to schedule myself to the last minute. I have a paper calendar and an iphone that have meticulous notes regarding what I should be doing, and when. I'd felt inspired and influenced by reading about the processes of artists I admired who talked of discipline and scheduling. The truth of the matter is, aside from client commissions the work that demands strict adherence to schedule, all those calendar notes were just falling by the wayside. *studio time 8 AM - 1 PM / Tuesday, April WHATEVER*

I'm going to share something that for some of you might come as a bit of no-brainer, but for me has been something of a revelation - or rather - a reintroduction to a way of making, and of living, that has eluded me for a while now; at least as of the past couple of years in which I've been so busy.

I've chucked my calendar.

At least, insofar as the calendar entries regarding when I should be creating. Of course there are still scheduled items that I need to work around. Some things just need to be done on a timeline. But creating? No. Not for me, it turns out.

I've been practicing a method of mindful attentiveness to ~ what do I actually want to be doing in this moment? ~ Often, it's creating. And often, contrary to what I had always feared, there is actually time. And so, I've found myself spending a few hours every day in my studio, whereas before, under the strict imposition of my calendar, which often told me I should be in my studio, I would often never make it so far.

As for whether this method will sustain itself, only time will tell. I imagine there will still be stacks of book blocks on my table still unbound, and photographs of cards yet unlisted, but all in good time. All in good time.

a burst of woodland creatures

2011-04-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

Inspired by my wanderings in and out of the Oregon wilderness and backcountries. Inspired by spring. Inspired by warm tones and the joy of carving lino and having some fun once in a while.

so so so so tired

2011-04-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

It's been such a WEEK! Between taxes and other weird snaffus involving finances, and did I mention taxes, and trying to crank out work for the Rieke Art Fair, and just strange things happening like people locking their keys in their cars (not me), running around town in the worst kinds of traffic, it feel like this week has been two years long.

I'm tired.

But printing has been my respite. I have new cards for the shop - but they won't be photographed until tuesday.

For tomorrow I have jury duty.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that I'm only stuck for a day!

2011-04-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a brilliant morning so far - the sun has just burst through the cloud layer here in Portland, and the dandelions are popping up like mad all over the yard. We've had some pretty heavy rains over the past few days, interspersed with bouts of cool spring sun. Despite the cold weather, the rhubarb is almost ready for pie.

I should be starting my vegetable garden, but I'm totally not ready.

Instead, I print. Green, spring fir. Bears. Paper. A celebration.

a fine how do you do

2011-04-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

honey and health food : part two

2011-04-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

This is the second part of the short story I began to retell here, last summer. This is background for the Bend Project...there's so much I could write about my perception of that town.

Place, and perception of place plays a huge role in my work. I'm fascinated by places in flux and/or in stasis. I'm fascinated how place is defined - by its inhabitants and by its outsiders. This fascination (not necessarily the content of this story) is the basis of my upcoming work about Bend and Central Oregon.

note: I've removed names of places and people, simply because I don't feel they need to be implicated in my own rendering of the town.

*********

Eventually, my family moved to a different part of town, and life sped up. My mom joined the work force, and my brother and I were adolescents with no interest in the slow food philosophy that our small town health food store exemplified. Our family rarely ate together, and grocery shopping became dominated by foraging for frozen foods. By the time I was in high school I had all but forgotten my hippie roots and the days of the health food store; the sunlight coming through handmade curtains, the creak of old hardwood floors, and the smells of bread baking and sprouts sprouting and of yogurt being made.

me in 1996 outside the health food store

Bend, OR. 1996. Population: 55,000

I've just arrived in town in a VW beetle four years older than I am with two large tropical birds, a black cat, and a boyfriend. We've come from a tiny southern Oregon town where I'd been working what had meant to be a simple summer job, but had turned into a fiasco involving the DEA, the INS, and the Montana Militia, and which had lasted until December. Bend has become a mecca for a great number of people. Skiing, mountain biking, rock climbing, white-water rafting, you can do it all in Bend. You can’t, however, find a job. Especially if your last known work number has been disconnected.

After two months of pursuing the lowliest of jobs: dishwasher, janitor, golf-club assembler, and being turned down left and right, I suddenly remembered the health food store.

The quintessential mom and pop store had evolved with the town. Now simply called by the owner's last name, they catered to the new wealth that had been coming en masse to Bend since the late 1980’s. The little shop's specialty was now wine, a gourmet deli, and organically grown produce hand selected by the humble husband/owner. Gone were the dirt roads and in their place were busy thoroughfares complete with parallel parking and bike lanes. Gone were the juniper trees and volcanic ash of the hill behind the store, gone were the caves and forts and hiding places of children, and gone were the graves of many of their beloved pets. In their place were townhouses, condominiums, and multi-million dollar mansions. The merchandise area of the store had been replaced by a new, high tech produce case, and the ice-cream freezer no longer held yogurt push-ups but a cornucopia of gooey Ben and Jerry’s flavors. I now had to go to the health food store across town to get bulk honey, the little health food store that could was the only place in town where you could get bamboo shoots or pig’s feet from Mexico.

One thing that hadn't changed were the owners, who still lived in the apartment above the store. But now a short, elaborately coiffed and theatrically painted woman managed the store. She apparently liked me when I came in. I was barely interviewed before being hired.

She had worked as an actress in Chicago, and she taught me how to play the part of the retail clerk - how to separate yourself from the role in order to prevent insanity. It wasn’t easy though. A new kind of clientele had been keeping the store alive over the years, and it pained me more and more each day to be pleasant to the horrible, bored housewives who were either lonely and just wanted to talk, or hell-bent to make every service worker’s life miserable by being miserable themselves.

I discovered that I loved working with the produce - arranging it to look the most appealing to customers is an artform!

Old friends of my parents started popping in to the store, too, once they learned that I was working there. People that I remember hanging around our house nearly every day when I was young, but who my parents rarely see anymore. Our store was notorious for having a very liberal wine tasting policy, and many of these old friends would come in on the pretext of getting lunch, but would usually only pour themselves a generous glass from whatever bottle was open, and I would sit on the front porch with them on the hot, slow summer days, getting to know them now that I was an adult. I got to know that they were alot like me, mentally in their early twenties, transient and uncertain.

Summer rolled on, and I rode my bike around a lot, drank beer, got my heart broken and broke a heart, and then one day in September I woke up and it was cold. Bend has no spring or fall - when the wind blows down from the mountains it's time to hunker down and prepare yourself for six months of deep freeze. Summer had been too short for me. I'd planned to save money and move away in the fall, but I hadn't saved, and I didn’t even know where I wanted to go. I wasn't mentally or physically prepared for another winter in Bend. I had no car, which meant I was going to be riding my bike 10 miles a day through slush and ice and snow if I wanted to keep my job.

another thing? this blog post goes to 11!

2011-04-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

I nearly forgot! One more item to add to the list:

11. Sign up for summer classes now at Oregon College of Art and Craft. Or click the new link in the side bar for "news and upcoming" and see the description for my summer printmaking and letterpress class, and then sign up!

Normally, summer classes in the book arts department at OCAC are five day, all-day intensives for a solid week. This creates a wonderful, camp-like atmosphere, but often it leaves out those who can't, or would rather not, blow their summer vacation time in a classroom. This summer we're trying a schedule similar to the evening classes offered during the academic year - but slightly compressed. 10 classes in five weeks, two classes a week in the evenings. We're still offering week-long classes held by our artists in residence and other visiting artists, but now there's also an alternative.

news from the studio

2011-04-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I hit the blog renovations with an unexpected enthusiasm. I had other plans - to print, in fact. But instead I pulled out the digital jack-hammer and hard hat and went to work. I think any further changes will require just a small trowel and perhaps a dust mop...until I feel the need for a change again. But it feels good, like a spring cleaning. I'd welcome any feedback about navigation and user-friendliness.

In the short time I was out in the print studio yesterday, I snapped some shots with the Hipstamatic app on my phone. A day in the life, en ambre.

I have so much planned for the next three months. It's been hard to find time to write, even though I have a million things to write about. So here are my top 10 things I want to tell you:

10. Newsletter! I've mentioned before that I'd like to start an e-newsletter for those interested in receiving one. It's finally coming together. Tiger Food Press will never send more than one email a month - so no spammy, crowded inboxes - and my intent is to keep you informed about upcoming events well in advance of when I might talk about them on my blog, as well as compile any other arts and crafts related happenings that might interest an arty-crafty person. On top of that, newsletter subscribers will receive special offers and coupons not available to non-subscribers. Sound like a good thing? I hope so!

If you have sent me an email in the past expressing interest in joining my mailing list, consider yourself subscribed. For those of you new to my blog, or newly interested in receiving a newsletter, fill out the handy new form in the sidebar! If you're unsure if you've signed up in the past, go ahead and sign up again. I'm looking forward to connecting with you!

9. Also new on the blog sidebar is a "subscribe by email" option to follow my regular blog posts via email. Isn't the modern world great?

8. I've been tweeting for a little while now, but now you can also catch me on Tumblr, where I micro-blog when I don't have time to create these long, meaningful, insightful, eloquently phrased, delicately sensible, full-length blog posts. (You know my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek, right? I just love to see myself ramble!)

