I’m working on a field guide. Field Guide to What? Still remains to be seen. So far I have a structure that I might like, and some images that I do like, but may not work, and some bits of text, and an idea of what to do with them. And I’m not sure how each of the parts relate to each other.

I also have the above flock of birds, they’re quite nice so far.

In between things at the moment. Half-working on some prints, half-working on a new book. Had an idea for a pamphlet in the shower this morning. August is slow.

I started folding last night. Almost done!

One run to go.

The main text on the other side is done; now just the title, colophon, and last third of the timeline is left. I’m really liking the colors on all the test proofs.

Finally starting to settle back down and get something done. Here’s the pamphlet in progress’s current state: The inside timeline gets a few more runs of color:

Which I was happy with, and which sidestepped the whole bright idea I had to try to register the thing precisely. Who needs precision?

I then had to figure out how to set up the text on top:

The printing went amazingly well, and I only had to make small corrections and tweak the lockup a little bit; the printing gods were thankfully with me.

This part of the timeline only goes up to 1912; I started running out of sorts and need to distribute this bit first in order to finish it. Because nothing is simple, and if it were I would be bored. This weekend I get to set the colophon and title and print the text on the other side.

Still waiting for box of half-finished prints and blocks, so I can finish the new pamphlet.

In the meantime I’m doing this.

More typesetting. Almost all done, except for the last bit on the timeline, which I need to do in a separate run, as I’m out of lowercase ‘i’s and number 1’s. Also the title and the colophon. This weekend I proofed what I had set, so that when I go on press I don’t have to spend two hours correcting my mistakes.

I like to spend an entire session correcting, adjusting, justifying, troubleshooting, editing, and then go home, eat, rest, come back to it later.

Things still to grapple with: where is my box of prints? Where is the tympan paper I ordered six weeks ago? (I shouldn’t go on press without it, the used stuff we’re making do with is a sad story.) Will I be able to register the linoleum block on the backside? Colors?

And then: what am I bringing to Rome when I leave on vacation next week? My good walking shoes are giving out on me.

I set most of the type for both sides of the pamphlet over the weekend; I ran into a few minor roadblocks, including a dearth of 8 point Grotesque #8 lowercase “i”s, but we’ll work it out.

It doesn’t really take all that long as people think to set type; its slow but soothing, and if you do it long enough you get quicker. I think what actually is going to take a long time with this one is setting up the timeline on the inside of the pamphlet in the bed of the press. I think it will take a while to get things lined up right.

This weekend I’ll proof and begin putting together the form for the inside.

I saw this yesterday and am blown away by the complexity of hand typesetting in Taiwan. Can you imagine?

Appleton, Wisconsin! I just spent four days on the campus of Lawrence University, surrounded by bacon, rabbits, and undergraduates, to start work on a newfangled informational pamphlet. Ben Rinehart, former resident of NYC and current Professor, started a visiting artist series called the Paper Fox Printmaking Workshop at Lawrence for his students, which invites local and national artists to campus to print an edition. I was invited to come visit and make prints alongside his students, and my friend and fellow visiting artist Emily Martin.

The pamphlet I designed is maybe a third done? Which is amazing for two days and a sign press. Yep, I printed 4 runs of a 100 without a motor. Who knew? I had the help of Ben’s students, Matt Cawley, Cori Lin, Deborah Levinson, and Eileen Rohaly, who helped make it happen.

I had some odd inking experiences on the second pass but there you go. This image goes down the middle of the front side of the edition; there’s a similar image on the backside which functions as a timeline. Both timelines are printed from reductive linoleum cuts, which I was worried about registering on an unfamiliar press, but which mostly worked out. There’s also an additional run of wood type that happened on top of this, but my camera died before recording it for you.

The pamphlet is about  the life and times of Harry Houdini, who was a child in Appleton, before moving away to NYC and becoming famous for breaking out of straitjackets, handcuffs, and sealed milk cans. I’m working on finishing setting the type this weekend, and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my half-finished pamphlets in the meantime.

This is Emily Martin, my co-visiting artist, also in town to print and meet the students. She’s conferring here with Ben, our dapper host. She worked on an intaglio print and is here trying to figure out what’s happening in the middle there. Lovely company! Thanks guys!

I’m in Wisconsin, where I was told that if you buy a six pack of beer at the grocery store, you get a free block of cheese. This sounded like something they tell gullible visiting New Yorkers, but perhaps I’m just suspicious.

In any event, I am here at Lawrence University , and ink has been mixed, and wood type has been chosen, and linoleum blocks have been carved, and tomorrow I’m to start printing a new pamphlet. Bam!

Fingers crossed all goes smoothly.