Posts Tagged ‘printmaking’

April 19, 2011
Goosed!

Holy flying gaggles, but we upped the ante this year!

wayzgoose_5927

I don’t know if it was the gorgeous sunshine that graced us after literally months of dreary rain—

wayzgoose_5885

Colossal portrait by Hutch and the students of Charles Wright Academy

or if it was the near-superhuman feats of linoleum carving—

wayzgoose_5906

or sweet pea’s extra-awesome 2011 poncho—

wayzgoose_5938

but this year’s Wayzgoose was larger than life.

(In case you’re curious, that little Sigwalt press is inked up to print “I got goosed in Tacoma!” in an eye-frying safety orange that would make any Ducks Geese Unlimited hunter proud. I mean, come on—we have standards. This is some high-brow entertainment here.)

Anyway, speaking of geese…

wayzgoose_6213

Ta-daaaa!

As you can see, we took our little Dead Feminists theme somewhat loosely this time. And in fact, we’ve dubbed our print Loosey Goosey, so there! There is a bit of a story behind this one, though. We’ve been equal parts amused and annoyed by the recent crafty and pop-cultural trends involving moustaches and putting birds on things—and for months I’ve been threatening to put a moustache on a bird on something, just to prove a point. I don’t know what that point is, exactly, but I figured it was time to put my moustache where my mouth is.

Which reminds me:

wayzgoose_6090

we weren’t kidding about the ’stache wax. Hey, if you’re going to go, go all out.

wayzgoose_6193

Jessica seemed perfectly at home while operating heavy machinery and sporting a full-on Wilford Brimley look—

wayzgoose_6133

I mostly just looked like Ned Flanders.

wayzgoose_6124

That’s okay, though—synchronized inking is serious business, and this duo don’t mess around.

wayzgoose_5979

And we weren’t the only ones. Lance and Tom of Beautiful Angle, Tacoma’s original letterpress pair, were on hand to show everyone how it’s done. And they have real facial hair, to boot!

wayzgoose_5987

Perennial crowd-pleaser Ric Matthies rounded out the accidental animal theme (we still don’t know how that happened).

wayzgoose_6038

A ridiculously talented crop of newcomers included my friends Katy and Keegan, who comprise Portland’s Keeganmeegan & Co;

wayzgoose_6035

the fabulously clever Sarah Utter of Olympia;

wayzgoose_5841

and Tacoma’s own Audra Laymon, who rose to the occasion beautifully.

wayzgoose_5942

Many, many thanks to all the supporters, enthusiasts and volunteers who turned out in droves;

wayzgoose_6171

to Katy Meegan and Mary Holste for snapping ’stache shots for us;

wayzgoose_6218

to King’s for being the host with the most;

wayzgoose_6142

and to the Tacoma Arts Commission for sponsoring our steamroller shenanigans.

So … tell me.

Is it too soon to start cookin’ up next year’s ‘goose?

Posted by Chandler at 1:26 AM in Book Arts, Dead Feminists, Fluff, Illustration, Kindred Spirits, Letterpress, T-Town  |  Permalink  |   Comments (7)
Tags: , , , , , ,
April 12, 2011
Gearin’ up the ‘Goose

Hi. Remember me? That’s okay, I don’t remember me, either.

Next time I try to rationalize to myself the reasons for not blogging, and I think, There’s no time, I’m going to remind myself that at least I don’t have to hand-carve my blog, backwards, out of a gigantic industrial sheet of linoleum, and then print it in the street with a steamroller.

steamroller2011_5830

Wait. Maybe that would actually get me to blog more often.

Anyway, Jessica and I have locked ourselves in her studio with an armful of Talking Heads records (go, portable turntable!) and some very sharp knives. Don’t worry about us, though—it’s just an annual tradition here in T-town.

That’s because this Sunday is the seventh annual Wayzgoose, that crazy letterpress block party that draws hordes, flocks, gaggles of people to King’s Books for some seriously huge fun. And we’ll be polishing up our street cred with the main event—steamroller printing. We’ll be pounding that pavement come rain or shine (please, pray for shine), so stop by and check it out!