7. I'm busy making a ton of work for the Rieke Art Fair Sunday May 1. I participated in this fair last year, and honestly, I was not well prepared. This year I'm cranking out new stationery, blank books, and prints, and I'm holding my breath!

6. OCAC Annual Spring Book Arts Sale! More details to come - but save the dates. Saturday May 14 and Sunday May 15. This year we're going for two days, and we're partnering with the more established metals and ceramics departments' sales.

5. Tiger Food Press is gearing up to expand its online retail and wholesale venues starting this spring and early summer. One - Big Cartel, is for sure, I'll be linking you up just as soon as the store is stocked. This venue will be for made-to-order social stationery, books and boxes. In other words, business card templates for semi-customizable and affordable letterpress options, semi-customizable wedding save-the-dates, albums and boxes with customizable cloth, retail packaging and labeling.

4. Also - a new, dedicated place to sell my artist books online! Details to emerge slowly and tantalizingly.

3. Phwew, almost there. The Bend Project, which I wrote about, albeit mysteriously, here. I'm researching and writing grants to fund this behemoth. But I think I may have a gallery set up to show the work in 2012! Yippee!

2. New Oregon Arts & Letters, the nonprofit arts organization, of which I am on the board of directors, is now publishing Plazm Magazine. Issue #30 will launch May 9, followed by the launch of Plazm.org, an online archive of Plazm Magazine, as well as being an archive of Pacific Northwest and national culture, design, typography, and arts editorial. We're working hard to enter content into the new platform to have Plam.org online and ready to browse.

1. And finally, The Hunt! For now I'll simply send you here to read about it. Believe me, I'll have much to tell you about this project soon. I've been having regular idea-generating sessions with a good friend of mine who also has an imminent show opening, and I'm really excited about where my piece is heading. Keep an eye out for announcements of this show which will open in early July at the Hoffman Gallery at OCAC.

handmade paper - exposed

2011-04-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'd promised to update my paper making experience by showing my finished sheets when they were finally dry. I've had them in my greedy little possession for days and days now (when was it I took that class...time seems to have the cruise control set at 910 mph lately.)

Here they are. In order that they are shown they are:

1. Hand-beaten gampi. Literally beaten with a stick. A down-and-dirty method of producing a rough paper, but paper no less.

2. A cotton mixed with (it shames me not to remember what plant) a plant fiber from Helen Hiebert's yard. Also some cotton sheets, with gampi and abaca paper in the background.

3. A sheet of over beaten abaca. I love the way the paper ripples here. I'm sure there are ways of controlling and preventing that from happening, but I also think there must be cool ways of exploiting the rippling to make more sculptural forms with the sheet. Something I'd love to explore more.

4. And my personal experiment - recycled cotton sheets from previously printed Lettra. I used off-prints and extras from prior printing jobs from my studio and beat them in the Hollander beater. The resulting paper made a lofty white sheet with little speckles of color from the paper's previously printed life. Occasionally tiny letters pop out - love it! I made enough of this that I'll be able to put together gift packs for friends.

*****

As an aside - pardon my dust. I'm doing a little bloggy facelift around here as part of my spring makeover on all of my online sites. Things should settle down here soon, and then I'll move on to my website, which I plan to freshen up pretty dramatically!

I also haven't had much time to wander through all of the blogs I love to visit. Hopefully I can catch up with you all soon!

on the last day of winter

2011-03-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

I found some back country snow bliss.

I took a trip over the mountains to Bend late last week, and since I'm never sure when I'll be able to make it over again, I wanted to be sure to get a dose of the Central Oregon Cascades. Tumalo Mountain sits just across the road from Mt. Bachelor, and when the skies are clear, its summit affords fantastic views. Unfortunately when I was there the nearby mountains were socked in, and sleet began to fall, making visibility near nil. The foggy layers provided excellent noise transmission, though, and I could hear the happy whoops of skiers and snowboarders on the slopes across the highway.

But my trip to Bend wasn't all about getting into the snow country. My main purpose was a visit to Atelier 6000, a print studio and teaching facility in Bend. In the past on this blog, I've alluded to a somewhat murky and mysterious "Bend Project." It's something I've had on my mind for years, but I've had a hard time starting the work. It's occurred to me that to do the work in Bend would be really helpful. I'm hoping to be able to get to Bend about once a month to work at A6 and start to forge ahead.

All of this sounds just swell, but the truth is, I feel a tiny bit conflicted about working in Bend, the project, and dividing my time between two towns...maybe it's just jitters associated with actually starting new work and the fear that always accompanies beginning something that potentially puts my art on the line. Self-doubt and second-guessing. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I do think this is part of the process, and is probably something to be embraced.

"There was madness in any direction, at any hour. You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning."
Hunter S. Thompson

I've been elbow deep in abaca pulp and I liked it!

2011-03-15T22:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, really only wrist deep...if that. But still, I've been messing around with the over-beaten abaca, and it's opened up some new possibilities for me.

I'm a strong advocate of taking any opportunity to learn a new skill, to stretch oneself and explore new media when given a chance. Unfortunately, I don't often follow my own advocacy, and I let the excuse of time prevent me from exploring. It's something I've been trying to work on.

This past weekend, I took a paper making workshop with local paper making legend Helen Hiebert. Paper making has been on my list of *things I want to learn* for years. YEARS. It may take me a while to get around to doing things, but eventually, I come around to it.

So worth it.

The sheets I made were still in the dryer as of today, so I intend to update with images of the paper I made from off-cuts and mis-printed paper scraps from my studio. In the meantime, here are some shots from my weekend of paper making.

I can certainly see myself incorporating paper making into my studio work. It's so physical, and all about the process. So much of my work centers around concepts that I labor to translate, and tedious (but of course enjoyable in it's own way) fussiness over technical issues revolving around the press. Paper making is, at least so far to me, such a straightforward process - you acquire plant fiber/you beat it into pulp/you create a water and pulp solution/you form sheets.

It's wet. You can stomp around the studio in galoshes and a big rubber apron. You can sling buckets of water around. It's great!

It's the polar opposite of what the Studio Cat would like to do for fun. She prefers warm and dry. For those of you interested in an update, she's currently sandwiched in between the warm glow of my studio clip lamp and the space heater blowing beneath my desk. Despite the lack of soft surface anywhere, this is where she's chosen to camp out and nap while I click away over here.

2011-03-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

In the time I've been not been blogging, winter came upon Portland with a ferocity rarely seen in the last gasps of the season here. In the last few days I've noticed, as have many of the people around here, that spring's tidy little sprouts are starting to poke up out of the ground, and there's an angle to the light that's slightly different in the late afternoon.

I should spare you the excuses - it's such a tired refrain. I've been absent. Away Without Leave. Missing In Action. Nowhere to be Found. Silent. Estranged. Incommunicado.

I should also spare you the apologies, groveling, and promises to "be back soon!" But truly, I mean it.

So get ready to have the excuses poured on, and poured on heavy. Squeezing every last minute out of the day has become the status quo around here lately. I added quite a lot to my plate in February, and honestly it's been a bit rough. I always have a longer adjustment period to new additions to my schedule than I expect. Keeping up with the fundamentals and growing with my schedule has kept me running just fast enough to be forced to drop a few things temporarily until I felt adjusted.

With all of the new stuff I've taken on come new stories and a laundry list of things to share with you over the next few days. I feel like I'm settling into the routine. It feels good to be back.

Letterpress Class - Beyond Beginner

2011-02-26T15:05:00.000-08:00

In a town like Portland, rich with letterpress classes and top-notch places to learn to set type and make your first impressions, such as Oregon College of Art and Craft, Em Space Book Arts Center, and the IPRC, there are ample opportunities to take a beginning, or introductory level letterpress classes.

Finding a class that takes you a little farther than just "beginner" is a bit tougher. There are great classes available at all of the above mentioned places, but they're simply offered less frequently. That's why I think it's always a great time to jump on an intermediate level letterpress class.

Can you guess that this is a self-plug? There's still room in my upcoming Intermediate Letterpress class starting March 10. It's a five week class - just the right amount of time to get your hands dirty learning some new skills.

Visit OCAC's website - www.ocac.edu, or click here for the direct link to the studio school page to sign up. You can also click here for a full description of the class.

Half Price Cuts on Tuesdays, Free Mai Tais All Day Saturday

2011-02-24T12:09:00.000-08:00

Waaaaaay back in December I showed a preview of a print I was working on of a mobile home with dueling hair cutting shears floating above it. I'm kind of ashamed to say it's taken me this long to finish it.

The trouble was, I got to a point where I didn't know what exactly it need to be finished. Typically I plan my work in advance, I just feel better that way. I try to sketch the entire layout, however roughly, so I know basically how the various elements will play together on the page. Yup, I'm a planner. I'm meticulous, and well, tedious.

But in this case, I was in a hurry to get something down in print in order to make the deadline for the OCAC Print Portfolio exchange. As it was, I barely slipped under the radar, and the print I included in the exchange felt unfinished to me.

Another element to the story of this print, is that it comes from a very specific point of inspiration. Let me tell you a story.

Several years ago I worked for the City of Portland Archives and Records Center. My job there was utterly unglamorous. For up to eight hours a day I sat in between a computer and a microfilm reader transcribing, one ordinance number at a time, the entire Portland City Council Calendar. Day by day, year by year, starting from the middle of the 1950s and working toward the present day, I entered data so that one day, all of Portland's city council agenda would be online.

