chapbook -- the last day!

Sometimes you think a project will be fantastic. And then it is, but takes two months longer than you'd scheduled for. Last Tuesday, the signed pages finally arrived on my doorstep (after this fiasco, I was despairing of them ever arriving!). I had all the rest of the chapbook assembled--I just needed to sew it all together, basically.

Four hours later, voila!
One hundred poetry chapbooks, printed and bound by me! (Buy yours here!)

And only seven weeks late.

That Wednesday, I took a short break from the chapbook to greet two very special guests: Dave and Beth from Hot Metal Services, who very kindly drove all the way from Tennessee to fix big metal machines in the Northeast. They had a day off, so after they were done with Shelley's Vandercook, they took the drive up to Montpelier to attend to Lucy.

The diagnosis: dirty, but in great condition. Beth took out the tiniest screwdriver ever, and dug out all the gunk in the gear teeth. Dave measured the rollers (exactly 2-1/2", thank goodness!), adjusted the ink drum belt, and answered all of my questions about funny noises and dust. Lucy is now 100% shiny metal from top to bottom--and in perfect health!

a quiet day

Last Saturday's workshop was definitely quiet!  I had two cancellations late Friday night--and so only one student!

Samantha was a very good sport, and put up with me talking all day long!  

She made notecards with an old saying of her father's: "Why is a mouse when it spins?" and inside "The higher, the fewer."  Has anyone else heard this before?

intro workshop blur

Last night I taught the first (of what I hope will be many!) session of Intro to Letterpress in my studio. Thanks to Maria, Emily, and Megan for having the faith in me to sign up in the first place!

Unfortunately, all the pictures I took last night were blurry. I was feeling a bit blurry, too--it's been a long few weeks, kids, and this is just the beginning.
(above) Emily (below) Megan and Maria, all checking out my crazy collection of magnesium and copper images
Right now: running out the door to prep for tomorrow's Experience the Letterpress Thing in Chicopee. Next week's intro workshop: setting type!

P.S. I have one more spot left in my 10/18 Wood Type Fun workshop--email me now if youre interested!

meet me here:

From Letterpress Things Printshop

Tomorrow, Saturday October 4, from 11-3. Check out the full flyer; get directions here; see you soon!

And, because I'm so excited about them, a sneak peek at some new work:

open studio: recap

The open studio was great! Thanks to everyone who came, and talked my ear off, and tried the presses, and bought journals, and...

...everything. You kept me so busy, I didn't even get any pictures of the studio-in-action. For more pictures (well, more exciting than my gloves), check out photographer Curtis Savard, who stopped by (and stayed for awhile!) and Tara Jensen, fellow Fort Can-ite.

open studio

I hope you'll all (yes, all!) join me tomorrow at my open studio.It's been a very long day...and I'm still not ready! Back to work!

just a quick one...

The chapbook is on hold, as the post office seems to have lost the signed pages from the poet. While I wait for my lovely, lovely mail carrier to reveal where he left the box, enjoy:Aren't stacks of things just lovely?

chapbook -- day 4 to 12

I'm almost done! Here are a few pictures from the last week:

paper "tongues," to try to stop the slurring at the bottom of the page (it worked!)

on the press, the palest orchid, but...

a solid lavender on the page!

my headache--eight hours of tiny, tiny (did I mention small) pieces of paper for makeready on the last plate.
that pic was after hour three.

it's still not perfect, but the last plate was finally printed!

chapbook -- day 3

My soundtrack for the day--Breakfast of Champions (Kurt Vonnegut is such an inspiration!) read by Stanley Tucci. I think I've read it a dozen times, but having it read to me is such a great treat!It's so small, but this smudge tripped me up for a good hour today. I ended up wiping down the whole press!
It's a bit of a walk to the sink, so I've been using (and reusing) latex gloves for my clean-hands work.
Grr. Hate it when that happens.
Relaxing in the midst of chaos. But really, I just wanted to show you my favorite socks (pink and purple stripes) and the best clogs ever: Dansko Piper in blue cabrio--now totally discontinued :(

Chapbook countdown: finished two more text pages today...only five more to go!

gocco fun!