7th Annual Wayzgoose
Sunday, April 17, 2011
11 am to 4 pm
Free!
King’s Books
218 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma
More information and artist roster here

Near the top of a very long list of things I love about Tacoma is the sheer number of people here who know what the heck a Wayzgoose is. If you haven’t experienced ours for yourself yet, you’re in for a treat. Meet a whole host of local and regional artists; shop a huge array of letterpress art and gifts; make your own books and posters; and don’t forget to bring a t-shirt! The D.I.Y. screen printing booth will back by popular demand, and this year, some of the street-printing artists (including yours truly) are going to have bite-sized versions of their steamroller designs ready to be made into t-shirts. I know what I’ll be wearing this weekend.

Speaking of which … Jessica and I don’t want to ruin the surprise, so we’re keeping our design under wraps for now. But let’s just say that this year we’ll be getting our feathers ruffled—

steamroller2011_5832

—and breaking out the ’stache wax.

See you Sunday!

Posted by Chandler at 10:39 PM in Behind the Scenes, Book Arts, Dead Feminists, Fluff, Illustration, Letterpress, T-Town  |  Permalink  |   Comments (5)
Tags: , , , , , ,
January 20, 2011
Living history

Some blogger I turned out to be. The normal day-to-day juggling that comes with the territory has escalated into a death-defying circus act while I get ready to exhibit at Codex, the super-big-deal biennial international book arts conference in Berkeley, coming up in a few weeks. So now instead of a blog, a business, a bunch of Dead Feminists and a book—it feels like I’m juggling flaming torches. And I always seem to drop the blog first. Sorry about that.

livinghistory_ayp_3

A composite of two image flats.

Anyway, after a good, long run, my Local Conditions exhibit is closing tomorrow afternoon, and this week I’ve been revisiting some of my favorite images from the book. This one always gets me thinking about how much a city can change over the course of a century, and how for a newcomer like me, that change isn’t always apparent. There aren’t always little plaques or signposts to tell you what used to exist where you’re standing now—or even any evidence at all of how things used to be.

This scene depicts the Drumheller Fountain (also known as Frosh Pond), located on the University of Washington campus in Seattle. Incidentally, on my first trip to the Northwest almost exactly four years ago, I was standing on this very spot when I saw Mt. Rainier for the first time. This is where the idea for the book first struck me—although at the time it was a very different, and much simpler concept. And at that moment, I had no idea that the view itself had a history all its own.

livinghistory_ayp_1

Photo courtesy of the University of Washington Library

This is Frosh Pond in 1909, when it was called Geyser Basin (part of the so-called “Arctic Circle”), and when it was not a part of campus, but the centerpiece of the University’s predecessor, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.

The A-Y-P showcased the natural and economic resources of the Pacific Northwest with pomp and splendor. To mirror the purpose of the exposition, the fairgrounds (designed by the famous Olmsted Brothers) brought the region’s greatest symbol into stunning focus. This so-called “Rainier Vista,” culminating in the Arctic Circle, helped draw in 3.7 million visitors over the fair’s four-month duration.

livinghistory_ayp_2

Courtesy of the University of Washington Library

Very little evidence remains of the A-Y-P fairgrounds today; the vast majority of the fair’s buildings were temporary, and even the landscape design of the modern University has all but obscured the original layout of the A-Y-P grounds. But the Arctic Circle is still there, and when you step out from behind a row of blooming cherry trees in the spring, the Rainier Vista still hits you with full force.

Speaking of fairgrounds, closer to T-Town is another historical remnant—this time, however, instead of a long-past event with only a marker left behind to hint at what was, these fairgrounds still hold to their original purpose today.

livinghistory_campharmony_1

Illustration by Eddie Sato, Camp Harmony inmate and “staff” artist.