The ordinances from the 1950s were ordinary enough. Lots of street improvements and rights-of-way issues, the usual civic stuff. But something subtly shifted when I finished the '50s and began entering the records of the 1960s. Easements and sewers were still dealt with, but a new element began creeping into the record more often - that of the ordinary citizen - requesting permits, filing claims, demanding monetary reimbursement, that type of thing.

To break up the tedium of my day, I kept a little notebook at my desk and would sometimes doodle during breaks. The notebook came in handy when I began noticing that not only were some of the ordinances involving more and more of the citizenry, they started becoming funny, and quirky, and sometimes downright weird. So, did I copy some of those down for my own personal enjoyment? You bet'cha!

The more quirky ordinances I collected, the more the idea grew in my mind that I would one day create a project around them. The exact shape and form of that project has never become really apparent to me. Maybe one day it will all come together. In the meantime, I thought I'd start with this print.

What inspired me was the fascinating intersection between civic policy and citizenry, and during the 1960s and 1970s the city record began reflecting a more colorful characterization of the city. I was offered a tiny glimpse into ordinary people's lives through public record.

This print is being offered in a limited edition of 23, #1-11 are printed on tan paper, and #12-23 printed on grey. The illustration is linocut, and the text is handset in Caslon Openface 14 pt and Deepdene 12 pt. They measure 11" x 14 " and are signed and numbered on the back of the print.

The text reads: "Ordinance No. 134577 5/18/1972 Granting a revocable permit to Ronald R., Mary E., and Jo Ann to continue a beauty shop in a trailer at Portland Mobile Home Court at 9000 Union Avenue."

Note: I made the decision to omit the particular individuals' last names. Although these are public records, and anybody can access them, I felt a little reluctant to "call out" individuals whom I don't know.

Also: The title of this post "Half Price Cuts on Tuesdays, Free Mai Tais All Day Saturday" is an idea I've been kicking around for a title for this print.

Available in my Etsy Ephemera shop very, very shortly!

Of a Sharp-Shinned Hawk, Needle & Thread

2011-02-23T10:52:00.000-08:00

Open Sky

A poem by Allison Dubinsky

is now available to purchase

here.

Measuring a little over a palm's width, reading this, holding it in your hands is an intimate experience.

The themes of the narrative weave in and out of each other in this poem, and are reflected subtly in the book's structure; the black thread sewn along the spine, the leaves of the pages unfolding outward, the wood type beckoning you to "open."

All of the text was handset in Bembo 11/12 pt., Bernhard Gothic medium 10 pt., and 12 and 10 line gothic wood type. The illustration is one of the author's, and was printed from a photopolymer plate.

It was such a pleasure to work on this book. Thank you, Allison, for entrusting me with your words.

2011-02-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

The ancient Greeks placed the seat of thought in the heart, hence the expression "know by heart." It implies a deeper knowing, perhaps so deeply learned that the mind forgets that it knows but may simply pluck the knowledge from the heart whenever it may.

If the heart allows.

Dear Valentine's Day reader, what does your heart know? To what does it allow you access? To what does it bar the way?

A Study in Black & Silver

2011-02-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

In a few days, Open Sky, written by Portland poet Allison Dubinsky, will be ready to debut. Today, I offer a little preview: I loved the way these black covers looked, lined up on my workbench, their silver adornments glistening in the ever-so-rare Portland mid-winter sun.

Visiting Artist Matthew Tyson

2011-01-30T23:32:00.000-08:00

Join us for a talk with Oregon College of Art and Craft visiting artist Matthew Tyson, co-sponsored by Pacific Northwest College of Art.

Painting, books, prints and installations. How they inter-relate. From the sublime to the ridiculous. Massive to the tiny. Monumental to the minimal. Controlled to the accidental.

Matthew Tyson has made works that always have a connecting thread. He has created stained glass windows for a cathedral in St Claude in the Jura region of France. A major public art commission that was directly related to a bookwork seen by one of the curators at an artists' book fair some years before. He has made installations that connect directly to bookworks, often involving new pieces/pages and lines, as part of the overall concept. Paintings take on the form and structure of torn paper, whilst referring to real and imaginary landscapes.

It is evident that printmaking and structure are integral to book making but it is also essential to Tyson's other artworks, and thus becomes the link between all his practise. Technically paintings are related to inking. Structure of installations are those of paper, that then become the subject matter for other pieces and the whole process of creation becomes circular.

Tyson has worked for the French Ministry of Culture. He has been artist in residence at the Birmingham City Museums and Art Galleries in Britain and the Edward Albee Foundation in New York.

He is currently professor of the "livre d'artiste" at the University of St Etienne.

Tyson will also be teaching a one day workshop at OCAC, "Printmaking Without a Press" Saturday, February 12th from 10am - 4pm

Visit www.ocac.edu for more information

or call (503) 297-5544

Oregon College College of Art and Craft

8245 Southwest Barnes Road

Portland, OR 97225

2011-01-27T10:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I almost forgot about this! This little award was bestowed upon me by a really sweet blogger, New End Studio. Truth be told, I don't often participate in these types of blogging memes, but G. at New End Studio is such a lovely and generous supporter of the crafting community that I couldn't let this go by unrecognized. So thank you New End Studio!

So part of the deal is that I share seven things about myself. The trouble with writing this kind of thing on the fly is that I'm sure I won't think of the seven most *interesting* things about myself while I'm writing. Those things will come to me later and I'll slap my palm to my forehead suddenly and you'll wonder what's going on. But I'll give it a shot, here goes:

1. Before I was a letterpress printer and book artist, I was an offset press operator. The first print shop I worked in was an in-house shop for a community college. All of the press operators were men, and all of the bindery people were women. I started out doing bindery, stripping, platemaking and pre-press, but I wanted to be a press operator. There was one gruff, died-in-the-wool old-timer running the *big press* who was openly skeptical of my ability to do the job. He would make off-color remarks simply to see if he could get a rise out of me, but I always had a come-back for him. I slowly earned his respect, and he slowly started showing me ropes of the four-color press.

2. Before I got into printing, I worked with exotic birds, mostly macaws.

3. I've lived in two Portlands. Portland, Maine and Portland, Oregon.

4. I grew up in a ski town, but I don't ski.

5. I am eco-conscious and feel a twinge of guilt every time I get in my car to drive somewhere, but I have a deep and abiding love for old, gas-guzzling cars and trucks. I told the monkey recently to not be surprised if he comes home to find a muscle car in the driveway. My first car was a 1976 Jeep Cherokee. When you put your foot down you could see the gas gauge drop. A V-8 engine is a scary thing in the hands of a teenager.

6. I have also lived car-free. I used to ride my bike miles and miles every day, to places I now marvel at. I feel a little beholden to my car now, though, since Portland is so spread out and I like to be able to escape to the mountains on the fly. I still daydream about living with just a bike and making my treks out of town on two wheels.

7. My current dream destinations are Patagonia, Spain, and South Africa.

Officially, I should tag 15 bloggers to pass this award onto, but I am going to bestow it upon any one of you who would like to take this meme and run with it. Drop me a comment and I'll come check out your post!

Good Housekeeping

2011-01-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

When I walked into my print studio this morning, my first, involuntary thought was "wow, this place needs a good cleaning." Type, type cases, spacing material, paper off cuts, polymer plate segments - everything has been kind of piling up. And piling up. And piling up. I've been so absorbed in my work that I have had neither the time nor the inclination to do anything about it.

This is not a sign of good studio housekeeping, I said to myself. Things had come to a critical mass.

I've been finishing the final typesetting for Allison's book, Open Sky, which I talked about here. She's recently returned from Peru, so we've resumed printing the colophon and a few other details before it's ready to be bound. In the process of setting the colophon, I discovered that I needed to re-distribute type from a project I had printed nearly two years ago, and that I had left standing, assuming I'd get around to it one day or another. Because that type hadn't been returned to it's proper home, I was short of sorts for Allison's colophon.

So, I simply tackled it. I scoured my little print shack from top to bottom today, vacuuming up cobwebs and stashing paper piles in a places where they will be found and used, and finally, re-distributing type from my galley trays back into their cases.

And here I am looking a bit smug and feeling thoroughly satisfied.

Food and Revolution

2011-01-24T22:22:00.000-08:00

January has been, for me, slow and still. I've been awfully quiet lately, but that doesn't mean things aren't happening.

In the Pacific Northwest, in January, we peer out of our windows at the rain, at the gray overcast, and we know that things are turning over under the soil, warming themselves, beginning to germinate.

I've been making giant pots of lentil and beef stews, baking bread, and dabbling with new recipes, in the kitchen and in the studio. There are new works on the horizon. There are a few things about to be completed. I've finally caught up on my email and I feel like the fresh start of the new year is finally taking hold.

***

The other night there were, in my kitchen, at the same time, pork chops and apples. Having come to omnivorism (I don't think that's a word) rather late in life, the divine combination of pork chops with apple sauce is a rather recent revelation to me. But now that I've discovered it, I always feel it's a shame when I don't have the sauce to go with the chops.

