Blog Posts
Unseen – Book Arts in Santa Fe, NM
I am so pleased to be included in this wonderful book arts show in Santa Fe, New Mexico. My work – The Sea and the Unseen was accepted in the show and is now on view along side over 70 other artists. It’s been a while since I participated in a book arts exhibition and I realize how much I miss seeing all the amazing concepts and craftsmanship involved in each piece. I am thrilled to be in this show but also excited to start a new artist book soon!
Here’s a link to the catalog for UNSEEN – a book arts exhibition by form+concept and 23 Sandy.
https://23sandy.com/collections/unseen?utm_source=23%20Sandy%20Gallery&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Now%20on%20view%21%20UNSEEN%20%28Uuw7ze%29&_kx=zouZDqwkFJBLJo4khldH8Fm1W7jCV91mwtlV1BLyDBA%3D.W5i6my
The Sea and the Unseen (SU) was partly conceived as the second of three books which employ a reduction cut as the primary content. Each book addresses some sort of ecological issue. Broken Code was the first with its print Noisy Garden as the basis for a book that looks at GMOs. SU also provided a structure for me to present the tragic consequences of plastic waste filling our waterways. A mostly wordless book, SU uses the print The Sea as She Were to form the pages. This print is backed with a collograph made from actual trash, layers of dirty ink and paint and some technical terminology referencing plastics. The viewer can interact by flipping parts of the two sided print to increase the plastics into the blue fish-filled watery scene. Its covers are made with handmade paper – paper making itself is an intense process of forming a sheet while extracting a lot of water from a layer of pulp.
New Bookstore in West Asheville – Bagatelle Books
Bagatelle Books will hold its grand opening on June 22, 2019 at 428C Haywood Rd in West Asheville.
I was pleased to design this poster for the event which Laurie Corral printed on the risograph at the studio. Gold on black makes quite a splash! The image is from a Dover catalog of old tarot cards—oddly I found one called Il Bagattelliere. Please visit this exceptional new bookstore. Patrick Kutcher, proprietor, has stocked his gorgeous hand built shelves with some very interesting titles.
Brooklyn + Purgatory Pie Press
Last week I had the great pleasure of visiting Esther Smith and Dikko Faust, proprietors of Purgatory Pie Press now located in Brooklyn NY. After four decades in Manhattan they’re now enjoying their wonderful studio in the Brooklyn Army Terminal. A huge, historic complex — the BAT was constructed a century ago as a depot for the US Military. It is now being repurposed for lease to artists and businesses. As always the PPP folks are working on some fun projects and collaborations. Dikko is printing a great new set of coasters on the showcard press and three books from the Cartesian Lace Bricolage, a collaboration with Susan Happersett, are featured in the show Pulled in Brooklyn at the International Print Center (IPCNY) in Manhattan.
Thanks to Esther and Dikko for having us over and helping us navigate NYC! Hope to see you again soon!
LINKS:
ICPNY show – Pulled in Brooklyn
https://www.ipcny.org/pulledinbrooklyn?fbclid=IwAR33jkg34MtkhlA3D69Czh7agDFsuHSwrWlDVfbtlyTyC-0coF0IQXiW-Fg
Purgatory Pie Press
http://www.purgatorypiepress.com/
Brooklyn Army Terminal
https://www.bklynarmyterminal.com/
It Wasn’t Little Rock by Clarissa Sligh
I worked with Ms Sligh to produce hand bound copies of her book It Wasn’t Little Rock for exhibition and sale. It Wasn’t Little Rock tells the story of challenges she and her siblings faced as they took part in the integration of schools in Virginia in the 1950s and 60s.
Love Poems
As an anniversary gift for his wife, my client wished to produce a small keepsake book of several poems he has written for her over the years. The poems are digitally printed and each placed on a page with a marbled paper frame. The eight poems are bound on these accordion-style pages so they can stand up for display. The entire book is covered in a dark red paper and the cover has an inset of the couple and a foil stamped title.
Fiesta de Nan
Two custom, identical books were made for my client. She wished to provide memories of her sister, dear aunt to her children, in a book of personal stories and images. We created story cards, a collage of images and set it all up in an accordion bound book with slipcases for storage. Decorative papers were used on the covers, pages were printed digitally and the entire book bound as an accordion can stand for display or be stored safely on a shelf.
Remembrances
This is a book of remembrances to honor a lost loved one. I worked with my client to create this book to give to her sister’s wife. The book is hard cover leather with lined pages for friends and family to record memories. The titling is gold foil stamped on leather. A clamshell box was made to hold the book for safekeeping in the future. The container has leather spine and fake suede cover with marbled paper lining. The box also has a leather inset with gold foil stamping.
Howdy!
Welcome to my website, at long last!
Here, I will share thoughts, announcements and whatever might come to mind. Hopefully it will be image heavy and fun to share. Please enjoy a browse around the pages. I have oh-so-many years traversing the paths of design, production, art, and dwelling amidst and among many creative places and people. The influences are vast and the ideas never stop.
This site features examples from both my eternal Yohon Graphic Arts freelance endeavors as well as some of my favorite projects from past employment. In our most recent decade my creative mind has been blown by the less-than-modern world of letterpress, printmaking and book arts. This revelatory phase came to me by way of an amazing job at Asheville BookWorks, a book and print arts studio. Having learned at least a hundred new things and actually practicing a few; some of these skills are now incorporated into my professional and personal work. To appease my organizational needs the printing and binding sections will eventually reside under the banner Diamond Black Press. As this site evolves this delineation will be reflected in its pages.
Much more to come… I am hopeful and glad to say Welcome.