I’m talking about the Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup, which are still in operation (though the event is now called the Puyallup Fair—that’s pronounced “Pyoo-AL-up”). In 1942, the U.S. government relocated and imprisoned over 100,000 Japanese Americans living on the West Coast; the internment began with the forced migration of families living on Bainbridge Island, across the Sound from Seattle.

livinghistory_campharmony_2

Courtesy of the University of Washington Library

While they awaited the construction of permanent internment camps further inland, many Japanese Americans were sent to temporary “assembly centers” to coexist in cramped barracks with other families, often in substandard living conditions. Thousands of Washington’s interred residents were sent to the assembly center nicknamed Camp Harmony, hastily constructed on the fairgrounds in Puyallup, right alongside the fair’s permanent buildings and rides.

livinghistory_campharmony_3

Three image flats; the mountain is almost completely hidden here.

Camp Harmony was torn down after just seven months, but the Fair continues to this day. And the wooden roller coaster that overshadowed Eddie Sato’s scene of the camp still stands. It made for an image that dovetails eerily well with the homage to Japanese art upon which Local Conditions is founded. Now that I’ve learned the history of the place, I’ve lost my appetite for funnel cakes and blue-ribbon vegetables—at least in Puyallup, anyway. This ain’t no Minnesota State Fair.

luzon_1890s

Photo courtesy of Jessica Spring

And then there’s the kind of history that unfolds right before your very eyes. Remember the Luzon building?

livinghistory_luzon_1

Two image flats; recognize the sky in the background?

Well, it was slated to be a part of the book from the very beginning—just by virtue of being a structure that caught my eye and that came with a good view of the mountain.

luzon_2594

But then they knocked it down in September 2009, and suddenly I became an eye-witness, with an opportunity to document history as it happened.

livinghistory_luzon_2b

Three image flats; same mountain, drastically different view.

I wish this were an imaginary scene, but I suppose it’s moments like this that the book is all about. Now you see it, now you don’t.

livinghistory_oldcityhall_1

Courtesy of the Tacoma Public Library

And to top it all off, it’s looking like Tacoma’s history is in danger of repeating itself. This is a postcard dated 1905, depicting what was an iconic view even then—the “Gateway to the City of Destiny.” The building on the left is the former Northern Pacific Railroad Office; on the right is Old City Hall.

livinghistory_oldcityhall_2

Postcard circa 1910—with clock edited out, oddly enough.

Tacoma built a new city hall a few blocks away in the 1930s, but both the Northern Pacific building and Old City Hall still stand—the addition of a freeway the only major change to the site pictured. But on November 24, 2010, after an unusual cold snap, a pipe burst in Old City Hall—soaking the walls, ceilings and floors with 30,000 gallons of water. With extensive flood damage and the building owner entering foreclosure, the building faces an uncertain future. I only hope it doesn’t go the way of the Luzon.

livinghistory_oldcityhall_3b

Three image flats; there’s an individual print version here.

When I started this project, I had no idea of what I was getting into. I knew that I would stumble upon some pretty fascinating history, but I never would have guessed that a fountain, some fairgrounds and a pile of bricks would draw me in so completely. But now I’m hooked—and the best part is that after all this work, I no longer feel like an outsider looking in.

This is my history now, too. For better or worse, I want to see how it all plays out.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

P.S. The exhibit is coming down, but you can view Local Conditions online—both here on the blog (look for more posts on the book in the coming weeks), or as part of the Artists Wanted Year in Review competition. Pretty please, take a look at the book on my portfolio page and cast your vote for the People’s Choice award! You can vote once every 24 hours, so spread the word; voting ends on February 4. Thank you!

Posted by Chandler at 4:17 PM in Book Arts, Illustration, Letterpress, Pacific Northwest, T-Town  |  Permalink  |   Comments (2)
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
December 07, 2010
Interview: Mirka Hokkanen

mirka_portrait

I am always inspired by people who can create a whole world with just their own two hands. Take my friend Mirka Hokkanen—she’s a printmaker, illustrator and crafter who seems to be well on her way toward shaping her own universe with pen and ink, and needle and thread. And the best part: we’re all invited to the party. Tacoma folks might recognize Mirka from the Tacoma is for Lovers or numerous other Northwest craft fairs, where she never fails to draw a crowd to her table like kids to a candy store. But her toys and accessories are just one small facet of Mirka’s world—she is equally at home (and even more engaging) in a gallery, or a classroom.