When I can, I like to make the apple sauce. Even though the process is as simple as falling off a moss-laden, rain-soaked-in-the-woods Douglas Fir log, I don't make it often enough and when I do, I need to have my memory jogged regarding the number of apples to the amount of water...do I chop and boil or slice and simmer...do I add salt...do I mash or do I let the apples cook to mush...? Why don't I remember?

There is one cookbook on my shelf that will remind me - The Grub Bag by Ita Jones. Pulling this book out from between my newer, shinier cookbooks is a walk through history for me. I've carried this cookbook closely by my side since I was first living on my own, and I've become irrevocably attached to it even though I rarely refer to it.

I found it in a free box outside of a used bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire when I was 18. I was about to move from my very first apartment with friends to a different city to live by myself in a tiny studio apartment with a kitchen the size of a postage stamp and with a window the size of a sliver. I carried this already battered and falling apart paperback with me like a new age bible of food consciousness and philosophy. The blurb on the cover reads "An underground cookbook. The practical, philosophical and political aspects of food - with recipes and metaphysics." What's not to love when you are an 18-year-old living in the early 1990s, raised by hippie parents, wondering how to connect a deeply held cynicism about the world in general with practical ways to make it better - in your kitchen.

So I moved into that tiny apartment in that brand new, albeit tiny city, and absorbed this book like a sponge. The author speaks to us from her own apartment in New York City, a more southernly neighbor to the city I lived in, but the photo of her kitchen was nearly identical to mine. I took to sprouting avocado pits and stinging the long legs of my spider plant around the window frame of my tiny kitchen window which overlooked the tar roof of the building below. I sat on my kitchen counter and daydreamed and drew. I baked bread in the gas stove the size of a dorm room refrigerator. I worked as a cook in a health food store deli and learned to make things with miso and that apricots sometimes tasted good in soup.

There are times in life when we are busy, and we forget...we heat up soup from a can and butter a piece of store bought bagel and run off to meet our next assignment/meeting/deadline. That's fine. That is me a lot of the time. I sometimes need to be reminded, though. How do I make applesauce? How can I make my world better, in my kitchen?

OCAC Print Portfolio 20th Anniversary Exhibit

2011-01-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

Hoffman Gallery
OCAC Print Portfolio 20th Anniversary Exhibition
January 20-February 23, 2011
Opening reception on Thursday, January 20 from 4:00-7:00pm

OCAC celebrates the twentieth anniversary of its Print Portfolio with a special premiere of the 2010 OCAC Print Portfolio and the previous nineteen years of portfolios. Exhibited as a group for the first time, the show includes 28 new prints by OCAC students, faculty, staff, alumni and artists-in-residence, and over three hundred prints from the College's archives. Images: OCAC student artwork

Gallery Hours: 10:00AM-5:00PM daily

2011-01-13T09:58:00.000-08:00

I suppose it was about time. I've been evading capture by the super bugs and I've dodged and darted my way past the germs and beasties, but finally my immune system threw in the towel. I feel a little like this rusty old goal post that's been kicked a few too many times and has been left out in the rain.

But I'm mending quickly, and I've got a few new things to talk about when the fog finally lifts completely. In the meantime, I just wanted to say *hi!*

***

A commenter here recently asked about receiving a periodic newsletter or joining some sort of email list wherein I might send updates about the goings on in my studio, or other news and relevant links. To this I say: what a good idea! I have the tiny beginnings of an email mailing list, but to date I've only ever sent out announcements when I have an upcoming show. However, a more consistent and reliable newsletter is something I've wanted to start for a while now.

So please, if you are interested in receiving periodic updates via newsletter, go ahead and click the email link in the sidebar and shoot me a message with the subject heading "newsletter." Eventually, I'd like to create a streamlined "sign me up" link you might be able to click directly to, but for now I think this should work.

I imagine this would be a monthly thing at most, and you would always have the option to unsubscribe.

If you are feeling stuck...

2011-01-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

You might want to take a

Or even go for a

But if you are feeling fancy, you might want to try to

I'm sure no matter what you decide, it will clear your head and help you along your path.

hello 2011!

2011-01-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

At midnight on January 1st I was running across the St. Johns bridge.

I'm a night person anyway, so why not, I reasoned, take care of my last run of 2010 and my first run of 2011 all in one go?

Crystal clear, cold skies, air that bites just a little when it enters your lungs. Ship horns up-harbor bellowing the most melodious and melancholy horn symphony I'd ever heard, accompanying firecrackers, cowbells, shouting filling the night air.

I hit my stride after the day turned over, feeling as if my feet had wings. Midway across the bridge I broke out into a grin, feeling the perfection of the moment.

I sped home to a champagne toast with the Monkey, a fire blazing in the wood stove, and a warm black bean casserole just out of the oven.

Wishing you a new year full of hope, harmony, sweet delights, happy surprises and well-being.

it's time to announce the winners!

2010-12-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

Once again, thank you all for your comments, it was great to hear from every one of you!

I've decided since writing the original giveaway post to expand the prizes a tad and offer a calendar not just to one commenter, but to two. Three winners in all - one will receive a goody bag of letterpress printed ephemera (cards, tags, fun stuff, whatever strikes my fancy), one will receive the 2011 calendar, and the "first place" winner will receive a calendar AND a goody bag...

So without further ado, let's get started!

folded twice...

folded thrice...

identities completely concealed, loaded into the magic bag...

shake-a, shake-a...

Here's where I digress a little...the studio cat was supposed to select the winners, but when it came down to it, she became completely uncooperative, instead choosing to circle the guitar stands and rub her whiskers on the edge of the bookshelf. So I had to pull the monkey away from his video game. I don't think his eyes left the screen as he reached into the bag to pull out the first name for the runner up winner.

the

letterpress print ephemera goody-bag:

New End Studio! (who has a blog, too!)

And for the second prize 2011 letterpress printed calendar:

Maggie! (another fellow blogger!)

And for the grand prize, a 2011 calendar and a goody bag:

Atelerlix Books!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

(I'll try to get in touch with you, but if you don't hear from my, just knock on the email button on the sidebar to reach me!)

savoring the last moments of 2010

2010-12-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today I took an extension on the weekend. Since the Monkey had the day off, I decided I would indulge myself as well. Although I've done a little puttering around the studio this evening, I'm really still in vacation mode.

It feels very luxurious, especially as this year goes rocketing toward its conclusion.

Yesterday on my run my mind wandered into planning territory. For Christmas I received a book about home food production and preservation {you'll definitely hear more about this from me soon} which has made me super excited to jump-start my food garden this year. As I went over in my mind what I could currently do in my yard, what popped into my head was there 'is plenty I could still do, as it's still only November.'

What???

The day after Christmas, and my brain hasn't quite moved on from November...that's how desperately my brain needs to catch up with my body.

I'm typically terrible with time. Planning ahead, arriving to places punctually, and making the most of my limited amount of truly free, absolutely nothing to do time is not my strong suit, but it's something I've been working on. Multi-tasking around the clock has not proven to be the sanest method for me. Though things are accomplished, I'm not particularly happy with the process. So I suppose, although it's an ongoing struggle, being more mindful of my time - both my *on* time and my *off* time, is one of my most important resolutions for the new year.

I want to thank everyone, once again, very sincerely, who has commented on the giveaway post. Hearing about your resolutions has been so inspiring, so in return, I'll be dropping a few of mine into the mix this week.

*****

I also want to mention a couple of very cool sounding projects that are currently looking for funding help though Kickstarter. Letterpress lovers, lovers of history and craft education, take a look at these and spread the word if you know of anyone potentially interested.

The first is a mobile letterpress education project, Letterpress PDX, which will focus on Portland area educational demonstrations. The second, Moveable Type, is also a mobile letterpress project, but with a national scope. Moveable Type has exceeded its funding goal, but I mention it here because it seems like such a great thing, and if you're interested in receiving a visit from the Movable Type van in the near future, I think it's just a matter of getting in touch with its creator and putting in a request.

reflect and revise

2010-12-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

hello!

I'd like to make a tiny announcement: I'm going to push the giveaway deadline back by about 24 hours. {23 hours and 59 minutes to be precise}

I know this may seem a bit sleazy, but with the holiday and people spending time with their families and friends, more than likely taking a bit of a break from the constant chatter of blogs and emails, I've decided to extend things by just a day. Commenting will officially close at 11:59 pm Monday night. On Tuesday I'll announce the winners. So many thanks to those of you who have commented so far! I'm really delighted to get to know my readers!

A wee reality playing a part in this decision is that I too have gone into a deep relaxation that I've been taking very seriously! I haven't had this much time to just hang out, eat sugary baked goods, drink mimosas, scratch the studio cat behind the ears, read, etc., etc. for months. So I'm running with it in a determined way. Plus I'd like to spend tomorrow on the mountain with the Monkey playing in the snow.

*****

On a completely unrelated tangent, have you read A Confederacy of Dunces? It's one of those novels that always makes the "Top --- Novels You Need to Read Before You Die" lists that I often ignore. Well, a copy fell into my hands, and the truth is that often there's a reason those books make it on those lists. This one is a rollicking good read, unexpectedly nuanced, and I'm busting up reading it. There you go!

yuletide bright

2010-12-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Be well. Be happy. Be bright.

the Keen Observations book

2010-12-23T21:23:00.000-08:00

This book has the potential to be the perfect companion journal for the new year. It measures approximately 8" x 6.25", and contains 118 pages of 80 lb. Strathmore drawing/text paper - a hefty page that will hold up to abuse and won't bleed through.