Eva at my kitchen table, inking the first screen

Eva came by my house this morning to get a jump on her posters. As part of being a Fort Can artist-in-residence, Brian and I help with advertising your "show": Brian can consult about the art, and I handle the text--letterpress, of course. This month, B has his hands full with trying to repaint the walls, so I volunteered to show Eva how to use the Gocco.

I haven't used my machine in over a year (or more!), but the bulbs and screens were just fine, and Eva had a blast!
Two colors and sixty prints later...now they just need text!

chapbook -- day 2

Day 2 was not as productive as day 1. I only finished text page (I was shooting for two), because my knee was acting up. And Eva came by for a meeting about posters...she'll be the artist taking over the gallery for September.

chapbook -- day 1

click on the picture for a larger version!

It's been awhile since I mentioned this project, but it's taken awhile to get off the ground. I have the great privilege of printing a poetry chapbook for Well Lit Press. The publisher contacted me eight months ago, and it's been a long (but very illuminating) process. I'm very glad to finally be working on it!

The only downside is...just to the left in the photo. Yup, crutches. I did a little something funny to my knee last week, and have been limping very, very slowly since. Today I got the results of the MRI: sprained ACL, torn tendons, and lots of swelling and bruising. The forecast: maybe knee surgery, maybe not. I'll know more on Tuesday, when the orthopedic surgeon will be back from the long weekend.

Chapbook countdown: despite the injury, I've finished three of the eleven runs for the text. Lucy is cooperating very nicely; I'll keep you posted as to the rest!

P.S. Buy your copy now!

week(end) in review

Totally last minute invitations for the Letterpress Guild's annual party. Do you know how challenging it is to send letterpressed invitations to a group of professional (and particular) letterpress printers?Also, business cards for two *new* local professionals, Danielle and Kelsey.

a bit of a surprise

Look what startled me out of my business card reverie:
It was only the engine car, but when a train rumbles by, less than ten feet from where you're printing very small pieces of paper, you take notice.

Also note the amazing clouds + sky: after two weeks of almost non-stop rain, it's still hard to be indoors!

making do

Some days it's a real challenge to get myself to the studio at all. Today I don't have any scheduled print jobs--as I'm waiting for proofs to be returned--so...I guess I'll be printing business cards for me. (Note the serious lack of enthusiasm.)

It was in that sort of frame of mind that I started making these (all those months ago):


and now they're finally up for sale in my etsy shop. It only took me 15 months.

you're invited

Fort Can Galley & Studios
requests your attendance at

STAMINA
Brian Zeigler and Tara Jensen
An installation completed by Zeigler and Jensen during a twenty-four hour drawing marathon. Explores time, endurance and the meaning of life. Featuring a Q&A with the artists and DJ John Brinker.
Saturday, August 9th 6-10 PM
190 River Street, Montpelier

for more information: the fort can blog

advertising ideas

I work with paper. A lot of paper. And no matter how hard I try, there's always just a bit left over.

I was in the studio all day on Wednesday, and though I desperately need to print thank you notes and business cards for me, that wasn't challenging enough. I've been trying to come up with a flyer/brochure/something for MDS, but it all seems so...corporate. And corporate is one thing I'm not.

So a full day let me put this together:
*bits of paper leftover from journal-making (text weight, and slightly bigger than a bookmark)
*the new type and dingbats that came with Lucy G., and some of it is too cool for words
*pretty orange ink inspired by this post from Albertine PressToday's mission: hang up these little handbills in pretty little rows on the bulletin boards around town!

introducing...

Lucy-Goosey!

Two days ago, I inked up the Vandy for the first time. And as I was deciding what to set in type, it came to me. She was decorated by one of her previous owners with this sticker, and since all of her "issues" have been due to lack of lubrication, it seemed that a fortuitous name was needed.

What do you think?

tools of the trade + the best sound

Some folks have a favorite pair of jeans. I have a favorite composing stick (8", sets 40+ picas), line gauge, and bone folder. But the tools that made my afternoon are pictured above: 3-in-1 oil, the big maglite, tiny bottle brush, lint-free rags, simple green, wd-40, and more 3-in-1 oil. After much advice from the awesome minds on vanderblog and a quick email from Perry Tymeson, I spent the better part of this afternoon and evening oiling the heck out of my Vandercook. And it works! Oh, thank you thank you thank you!