Originally hailing from Finland, Mirka moved to the U.S. over a decade ago to attend college in Rockford, Illinois. She finished her BFA in 2002, and moved on to receive both MA and MFA degrees in printmaking from University of Dallas. She has taught printmaking and art history at the college level, and has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. She currently resides in Dupont, Washington with her husband, an officer in the U.S. Army. I asked Mirka to chat with me about her work, and what it’s like to juggle teaching, a full-time fine art career, a small business, and life in the military.

mirka_scout

How did you get started with printmaking?

Ever since I can remember I have loved to draw. Paint just really was not my thing. I had never really tried printmaking, except for the random linocut in school, until I went to college in Rockford. I took printmaking my first semester and was hooked. I was initially drawn to the possibilities of making drawings that I could reproduce and the idea of multiples and all the possibilities that came with it.

mirka_message
I’ve seen you work with many different printmaking techniques—from traditional to experimental. Do you have a favorite printmaking method?

Intaglio is my first love and still my favorite medium, because of the lines. I love the depth and variety of line work and marks that one can print from an etching plate- there’s nothing like the satisfaction of pulling off that first print from your plate. I am also hooked on really detailed work and love all the processes that go into a finished print. I have worked in just about every other printmaking media, relief prints, screen printing, letterpress, some lithography and mixed media work and encaustics and magnets.  I am working right now to learn more about engraving and letterpress.

mirka_basset
Because my husband is in the military, shop availability changes all the time as we move and I get to know the print community in a certain area. After the initial idea for a piece, I figure out what kind of equipment I have access to and then figure out what media to use for the print. I love that printmaking offers such a wide variety of techniques and I can change the technique to something else, when I get bored with it. On the other hand I do like to work somewhat consistently with a media when I get started. You get a feel for the material and tools you are working with, and it is hard to change daily from lets say a linocut that needs a strong hand to an etching with fine lines. I have slowly acquired an etching press and a small letterpress, so I am currently working on small relief prints and engravings to print in my home studio.

mirka_missingwinter
What inspires you (other artists, places, objects, etc.)?

Oh my, so many things can inspire me. I have lived somewhat of a gypsy life since childhood. Nature and animals have always been a grounding and soothing element for me with all the hassles that come with moving. In the woods I can center myself, find peace and really appreciate God’s creation and the mind staggering diversity of it. I also am drawn to old worn out things, that you can find in antique shops and fleamarkets (to my husband’s joy). It’s fascinating to imagine who owned them and what kind of a life they lived. The torn, worn and tattered surfaces of the objects tell the story of how it was made, used and then cast aside.

Historical artists such as Joseph Cornell, Albrecht Dürer and Norbertine Bresslern-Roth are some of my favorite artists. I am normally drawn to a type of work more than a specific artist. In my studio lies a box with innumerable clippings and postcards of favorite works. When I am looking for inspiration to start working, I’ll often flip through pictures, to get my mind working. In general my eye catches things that I am conscious of in my own work- something that makes me chuckle, beautiful lines, earthy colors or a worn look.

mirka_mousie
Your work often deals with animal themes, and runs the gamut between innocent storytelling and black political humor. How do animals tie these things together? What draws you to animals in your work?

I have always loved to depict animals over people. I found them more interesting to draw with fur and patterns than people with skin. As I got older and more serious as an artist, it seemed that depicting animals was a less confrontational way to address sensitive issues, like factory farming, than if I had directly pointed a finger at you. I wanted more of an open approach to let people think for themselves rather than forcing my opinions on them.

mirka_sob

Animals also hold so much symbolism and meaning in every culture. We can see them as gods, symbols, metaphors, heroes, food, clothing and objects. We reflect ourselves on them or give them anthropomorphic qualities, they are leading characters in folktales and modern movies. It is interesting to dwell in our relationship with them, and bring it out on paper.

mirka_owls

You also create stuffed toys, which are really beautifully designed and cleverly constructed. I tend to think of them as part of your whole body of work, but you seem to keep them pretty separate from your prints and illustrations. Is there a reason for that?