This type of book is a hard case-bound book. After folding and sewing the signatures of the book, I backed the spine by gluing and laying on flexible Japanese paper to reinforce the spine, making the pages tight but flexible. The paste downs (the paper glued to the inside cover) is a soft, flannel-like light grey.

The hawk on the cover is a drawing of mine carved in linoleum and printed on my letterpress. Many steps, but so worth it. I really like this book!

The first color available will be this mossy greenish grey - I'm previewing it here tonight, and should have it listed tomorrow morning in the Book Store.

Thanks to everyone who has commented so far in the

giveaway post

Please leave a comment - I really would love to hear from you.

And special thanks to T. at Poppy Place for the very sweet mention of the giveaway on her blog!

Hope you're enjoying the season, no matter how you choose to celebrate, hibernate, or retreat!

it's commenting time!

2010-12-20T18:28:00.000-08:00

I'm very happy to announce the First Ever Tiger Food Ephemera shop giveaway!

But before we start, I hope you'll indulge me as I weave a little background into my narrative. I've been dabbling in this world of making things for a time. I have a good decade of commercial print experience under my belt, a degree in fine art, and a studio practice that includes everything from weird art installations and quasi-performative work to print jobs-for-hire. I've tried, throughout the years, to reconcile my life as "worker bee" i.e. printer, with "maker of craft items" with "fine artist." Only recently, as in the last year or so, have I felt all of these roles comfortably coming together.

That is to say, wow, it's been a long journey here.

I hope this makes sense, because the point I'm trying to make is: I want to celebrate the end of a busy, productive year, and the support I've received from all of you, seen and unseen. I wouldn't have bothered to try to eek out my little place in this world if I hadn't thought there were people watching and listening.

So here is where you come in. I'd love to hear from you! And by you, I mean those of you who do often comment, but especially those of you who visit quietly. I'm interested in you, reader. I'd like to know who you are. So don't be shy. You are welcome to come out of the woodwork just this once at least, to say hi.

Here are the rules. If you've skipped my boring monologue so far, fine. Just read this:

To enter ~ Simply leave a comment answering one or both of these questions.

1. How did you stumble upon this blog, and are you a regular visitor? (OK, so that's two questions in one. Just humor me! And feel free to be perfectly frank. First time visitor and plan to return? Or are you just here for the giveaway with no plans to come back because I've bored you to tears? That's totally reasonable. Do you stop by periodically? Daily? Elaborate as much as you'd like.)

~and/or~

2. What are your New Years resolutions, if any? Tell me about your plans for 2011 - whatever they may be - I'll admit I'm one of those suckers who likes to make resolutions. There's something rejuvenating about a symbolic clean slate and the possibility of a fresh new direction. Do you stick to your plans or do they fizzle out? I truly, honestly love hearing about this stuff!

Here's the rub: if you answer both questions you'll be entered twice. Huzzah!

AND there will be THREE winners, chosen completely randomly from the list of commenters. The big huzzah will be one of my 2011 letterpress printed calendars! Second and third huzzah will be a fabulous shwag bag full of letterpress printed goodness.

So let's get started! Comments will be open until midnight, PST, Monday, December 27. Later that day I'll draw names using a super double-blind name-drawing dealie and I'll make my announcements.

And finally, thank you so, so much!!

P.S. Remember to check out the eclipse tonight if you can!

good monday morning to you!

2010-12-20T10:19:00.001-08:00

*A couple of things keeping me busy in the Tiger Food Press studios this week*

New journals on their way to the nipping press.

I'm calling this one the 'Keen Observations' book. A journal with the perfect amount of heft in just the right size. Easy to slip into your bag to take along wherever you go, but substantial enough to write and draw without feeling cramped.

The Red-Tailed Hawk is one of the most common predator birds seen in the Portland area. I see them frequently during my walks in the natural areas near my house. Often they are keenly scanning the landscape for little creatures as I am scanning the landscape for inspiration.

I hope to have these ready mid-week. They'll be available in at least two cloth colors, with a silverish-gold hawk printed from my hand-carved linoleum block on the cover.

Last week I started working on new prints. I'm really excited about them - I've been meaning to create more small prints for the ephemera shop, and I have several sketches in place and type set for more after this. These are in progress. There are two more press runs and colors to lay down on these before I can call them finished, but I wanted to show them in progress since I'm really pleased with how they are turning out.

There's also a story behind this image, and hopefully {hopefully!} this print will be the start of a short series of prints inspired by the same theme...I'll tell you all about it when I have this print finished and ready to show.

Well, I'm taking the last sip from my coffee now. I'm off to OCAC to assess the damage finals brought to the book arts studios. I'm sure it will seem awfully quiet up there with most of the students gone for the holidays.

A little later today I'm going to announce my first ever Tiger Food Ephemera giveaway, so I'll see you later!

December lights, urban scavenging, fire, wine

2010-12-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hello, hello, good evening, and cheers!

I can't believe it's already 8:00 pm here on the west coast. The weeks and weekends are flying by at madcap speed, carrying me along in a tumbling wind. But I'm finally finding purchase and taking hold...tonight I'm sitting alone by the fire, listening to Chopin, drinking a glass of Cabernet, and catching my breath - for the first time in many days. I've abandoned holiday shopping plans, mopping the floor plans, getting things done plans to just

take a breath.

And

then

another.

I have some new work to show you, but I think I'll wait until Monday. There's no urgency. I'm trying to relax and luxuriate in that realization.

Today I tidied up some binding projects, (some of which I'll be presenting soon) drank copious cups of black tea, strung tiny white lights around the front door of our house while the Monkey baked cookies and plied me with hot coffee. The studio cat has been catching up on her lap sitting time. The fire is crackling (I've already mentioned that, haven't I?) & I think I'll do a little more holiday decorating before taking my wine and a pile of indulgent magazines with me to bed.

Last week the Monkey and I took a little two block jaunt over to our local park. Every year when we get a good wind storm the ground becomes littered with evergreen boughs, and I typically make a few trips into the urban forest to pick up a few choice fallen branches. This year we found an enormous stash of cedar branches recently blown down. We each grabbed as many as we could carry in our arms and hauled them home, where I tied together this doorway garland.

I hope you are able to take some time to breath during this hectic season.

Peace and be well.

P.S. Ooh, ooh! I almost forgot! I'm planning on hosting a first ever Tiger Food Ephemera giveaway early next week in time for the new year. Look for details on Monday!

freshly minted

2010-12-13T19:33:00.000-08:00

Introducing: the Both Sides, Now book

Joni Mitchell lyrics often pop unbidden into my head during our long months of rain and clouds here in the Pacific Northwest.

"I've looked at clouds from both sides now

from up and down, and still somehow

it's cloud illusions I recall

I really don't know clouds at all"

A long concertina book, she measures about 7" x 10" when closed, but can be opened and drawn or written on continuously for a little over 14 feet. And that's if you were to only use one side of the paper. Go ahead and use both sides.

Available now in the shoppe.

treasuries!

2010-12-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention earlier - I'm thrilled to have had my calendar selected for two recent treasuries: A New Year (Please click and check it out in person) from Aliciablim on Etsy

and Ready for 2011 from Flutterbudget

I'm really honored to have been featured with all of these great calendars -

Happy shopping!

Choreograph and The Possibility of Being Fully Rewritten

2010-12-12T11:20:00.000-08:00

Oh, I am so remiss in not getting to this show earlier in it's run. If you can, if you are anywhere near Lake Oswego/Marylhurst University today - check out the show at the Art Gym, open Noon - 4 pm today - today is the last day to see this show.

"Choreograph" is exhibited in the main gallery, presenting work by Emily Ginsburg and Jane Lackey. Movement, communication, tracking, and mapping from our quotidian, repetitive actions, to a more inscrutable choreography of pattern and circuits are represented both texturally and graphically.

Inge Bruggeman has a small show in the little room in the Art Gym, "The Possibility of Being Fully Rewritten - or 5 Ways to Enter (or Exit) the Book" is spare but voluptuous. Giant stacks of letterpress printed "take-aways" meet you at the entrance of the room, their gorgeous deckles undulate in pulpy waves. It seems a shame to "disturb" the stack by actually taking one of the gorgeous prints offered. On the opposing wall, pamplet booklet pages gently sway as you pass them, breath on them while peeking around the edges of their crisp white pages that remind us to "inhale" and then "exhale." {funny how I keep finding yogic principles filtering into my life in unexpected ways.}

Take a rain day, an artist date, and go see some art. You won't regret it.

a week in review

2010-12-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

1. gathering evergreen boughs in the park nearby

2. a multiple day vet clinic experience for the Studio Cat (she's ok, just needed to have a procedure done that required an extended hospital stay)

3. the joy of bringing Studio Cat home again!

4. a complete day off

5. listening to the audiobook of "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters

6. coyote sighting, nervous geese

7. 5k race this morning after 3 hours of sleep

ta da - calendar!

2010-12-03T23:36:00.000-08:00

I don't really want to just drop off another post and run, but things are not slowing down here tonight...

I'm in the middle of deciding whether I should attempt a few midnight binderies before tomorrow's sale, or call it a night after finishing up my packing.

