I am currently training for the NYC Marathon. Bizarre! If you knew me in one of my past lives, you would think this was very, very surprising. I recently saw my oldest friend, the one who told me once, ‘you know, you can never surprise me, because whenever you say that you would never do something, I know that at some point down the line you’ll flip and do that very thing.’ Even she can’t get over it.

It’s surprising to me too. I’m doing things I never expected myself to do, like buying  sports lube; waking up at 5:30 am so I can fit in 8 miles before work; taking an ice bath (cold!); rolling my thighs back and forth on a large tube of styrofoam. And other exotic pursuits.

I plan my week around running. I plan my work around running. I have more running shoes than any other kind of shoe. My cat is happy, as he really enjoys rubbing his face in a nice stinky running shoe, so the more of those around the house, the better.

I run very slowly, which is good in this case, because you supposed to run slowly when you run for several hours, especially the first time. And what I think prepared me for running long distances slowly is letterpress. No, really! I’ve developed this ability to put together larger things very slowly and patiently out of smaller things. Like setting metal type by hand, building up a form out of small pieces of type and spacing and leading, troubleshooting, testing, resetting, adjusting, proofing, adjusting again. It’s just like training: starting with a shorter distance, gradually building over time piece by piece to a longer distance and then another longer distance and then another longer distance after that. Delaying gratification. Developing a longer attention span. Trying one thing, realizing that kind of shorts makes you chafe, trying another, eating gels, regretting eating gels, trying those chew things instead. Stretching and resting. And eating! Did you know you can’t print letterpress on an empty stomach? It’s just asking for trouble if you’re hungry and trying to get something that finicky just right. Eating is an important part of both letterpress printing and endurance sports.

“Practice” is a word that gets used a lot in craft as a verb, and in art as a noun, so much so that I get tired of hearing it. But the actual practice of practice, I can’t get enough of. I’ve built a life made of small pieces of practice: running in the morning, carving blocks at night, setting type on the weekends, administering the heck out of the arts the rest of my waking hours (which is a whole other topic). I like the structure of it. This week has been eventful so far, in ways that perhaps aren’t so great for me, but that structure at least is something to fall back on.

The NY Times has this on their site today about printing in India:

Ms. India: The Women’s Printing Press.

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/28747831]

This opened last week; organized by a lovely woman I met at Penland a few years ago.

Barton Art Galleries at Barton College
704A College Street
Wilson, NC 27893
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August 22        Barton Art Galleries presents II Libro: The Art of the Book
(Exhibition runs from August 22 – September 24, 2011)

It’s too hot to blog, it’s too hot to think, I ran 11 miles this morning and have been in a dehydrated daze ever since. Can you imagine anything worse than being glued to someone with fur in August?

“OPEN”
7-10pm
Saturday, July 23rd
Featuring works from:
Sarah Bryant
Kyle Bravo
Bridget Elmer
Sarah Nicholls
Jen Thomas
The Cracker Factory is a renovated industrial building in the Finger Lakes which includes artists studios and an event space- they’re starting to set up a letterpress studio, as well. You can learn more about them here. and contact them here. And if you’re in the area, please do check out the show- I’m excited to be in such great company!

More info about the show is here.

Also on view and opening tomorrow: Another show with many many artists in it! At the same time!

(We’re using the expandable gallery for this one, kids.)

The Un(framed) Photograph: Artist Members Annual Exhibition

July 6, 2011 – September 10, 2011

Focusing on how the art of photography, the photographic process, and related media such as video stills are used to convey content, form, text, and image within a broader context of book arts practices.

Come to the opening! There’s going to be friendly faces, tasty snacks, Alex’s Famous Mystery Punch, and me, huddled in the corner suffering from a panic attack brought on by altogether too large a crowd. Just Kidding! I’ll probably tend bar so as to have a safe space between me and the teeming hordes. Come! Free wine and cheese!