I have made some stuffed animals as part of an exhibition before but in general I have tried to keep them separate. I figured that to be taken seriously as a young artist, it was better to be just a printmaker and keep the cute handcrafts on the side. I originally just sewed little things for myself and for gifts. While in GA I had a hard time getting access to any printmaking facilities, so the handcrafts started to pile up on my free time. I started an Etsy shop, through which I was able to make enough profit to buy a small press to make prints. Another reason to keep them separate was that the art had a political bent on it (meaning behind it) and the stuffed animals and other things had no meaning behind them. They were just cute things for people to enjoy. For a long time I have been trying to think of ways to incorporate craft techniques with printmaking, but haven’t come up with a solution that I was satisfied with so far. As time goes by, it is harder to keep them separate, simply because there are a limited amount of hours in the day and everything in printmaking and crafts takes up a lot of time. I love what you did with the Mnemonic Sampler show and Whitney Lee’s latch hook art. Another great resource I go for inspiration is Embroidery As Art.

mirka_blueberries
How has Finnish culture influenced your work? Have you had any influence from American culture as well?

I get my love of nature and handcrafts from Finland, since that is what I grew up with. I learned to draw and sew early and to knit in first grade. We lived by woods and had a summer cabin in the country, so I spent countless hours outside playing and exploring and as I got older picking berries and hiking. My grandmother also loved collecting “antiques”, and I loved going through their drawers and nooks in the garage to see all the treasures they had stored up. Also the simplicity of Finnish design is more attractive to me than rich colors and pattern that I see more over here.

After moving to the US I have learned to speak up more and to adapt quickly to situations (which also goes for my art). After living in IL, TX, GA and WA- I am not sure if there is one culture here in the US. I think I am happier at the moment making my art here, because I can reach a wider audience and find printmaking communities just about everywhere.

mirka_huoneentaulu_1

Translations—clockwise, from top left: “Yet a new day can change everything;” “Thank the Lord of my Soul!” and “Welcome to the house! As a guest in our cottage!”

Tell me about the Huoneentaulu Project.

The project came out of my love for handcrafts and my ongoing desire to incorporate them in the same body of work. These Finnish hand embroidered wall hangings were very popular in the early 1900’s, and hung in just about every house, but now they are becoming harder to find. They would have a center piece that had a short (most often religious) verse or saying. Sometimes embroidered embellishments were added and a fabric border. I think these wall hangings are very endearing, a sign of their times, but now they are becoming harder and harder to find, because they get worn out and thrown away and their original owners die. I wanted to save the story of this folk art by collecting as many pictures as I can, with stories, and then looking into them for common threads. I will use that as a jumping off point for more modern versions of the huoneentaulus that people could hang on their walls today.  I also think that now is a great time, with a revived interest in young people in things/traditions of old.

mirka_huoneentaulu_2

Translation: “My home, my happiness.”

How will you be translating Finnish handcrafts to the medium of printmaking? What techniques or materials will you use to convey your ideas about the original textiles? Will the meaning behind the objects change as you recreate them?

I wanted to use relief printing and letterpress for the new wall hangings. I figured they are old techniques as well, so it would be appropriate to use them to revive an old tradition and they work well for large solid areas and text. So far I printed the first huoneentaulu with a letterpress on paper, but I am playing with ideas of printing on fabric, embroidering paper, or using fabric to print on paper.

I am currently doing research on the original wallhangings, to get a sense of what they meant for people. The method of distribution will change, since before women would embroider their own hangings to have on their own wall, so they would have something that spoke directly at them. Since I will be printing and other people will hopefully be hanging these in their homes, the maker and media changes, but I hope that people would still hang one because the message speaks to them.