Which will win out? Good sense and exhaustion or insanity and last minute planning?

hmmm...

Well, I'm really happy to announce that the 2011 calendar poster is finally, finally printed! Hurray, huzzah, boy-howdy! I'll take its pretty picture and get it listed in the Tiger Food Ephemera shop late Saturday night or Sunday, but if you can't wait - it will be for sale tomorrow at the Kenton Firehouse Sale.

That's about all I can muster for now, folks.

Nighty-night!

late night troubadour

2010-12-03T12:06:00.001-08:00

fresh out of the press

2010-12-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

And available at Tiger Food Books.

Guestbook, small photo album, scrapbook...I feel like these are pretty versatile. I used vintage wallpaper on the covers, and one of my favorite printmaking papers that holds up well to all kinds of abuse from pen and ink, pencils, charcoal, markers - anything you might want to use to add content to these crisp white pages.

reminder - Kenton Firehouse Sale

2010-12-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

The Seventh Annual Kenton Firehouse Sale

Saturday, December 4, 2010

8105 N. Brandon

11 AM-6PM

Artists are:

Kendra Brock- fiber art
Clare Carpenter - book art
Al Flory -photography
Robin Epstein- hats and jewelry
Peggy Flynn - fiber art
Margaret Gardene- ceramics
Adrienne Hatkin- Jewelry
Tress Prefontaine - Glass art
Suzy Root- fiber art -whole table
Siri Schillios- painting and prints
Aunti e to you-children's clothes
Studio I - toddler tiered skirts

The Historic Kenton Firehouse is located six blocks north of Lombard. Make a left at Schofield and travel one block west of Denver to Brandon. Or take the Interstate MAX yellow line to the sale. Only three blocks from the Kenton Station!

good ideas, bad ideas, and good ideas turned...not so good

2010-11-29T22:12:00.000-08:00

With bull-like determination I'm slowly turning things out.

Today I listed a great little pamphlet book in my Etsy Books Shop. Honestly I love this book - not only the linoleum cut design on buckram book cloth - but the structure itself. This is the book I was sewing in this post. I used a variety of colored end sheet papers so there'd be a bright splash of color in between the charcoal-dark cover and the off-white text pages. After sewing I tipped (glued, in plainspeak) on the covers, just at the spine, so the sewing is not exposed and the cover material is seamless and smooth. I used buckram rather than chip board or card stock due to its suppleness. Buckram is a coated cloth, often used on vintage library books - it has an almost plastic feel to it (probably because it's impregnated with some sort of polymer), but it still has the look and flexibility of heavy sail cloth.

I wrestled a little with pricing these fine fellows. On one hand, they're simple pamphlet books, very similar to a Moleskine journal, without even some of Moleskine's bells and whistles such as pockets or removable pages. But this book is handmade from start to finish, from the cutting, folding, sewing, gluing, printing, trimming and corner rounding. I think my final decision is one I can live with.

In the not-so-great, reality of making things by hand, taking a risk and trying something new which doesn't work out category, I decided not to go forward with the other book cover designs I had been working on this week.

I have a stack of small, blank books that have been ready for some sort of cover for quite a while. Recently, as I was holding one in my hand, I realized that it was perfectly "pulp fiction," paper-back rack-sized; which led me to the natural conclusion that these should be soft covered with graphic, high contrast, B-movie, sleazy pulp type imagery. Which is fine, except it hasn't worked out for now. My lino cuts didn't work well with the book cloth I had chosen, and since the books are already trimmed to their final size and really can't go any smaller, doing a case like I had planned was technically difficult, if not impossible to make look good.

I'm still in love with the idea of creating my own pulp fiction covers to narratives that don't exist, but for now I've decided to put the cloth in the reuse/recycle bin and start over. It's difficult to make that choice since I'm crunched for time trying to make enough work for next weekend, but I'm happier knowing that I can stand behind my work 100%.

Next on the agenda:

1. 2011 calendars. They are still planned and on their way, hopefully to be finished this Friday.

2. A few more winter card designs, suitable for winter holidays, new years, all kinds of occasions...

3. Case bound, hard back books. Sometime in the second week of December.

4. More prints!!! Northwest themes, Portland lore, trees, dark primeval forests...

high octane

2010-11-28T13:05:00.000-08:00

Fueled by cups and cups of strong coffee and sweet chai, I've been working all weekend trying to finish work for the Kenton Holiday Sale next Saturday.

This weekend my focus has been on finishing some purse-sized, softcover books that have been on my bench for a while, as well as some vintage-y guest books. I hope to finally update my Etsy books shop on Monday around noon. Until then, it's back to the glue brushes and nipping press for me!

piesessful

2010-11-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

It's with a tiny twinge of pride that I tell you the pie crust was a success. As I'd mentioned, I had given up on making pie crust a long time ago. I sometimes fall into these ruts in which I define myself by what I am not. Such as, I am not a morning person, I am not the best at keeping in touch with people I care about, and I'm not a pie maker. But yesterday's pie crust gave me a glimmer of hope that those ingrained tendencies can sometimes rather easily, sometimes with determined hard work, be molded, directed and, *heavens!* changed.

I may actually make pie again. And maybe I'll start going for 6 AM jogs...

Yesterday's pie was an autumn harvest full of tangy, tart, sweet, and spicy. Pear, apple, cranberry, and my addition, ginger, made for a color rich, burst in your mouth juicy mess. The basic recipe is 2-3 tart apples, one ripe pear, 1 and half cups of fresh cranberries. I added (a little too much) fresh, finely diced ginger and lemon zest. The bottom is a traditional flaky dough crust, and it's topped with a streusel made of whole oats, flour, sugar, butter and spices.

Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Think about the next pie you're going to make.

from dawn til dusk, dusk til dawn

2010-11-24T21:49:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been quite a night owl. Sometimes I work late. Sometimes I stay up for no reason. It makes it hard to get up early to jump into my work. The first thing I do in the morning is make coffee, stand in my bindery, and simply sip.

I like to say that I work better at night. It's quiet, still, and nothing else needs my attention. It's my time, and my time alone. But I also know it's largely my daydreaminess that makes me too distracted to even commit to sleeping.

Are you a night owl? An early bird? A swallow longing for the sight of land?

***

Today was a wear-the-big-boots and the jacket-with-a-fuzzy-collar kind of day. The farm stand where I tried to buy my produce was closed due to "deep freeze."

I have to say I love Portland's current weather. I'm originally from the high desert, and despite my best efforts escaping what I thought was a dreary waste land, a la T.S. Eliot, when I was younger, it's in my bones. The dry, still, cold air. The crunch of frost beneath my feet. Funny how I hated all of that, and now I'm so thankful when I get a little reprieve from the rain - as if by being thankful it might stick around for a while.

***

So it's night again. I'll be up for a while doing last minute bindery, working on the designs for some book covers, and making pie crust (!) My first pie crust in, er, 17 years or so. I gave up after a single pie disaster and never looked back. Now I'm ready to re-saddle that horse and go for it. Wish me luck.

I also need to tell you about this bread! I got this recipe for poppy seed bread from Clockwork Lemon via Etsy. I'm telling you, you have to check out her blog and the rest of her food concoctions and photos. This bread was so easy to make, and as delicious as promised. I could barely wait for it to cool before grabbing the bread knife and mutilating it.

And finally:

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone. Via

a few things to mention

2010-11-22T21:54:00.000-08:00

I hope I don't bore you to tears with all of these dry announcements, but I have a few more things to get out of the way before I start indulging in the falderal once again.

Thing the first:

The vanguard of my holiday cards are now available in my Etsy Ephemera shop. Go see them! The designs currently available are a little different from my usual fare of animals, nature inspired themes, and linoleum carvings. I've taken a stronger interest lately in abstraction and pattern in my work, so this is translating into my line of things for sale. I've been looking at book cover design and patterns from the 1960s; I'm sure some of that has seeped into my subconscious and leant its hand in this current trend. Some of the colors are subtle, and the fine lines did not seem suited to the deep impression many are used to in letterpress printed stationery these days, so I hope there's an audience for these somewhere. At any rate, I like them. If not, perhaps I'll be forced to take up a few pen-pals in the next year.

But fear not! I know the animals are popular, and I haven't lost my fondness for them either. New winter animals are being carved in lino and will be printed in time for the Kenton Firehouse Sale.

Which brings me to thing the second:

Need a craft fair fix? Please visit either or both of these sales coming up this weekend and the next.

Annual OCAC Student and Alumni Holiday Sale

Special Pre-Event: Friday, November 26, 5:00-7:00pm (free)

Holiday Sale: Friday, November 26, 7:00-9:00pm ($3.00 admission fee for Friday only)

Saturday, November 27, 10:00am-6:00pm (free)

Sunday, November 28, 10:00am-4:00pm (free)

Kick off your holiday season with OCAC's annual Student and Alumni Holiday Sale! Enjoy holiday treats, warm beverages and a festive atmosphere at a special pre-event in our Retail Craft Gallery. Guests who make purchases between 5:00-7:00pm on Friday will receive 10% off. If you already have an OCAC membership you will get 20% in the Craft Gallery that night! Please note: This discount does not apply to items purchased at the student and alumni sale starting at 7:00pm.