And now, for the best sound ever:

even better

Even better than having the presses of my dreams, plus a light-filled, sunny-gold studio?
Having one of those presses in (very nearly) perfect working order. And brand new rollers. And the blackest black ink ever.

Now if only the Vandercook would be so obliging....

mondays + back in business

It's been a long few weeks, moving my not-so-little print shop out of the second floor apartment, across town, and into the new studio. This past weekend was the culmination--bringing up the Vandercook (+ more!) from Chicopee to Montpelier. Here are a few in-progress photos:

room without paint!

painted, but still moving in, last thursday

John B. with the full moving truck, early Saturday morning

Vandy on the lift gate...only two feet from the door!

And here is everything in place (mostly!):

new paper cutter, 8x12 C&P, and type cabinets along the far wall

my new little Vandy!

It's staggering, the amount of *stuff* I added to my printshop in one weekend. Doubled? Tripled? I have to say, running my own business is starting to feel *real*!

good news + summer cherries

kitchen window with cherries, 6/27/08

I received *very* good news this afternoon...my business loan has been approved! The VP at the bank said that they were very impressed with my business plan and projections for the future, and that they'd be more than happy to lend me more money in the future! Hooray!

Also, I'm very pleased to be eating these cherries right now. They're organically grown in Shoreham, VT at Champlain Orchards, and I scored a pint of Ulsters because they were leftover from this week's Pete's Greens CSA share. My new studio is the Montpelier pick-up point, and I'm excited that so many folks will be by the studio every week, and that I'll get the extras!

baby steps

Getting moved in to the new studio is taking longer than I'd hoped...so in the meantime, I'm...
printing quirky wedding invitations (they're getting married on the groom's dairy farm...)
staring at the space that's almost-mine
and watching the wildflowers that grow in the old railroad tracks just outside the new space.
Happy Thursday!

a little of this...and a little of that

press in motion! so cool, and so scary at the same time.

The week(s) in review:

Friday, June 20: They are still blasting the water mains on the next block, so every ten minutes or so I hear a loud horn, and then a huge *BOOM* and my building shakes. Not so good for filling out loan and zoning permit applications for my new studio!

Sunday, June 15: The Printing Arts Fair. The Good: several new vendors were there, thanks in part to the outreach of Angela Liguori--welcome Hannah of Paper Breakfast, Jenn of JennSki, and Shannon of Rifferaff! (View more pictures here.) Also good: more fun hang-out and chatty time with Angela, Ezra and Terri of Rainy Planet Press, Jesse of Firefly Press, Melissa of PressBound and Albertine Press, and Robin of Robin Bledsoe Books, Greg of Bull Thistle Press, Ed of Swamp Press, and the ever-industrious students from the North Bennett Street School.
The Bad: it rained all day, and we were stuck in a room on the second floor of the Museum.
The Ugly: It was a smallish room, and only one window opened. Yikes!

Saturday, May 31: Met with Shelley at Albertine Press to discuss a join venture: an intensive, intermediate-level letterpress workshop. It'll be held at Shelley's Somerville, MA studio, and will be just amazing (we hope)! Here's the proposal:
So you've learned basics of letterpress but still crave more? Albertine Press and May Day Studio are teaming up for a four-day intensive in which we'll explore a wider range of letterpress experiences. Students will work together to plan and execute an edition of broadsides using handset lead and wood type, borders and ornaments, photo-polymer plates, linoleum carving and more. The workshops will take place on two consecutive weekends, July 26-7 and August 2-3, and costs $500, all materials included. Please indicate previous experience when registering. Feel free to email me with questions, and go here to sign up!

Friday, May 23: Moving the press! My *new* Vandercook was duly picked up, put down, picked up, put down, and finally strapped onto a moving truck, only to head to it's temporary home in Chicopee. It'll be in Montpelier soon! Check out more moving pictures here.

summer storms

Whew! We just got hit with an intense thunderstorm...and more on the way, supposedly.

Despite that, I hope you will all join me tomorrow at the... I'll have a table full o' goods, along with Angela from Carta, Inc., Ezra from Rainy Planet Press, Melissa (standing in for Shelley) from Albertine Press, Leslie from Sea Dog Press, and so many more!

Making their debut tomorrow...these sweet little wood type notes. Great for gift-giving, lunchtime lovenotes, sassy sentiments or anytime epistles.