This will be a pretty slow project, just because it is taking a lot of time to figure out how to reach people to get pictures/stories for the research. But as I dig in deeper, I am finding more interesting things. At the end, I hope to have a book printed with the original wall hanging pictures, my work and an essay on what I found out through my research.

mirka_owls_purse

What does your ideal work space look like? Do you have any goals for your studio?

I dream about a great studio just about every day. Right now I work in a spare bedroom and garage which is cramped and rather gloomy. So far my husband is career military, so I don’t have high hopes of getting a great studio until he retires in our 5os. I imagine lots of space and large windows. I would love to have a communal shop in Finland that would bring in printmakers from the area to work together. It would be awesome to have a nice large press and equipment to make intaglio prints, and a letterpress or two, and a separate area for sewing and fiber work.

mirka_pyramid_1
Do you have any advice for people who want to run a business by selling their handmade work?

I would say make sure that’s what you want to do, because it is a lot of hard work. Have a clear goal in mind and an identifiable product. In today’s world networking is also key, so get plugged in your local art/craft scene. I am so happy to be in the Tacoma area, they have a great supportive community here.  Etsy and Artfire are also great places to sell, if you can consistently keep up your shop. Consistency is a key element. When people know where to find you and know what you do, things will roll along much easier. Military life makes things pretty hard, but I try my best to get settled in every couple of years. Having an online store and website at least gives people the chance to find me after I have moved away, but it’s easier to get work from the contacts around you.

mirka_pyramid_2

What’s next for you? Is there anything you would like to work on in the future?

I seem to always have many irons in the fire. Right now I am illustrating a Christian children’s book by Robbie Edgren and working to make prints for several upcoming shows in January and April. The wallhanging project is ongoing and I hope to concentrate on it full time after my last scheduled show in April 2011. I am really looking forward to this project and all the challenges it will bring with research, grants, writing and exploring new media.

mirka_pyramid_3

Thanks, Mirka!

Posted by Chandler at 9:20 PM in Book Arts, Drawing, Illustration, Kindred Spirits, Life, Pacific Northwest, T-Town  |  Permalink  |   Comments (3)
Tags: , , ,
November 17, 2010
Local Conditions

local-conditions_1_002

First of all, a whole lot of letterpress-printed, hand-bound thanks to everyone who came to my talk last week—your smiles went a long way toward erasing my stage fright. I only hope I didn’t say “Um…” too many times.

Second, I’ve been hemming and hawing about how best to share this thing with the rest of you—sorry for taking so long to show my face around here. Even with Sarah’s excellent photography, it’s just a lot more difficult to explain how it works when I can’t hold the book out into space and demonstrate in real time. It’s a problem with every artist book out there—an interactive sculpture, complete with moving parts, that also happens to tell a story is just dern hard to document.

So for now, I’m going to go through the mechanics of the thing, step by step, and go into the whys and wherefores in other posts. And for those of you who might not be familiar with the term “artist book,” you’re going to find out really quickly that this isn’t your basic hardcover book. The definition of “artist book” is way too broad to go into within this post, but I’m hoping that by the time you get to the bottom, you’ll have an idea of just how broad the term can be—and what crazy things can happily fall into the category.

local-conditions_2_008

Okay, let’s start with the box. When it’s all closed up, Local Conditions is almost a cube (a 10-inch cube that’s heavy enough to be hiding a sack or two of flour inside). On the topmost face of the box is the frontispiece, containing the title and a topographic map illustration of the summit of Mt. Rainier.

local-conditions_3_004

The north, south, east and west sides of the box are faced with illustrations of the corresponding faces of Rainier, each depicting the mountain from the same moment of the day: sunset.

local-conditions_4_010

(That’s the eastern face on the left, and the north face beside it.)