All Friday attendees will also receive a raffle ticket with their regular $3.00 admission. Bring your friends and increase your chances of walking away with a certificate for Sunday brunch at the Hands on Cafe, an original piece of artwork, or free tuition to a Studio School weekend workshop of your choice.

~AND~

The Seventh Annual Kenton Firehouse Sale

Saturday, December 4, 2010

8105 N. Brandon

11 AM-6PM

Artists are:

I'll give you fair warning, I'm probably going to remind you all of this one a fair number of times before the date, just so you know...

And last, but not least, thing the last:

I created a new page for special announcements that need to stay available for a while. I'm not sure how to make it more noticeable, but for now I'll just direct your attention to it when I need to, yes? The link is included in the side bar, titled "extra, extra." But I'll just let you know that if you click here it will take you there, and what you'll find is information about two letterpress classes I am teaching this spring at OCAC. Shameless plug!

Ok, thanks for reading! I hope your holiday plans are shaping up, and that you're staying warm and cozy. I'll be sipping on whiskey, listening to an audio book, and cutting paper tonight, hoping the Pacific Northwest storm gives me a studio day tomorrow.

2010-11-21T14:54:00.000-08:00

Now in my Etsy Ephemera store!

More to come in the next few days.

smooches dahlinks!

good dreamy goodness is coming soon

2010-11-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

The best way to describe how I've been feeling over the last week is: you know those dreams in which you are running in a panic, something is chasing you, but your legs feel like they're made of weak jelly and you make no progress. You run and run and run. Faster, faster, but whatever is chasing you keeps gaining. There's no way you can outrun it.

And then...

You get distracted by something shiny.

Or you duck into an alleyway which leads you into a night club with fascinating looking people and expensive neon blue drinks and you become anonymous and swept up into the crowd.

Or you find yourself in a quiet park on a windy day.

Or whatever. You suddenly realize you've stopped running, but whatever was chasing you is still out there, and the cycle repeats itself.

Yup, that's me cranking the press like mad trying to catch up in my holiday stuff making frenzy.

Store re-opening and updates starting tomorrow morning (Sunday 11-21) around 11 am. More stuff to follow.

sweet dreams,

Clare

Update: Anyone who has ever been to Portland will know - we rarely see the sun here. There was a bit of light in the sky when I started photographing cards this morning by the "sunniest" window in the house, but alas, it wasn't enough. Tired of over-dark photos, I stopped everything and built a light box. Results to come soon. Shop updates later today.

an update about holiday cards and calendars

2010-11-13T00:44:00.000-08:00

Hi there.

I just wanted to drop a line to say: my 2011 calendar and holiday cards plates are on their way to Tiger Food Press as we speak, and printing shall begin first thing next week. Look for updates here, and new items to be on my Etsy shelves around the ~~19th~~ 21st (next Sunday.) OCAC's alumni holiday sale will be Thanksgiving weekend, and will be the first local place where I'll be selling new work this year.

The *Cheap-But-Good* book arts sale is happening this weekend. Yay! I won't have anything new there, but I'll be selling off last years holiday cards, some second quality prints, and some old familiar broadsides. There'll be plenty of student and teacher work, plus supplies like fancy paper and bookcloth, so come one, come all.

In the meantime, I'm sewing books and trying not to panic.

2010-11-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have one of those days when you are so swamped with possibility, when there are so many things on your "to-do" list, that it seems an impossible chore to simply decide which to tackle first?

I should be sewing these books right now. But I should also be printing the design that will go on the cover. And of course, I could be making the parts for the covers of my small hardbound blank books which have been sitting on job *inbox* table for months. I could also be ordering paper, which needs to be done today and no later. Also, there are albums half finished, and drawings yet to be turned out on linoleum and carved. And I just noticed that my spice cupboard really needs to be cleaned and rearranged, and the kitchen floor desperately needs to be mopped. Ever have one of those days?

Truthfully, I feel pretty damn lucky!

Cheap-But-Good

2010-11-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

It's time to announce:

The second annual "Cheap-But-Good" book arts sale at Oregon College of Art and Craft.

The Book Arts Department at Oregon College of Art & Craft will hold its second annual fall "Cheap-But-Good Book Arts Sale" on Saturday, November 13th from 10am-3pm. The sale will take place in the Book Arts studio at OCAC which is located at 8245 SW Barnes Road in Portland.

There will be handmade journals, boxes, artist books, broadsides, decorative paper, small prints, cards, etc. for sale with prices starting at one dollar!

Proceeds benefit the Student Workshop Fund.

Last fall we had a really great turnout with lots of excellent work from current students, alumni, and teachers. This year the timing is perfect for early holiday shopping. Hope to see you there!

she's gone crazy...

2010-11-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

yessir, I've gone a little loopy and have interrupted my regularly cynical programming to produce some

dun, dun, dun...

BABY ANNOUNCEMENTS

This year a rash of friends announced pregnancies, and while I can't provide sound, soothing advice for new mothers, or diaper changing services, or knit cozy little booties, hats and sweaters, I can provide announcement printing.

For T & J, I printed a very simple card using the image of little baby G's footprint from the hospital. I printed this with a little transparent white on white, kid finish card stock, and printed the interior in silver using handset Bodoni Bold. I think it came out looking really lovely and understated, as we're not particularly into *cute* or over sentimental expressions.

Which leads me to these: I'm going to try selling packs of baby announcements in my Etsy store to see where it leads. To begin with, I'm using this design of wood type and some non-typical colors - a rainbow roll of silver and warm red for the word BEBE, and a rainbow roll of red and orange for the accents. I must be inspired by the colors surrounding my studio now, the poplars and maples have all burst into their autumn colors in the last week.

Most likely I'll save printing the flipside of these flat card announcements, which will include space to fill out baby's name, weight and length at birth, birthday, etc., until after I've cranked out my holiday work; but I thought I'd give you a little preview. What do you think? Do baby announcements need to be cute? Must they be powder blue and pink? I guess I'll find out!

happy Friday everyone!

2010-10-29T13:20:00.000-07:00

I'm carving out an hour here and there to draw. This morning I grabbed that time by the horns, and in the shadow of the glowing green, yellow, orange world of an autumn morning, pencil was put to paper. I only have a minute of time today before a short print run, putting in a few hours studio managing at OCAC, and then on to print a set of announcements on one of the Vandercooks at school. Time is precious, but tiny steps eventually accumulate.

Hoping to have some designs ready for carving and platemaking by the end of the weekend.

and another week passes, part II

2010-10-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Still running to catch up. As usual, per my regular m.o., I am late, late, late with holiday work, as well as just pokey slow with the newer broadsides and prints that are underway.

This year there WILL be a calendar - a poster sized wall calendar with the entire year at a glance. I'm looking toward early to mid November for it to hit the shelves of my Etsy shop.

For now, I'll show you a little bit of the inspiration that's fueling my calendar design and other work that's coming down the pike.

I live in a part of Portland that's part urban, part nature, part industry. A short bike ride from my front yard there are lakes, sloughs, river channels, busy harbor terminals, abandoned industrial yards and wastelands, brownfields, greenways, bike paths, container yards, dumps, wildlife habitats, ghetto-like housing, fancy new construction...it's all a mishmash squished-together melting pot. I find it richly inspiring, and my place - my environment - heavily influences my art.

Lately I've been looking at color blocking, the abstract geometry of the landscape, and the basic forms of the industrial structures juxtaposed with nature reclaiming this peninsula. Hopefully next week I'll be able to show you more of what I mean.

This weekend I'm off on a little escape. I've reserved a cabin on a river in Central Oregon and I'll be drawing, drawing, drawing, jogging, hiking, drinking Martinis at a certain lounge, and coming home with a rested head full of ideas ready to spill out and tell you about.

and another week passes, part I

2010-10-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

This week was a productive, odd, and busy; but not in any way that I had hoped or planned.

The Monkey and I are in the midst of an enormous garage cleaning project, and on Monday, although I was able to work in my studio for the first part of the day, the rest of the day was absorbed with fighting traffic while attempting to drop off various donations and recyclables at various drop-off sites around town. The amount of stuff we accumulate is startling! Most of what we found to be taking up space in the garage were half-full paint cans, bags of styrofoam packing materials kept in an attempt to keep them from the landfill, and *sigh* press parts, broken beyond repair and destined for the metal recyclers.

The rest of the week I focused on work at OCAC. For those of you unfamiliar with the school, or the changes happening there, OCAC is undergoing some major renovations. Click here to read an article from the PORT blog about the new buildings. In addition to the brand new building for drawing, painting, and photography, book arts has received a temporary remodel that's given us use of the old photo department's space. For the first time, possibly ever, our department is adjusting to the idea of having room to spread out. Reconsidering workflow is a major component to planning how we will ultimately arrange the space. A few weeks ago we moved in a new, (to us) second board shear, and we have a second standing press in the breezeway waiting to be moved in. All this is to say that I spent the week moving cabinets, shelving and storage around the studios at OCAC, leaving me exhausted, headachy* and dusty after every day.

*The building that houses book arts is also getting a new roof - which involves some sort of stinky glue - which results in migraines...

Punctuating this were extra yoga classes and an increased home practice, a lovely visit with OCAC's book arts resident, Heather Green, a beer made more delicious by the sunset view at the Skyline Tavern in the hills of NW Portland, along with some terrible, tragic news having to do with a good friend of the Monkey. It's been a strange, strange week, reminding me of how much I value my job, my colleagues, my loved ones, and the soul food that sustains our well being.

people who do it all

2010-10-18T11:17:00.000-07:00

I am not one of them. They must get up at like 4 in the morning or something.