Now, those two little bone clasps hold the thing together, and when you flick them out of their loops,

local-conditions_5_012

the book opens up, revealing a chest of drawers. Keep pulling on the flap you just raised,

local-conditions_6_021

and you’ll find that you can take the whole outer wrapper off and read the colophon (see below) printed on the inside.

local-conditions_7_022

The other panels on the wrapper include detailed instructions on everything the book does—more on that in another post.

local-conditions_8_023

Next, let’s open the drawers—nested in the bottom one you’ll find a Viewing Box (yeah, I know … a box, within a box, within a box … sorry.) that consists of a window, a background panel, and two tabs that stick out from either side.

local-conditions_9_063

The tabs match up with the grooved unit at the top of the chest of drawers, and the Viewing Box slides into place.

local-conditions_10_040

So now the box is fully expanded, and the book is assembled for use. Now comes the fun part.

Take a closer look at the Viewing Box, and open the top two drawers.

local-conditions_11_046

Inside the drawers you’ll find a series of cut-out cards, each printed with a different image. These little image flats slide right into the slots of the Viewing Box,

local-conditions_12_048

and face out the window to form an instant picture—kind of like an old-fashioned stage set.

local-conditions_13_053

There are 120 flats to choose from, and by combining, layering and switching them in and out of the Viewing Box, you can create seemingly endless scenes of Mt Rainier. I came up with one hundred, and documented them as part of the book (again, I’ll elaborate later), but I’m more interested in how many you can dream up.

local-conditions_14_047

(Hint: a lot. Thousands. Millions. To be precise, 1.4 x 1015, or 1.4 quintillion, if you really wanted to push the envelope.)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Local Conditions: One Hundred Views of Mt. Rainier (At Least)
Edition size: 26
Book size: 10 x 8 x 8 inches when closed
Viewing window: 3 x 5 inches
Price: $2600

Artist book consisting of viewing box and 120 image flats, illustrated and compiled from data collected in person, on location, over the course of two years. Housed in a set of drawers with nested stab-bound book and Japanese-style outer wrapper.

Colophon reads:

Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1759 – 1849) is perhaps best known for his seminal works, Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji and One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji. The two series of woodblock prints, published from 1829 to circa 1847, depict the sacred peak within the context of landscapes and scenes of daily life. At the heart of the series is Hokusai’s own obsession with immortality, and his fascination with Fuji’s eternal presence.

Therein lies the rub: Fuji is anything but eternal. Beyond the usual, abstract geologic transience of eroding rock and drifting continents, Fuji is an active stratovolcano. Its days—and those of the lives and lands at its base—are numbered.

Here in Washington state, just forty miles southeast of my home, lies Fuji’s taller, more volatile, American twin. Variously named Tacobet, Tahoma and Ti’Swaq’, among others, by the region’s indigenous peoples,  or simply “The Mountain” by contemporary locals—its most arbitrary moniker, coined in 1792 by Captain George Vancouver, is the one that stuck: Mount Rainier.

It’s easy to forget Rainier’s impermanence. It has presided over thousands of years of indigenous culture, followed by the encroachment and permanent occupation of white settlers. It oversaw the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad, the fever of the Klondike Gold Rush, the splendor of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. It stood in judgment while the American descendants of Hokusai’s countrymen were imprisoned beside the wooden-frame rollercoaster of the Western Washington Fairgrounds, at the internment center nicknamed Camp Harmony. And it has watched the rise and decline and rise again of Tacoma, the City of Destiny lovingly misnamed in its honor.

Yet all the while, Rainier has changed as much as the tableau at its feet. Its volcanic restlessness shifts its form, as our capricious Northwestern weather masks its appearance. It hides, or dominates, depending on the time of day or year. Even we have proved a catalyst, as our warming climate chases its alpine glaciers into retreat at the speed of industry.

And one day—whether tomorrow or in a million years, in an explosion of ash or by the erosion of time—Mount Rainier will disappear completely. I can’t begin to predict the future, but I can attempt to capture the present moment. One hundred present moments, to be exact. If nothing else, Local Conditions is a reminder of the lesson of this place: that here in the Ring of Fire, we never see the same Mountain twice.