In fact, I feel like I'm constantly running to catch up. This weekend, I finally put away my camping gear from my desert trip nearly a month ago. I folded acres of laundry that surely didn't need to all be left for weeks. I had a mini-breakdown when I looked at my to-do list and all of the things as of yet un-checked-off. I'm sure most of us feel that way.

Also in fact, I find my time sitting on the deck in the morning when the light is just beginning to peak over the roofs, sketchbook in hand, freezing a little but bundled under three blankets, two hoodies and a hat, to be more important time spent than all of the bustle, the running around, the meetings, emails, and obligations.

I'm feeling inspired lately. There are toasty, tasty things popping off the press. I've been drawing, doodling, tap dancing (not really) and finding that ideas for fun little things to make and sell for the holidays (around the corner and I'm always behind the curve...) are alight in my mind at all times of the day and night. I will show you soon.

In the meantime - the Monkey found this little guy in our backyard the other day. I did a little research and I believe he's a Western Tiger Swallowtail, or will be one day if all goes well.

type : specimen

2010-10-05T23:43:00.000-07:00

Just before school began this year, I spent some time at OCAC sorting and organizing our letterpress and book arts related ephemera, literature, and reference material. At one point I was inspired to stop to photograph these type specimen booklets. They are works of art in and of themselves.

On another note, but related, check out this post by a fellow Portland letterpress friend, The Serial Machinist: Matthew Carter, MacArthur Genius award recipient, talking a little about type design.

this is simply a gratuitous post

2010-10-03T23:22:00.000-07:00

wherein I marvel for a moment in the beauty of wood furniture, mid-century mechanics,

and words set in perfectly straight lines.

2010-10-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

I'd like to switch gears just a little and tell you a story. Something that has to do with a moment in time when I was young and a tiny light turned on, or a latch was unbolted in my brain that allowed me to think that I would one day be an artist.

I grew up in a small Central Oregon town, and when I had just turned 11 my parents took my brother and I on a trip to Portland to hit the museums and to eat in a good restaurant and to soak up a little culture. One of the highlights for me during that trip, aside from staying on one of the uppermost floors of a downtown hotel and being giddy with the lights and thrill of the sounds of the street below, was the Portland Art Museum.

brother and sister, too cool to have their picture taken, on a cultural excursion,

taken outside of the old OMSI circa 1986.

A couple of things happened to me there, transformational experiences - the first of which was seeing the girls and boys with punk rock hairdos coming and going. I believe at that time what is now the Pacific Northwest College of Art was the Museum School, and students would have been milling around. I wanted to immediately go home and bleach my hair platinum like the black-clad girl in witch boots in line in front of us at the entry.

The other was that my parents had the insight to set my brother and I free to go our separate ways and to wander the museum by ourselves, to discover what we could in our own way. After a time and location was determined to regroup, the four of us broke apart and let the compass of our own personal curiosity pull us.

Eventually I found myself in a long hall lined with black and white photographs. Photographs of orchids, female nudes, and muscular, naked men. I don't remember specific details. I couldn't today, for the life of me, recognize what photographs I saw that day; but I later learned that they were the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, whose photography became the center of the public's attention when The Corcoran Gallery of Art in D.C. refused to show his more controversial series, The Perfect Moment, and whose name was frequently invoked when the spending habits of the National Endowment for the Arts were questioned.

I have a feeling that what I saw that day was a fairly tame sampling of Mapplethorpe's body of work, but it showed details that certainly made me curious; and made me slightly embarrassed to be looking at them closely. I honestly wasn't sure how I was supposed to react. At once thrilled, slightly titillated, and also engrossed in the beauty of the images, I felt a little unsure of whether I should be looking at them at all. I felt painfully aware of my age - was this appropriate? I was both assured and mortified when other viewers, adults, entered the room and looked at the images. I have a very, very vague recollection of a parent and child entering and quickly exiting again.

I circled the hallway and came back when the other visitors had left. I surreptitiously eyed the photos again and again, moving forward casually when others entered the space. I believe I left the area entirely, only to return a while later, lured by the graphic, secret nature of what I was viewing - but also its beauty.

What strikes me in retrospect is how lucky I was to have been able to experience that moment, alone, in an art museum. I feel as if museums can be, should be, places of safety and sanctity. By that I mean - where judgement is allowed to be suspended, and where we are given the chance to trust our own intelligence. By safety I mean - a place where a young person, or any person, can view something challenging, perhaps something altogether not safe, and consider its validity as art, or not. (I know that may seem to be a contradictory definition of safety.) The safety and sanctity of the museum that day allowed me the opportunity to have one of my first critical evaluations regarding "what is art?" and "how do I feel about this?" In fact, the way I felt that day was that art could be very powerful, and wildly different than what I might imagine, and that it could excite me to think about things in an entirely new way. This little moment seeded my desire to become an artist.

the smell of oil and ink, the sound of a humming press

2010-09-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

Early last spring I mentioned I had begun two collaborations with two local poets - helping in the design process and doing the printing of their respective book projects.

As the case is many times, these projects develop entirely on their own timeline. Sometimes a month or two will go by while we let ideas sit and germinate after a crucial step. For both of the women I am working with, the work itself has been written and lived with for many years already - there is no hurry to crash through the process of creating this object to hold.

In the past few weeks, I've been plugging away, for an hour or so here and there, at setting type for Open Sky, a poem by Allison Dubinsky. Paper was decided upon, ordered and cut to size. A polymer plate was made from one of the author's drawings, and the press was finally inked up to begin printing the cover.

I invited A. over yesterday to take a look at her poem, set and tied up, and to approve the placement of the text and image on the cover paper. I practically jumped up and down with happiness over how well the silver lays on the black paper.

I wanted to offer A. the chance to run a few covers through the press, since she had never had the opportunity to use a Vandercook. After a few impressions were made and with a little ink adjustment we got chatting about printing, fantasizing about a giant barn full of printing equipment, and other stuff...and on and on...and then, she had finished printing all 100 covers!

At some point I'd like to try to articulate how inspiring these collaborations are for me, and also how awesome it was to have A. take to printing like she'd been doing it all her life. Someday I'll get around to telling you. ..

the long view

2010-09-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

I've been doing a lot of posting of imagery, few words...

I promise to return with some posts of substance, some heft, some weighty thoughts and ideas (really?) But my boots are still just barely touching the ground after a dearly needed trip to the desert.

The Alvord Desert and the surrounding sage covered range is a place that defies words.

Crackling heat, dust, white playa.

Magpies, jack rabbits, coyotes, crickets, lizards, snakes...

HOT SPRINGS...

Micro and macro, light and shadow.

I stepped out of the desert into the swampy night of Portland's most humid day, returning in the middle of the night. After a sunburnt day at Oregon College of Art and Craft, I slipped back into my own studio today to print a project I can't wait to show you, in silver ink; that distinctive metallic smell still stuck in my nose, mingling with the lingering volcanic dust from the camping gear still stowed by the back door, unpacked.

But that can wait until tomorrow. Goodnight for now...

2010-09-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

"There are those days which seem a taking in of breath which, held, suspends the whole earth in its waiting. Some summers refuse to end.

So along the road those flowers spread that, when touched, give down a shower of autumn rust. By every path it looks as if a ruined circus had passed and loosed a trail of ancient iron at every turning of a wheel. The rust was laid out everywhere, strewn under trees and by riverbanks and near the tracks themselves where once a locomotive had gone but went no more. So flowered flakes and railroad track together turned to moulderings upon the rim of autumn."

Farewell Summer, Ray Bradbury

la vida es buena

2010-08-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

en la bicicleta

to do

2010-08-21T10:19:00.001-07:00

1. clean the cobwebs from the corners of my studio where the old ink was.

2. send my form rollers for recasting.

3. draw draw draw and draw

4. redistribute standing type.

5. set type for new projects.

6. make Bulldog Betty dolls.

7. make book cloth. make books.

8. write curriculum for Intermediate Letterpress class.

9. eat as many blackberries as humanly possible.

10. lie as still as possible in the middle of the yard and smell the lavender.

summer lull

2010-08-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Today I spent the morning sitting in the back yard, under a fleece blanket in one of our comfy wooden deck chairs...sipping coffee, writing, catching up on correspondence, and trying to plot out the next few weeks work in my studio, at OCAC, {classes start in one week!} and in my personal life - trying to squeeze a few more weeks of summer and road tripping, swimming, walking barefoot, gin and tonic tasting, not to mention WORK into periods of days ahead.

Every summer it seems I hit a little wall. Late July, early August, things just slow down creatively, productively, mentally, physically. I stop running, I wake up late, I'm restless and stay up to the wee hours pacing the house, reluctant to go to sleep for no good reason. It's the late summer lull. I've come to think of it as a necessary evil, a force that must be acknowledged and surrendered to, if only for a little while.

In the past few days I've been hit the summer lull in a hard way. But today I woke up feeling like the barometer has lifted a little. A bit of clarity and vision filtered in, and I pulled out my sketchbook, poured coffee, and tiptoed into whatever comes next.