* * *

Illustrated, designed, printed and bound by Chandler O’Leary, through freak snowstorms, record heat, and a thousand gentle rains in Tacoma, Washington. Each of the book’s 120 image flats is illustrated and compiled from sketches, photographs and data collected in person, on location, from September 2008 to October 2010. All text and images were letterpress printed in Hokusai’s indigo ink, down the street at Springtide Press. Images and topographic map patterns are hand-drawn and watercolored.

For making it possible to turn this crazy idea into an even crazier reality, many heartfelt thanks to [the Tailor*], Jessica Spring, [Zooey*], Sarah Christianson, the Tacoma Arts Commission, the University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library, and the Book Arts Guild. Thanks also to the weather, for always, despite a notorious reputation, seeming to hold just long enough for me to grab the camera and jump in the car.

Produced with the support of a Tacoma Artists Initiative Program grant from the City of Tacoma Arts Commission.

local-conditions_15_062

* Names changed, as per usual.

Posted by Chandler at 5:07 PM in Book Arts, Illustration, Letterpress, Pacific Northwest, T-Town, Travel  |  Permalink  |   Comments (15)
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
September 15, 2010
Nose to the grindstone

sketches_local_conditions_0111

I can’t believe a week has already gone by since my last post. I’ve lost all track of time, because I’ve spent nearly every waking minute with my face an inch away from the drafting table.

Let’s step back, and stretch out a bit.

sketches_local_conditions_0126

My studio is often a sea of papers—an occupational hazard—but these days the swells have consisted of pencil snapshots for my Mt. Rainier book. Dozens, and dozens, and dozens of them.

Time is ticking down, counting closer and closer to zero, and there are still many miles to cover before the clock strikes deadline. Yet suddenly, things are starting to come together. It won’t be long until I can share something that makes sense—something that looks more like a book, and less like a pile of drawings. I promise that you’ll be among the first to see it when I do.

sketches_local_conditions_0137

I’ll do my best to pop up here regularly in the meantime (and in the comments sections of my fellow bloggers), but if I go missing for long stretches at a time—well, you know where to find me.

Posted by Chandler at 11:06 PM in Behind the Scenes, Book Arts, Drawing, Illustration, Letterpress, Pacific Northwest, T-Town  |  Permalink  |   Comments (7)
Tags: , , , , , , ,
August 31, 2010
Almost ready

onamission_teaser_1

At the Wayzgoose on Saturday (thanks to the hundreds of folks who showed up!), Jessica and I had a little teaser for the next Dead Feminist set up at our table—I figured it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t also share it online.

onamission_teaser_2

I’m not going to say much, so as not to spoil the surprise, but I thought I’d drop a few clues by way of my messy drawings—

onamission_teaser_3

warts and all. As you can see by all the smudges and arrows, doin’ it by hand is hardly a perfect process,

onamission_teaser_4

but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

On a Mission is on press as I speak, inching closer to the finish line every moment. Look for it here on Friday—see you then!

Posted by Chandler at 12:15 PM in Behind the Scenes, Dead Feminists, Illustration, Letterpress, Mumbo-Jumbo  |  Permalink  |   Comments (2)
Tags: , , ,
August 11, 2010
Flock

flock_box_0367

I’ve been sitting on this post for months now—it’s just that after spending so much time hunched over this project, I needed some time off from even thinking about it. But now I’m ready to talk birds again.

5birdsforblog_lr2a

From left: Cedar Waxwing; Steller’s Jay; American Avocet; Purple Martin; Tufted Puffin

Eighteen months, twenty-five birds, six hundred twenty-five individual prints and ten box sets later, my little Flock is finished.

5birdsforblog_lra

Mountain Quail; American Bittern; Long-billed Curlew; Hooded Merganser;
Laysan Albatross

5birdsforblog_lr3a

Barn Owl; American Kestrel; Eurasian Coot; Anna’s Hummingbird; Herring Gull

It’s a little crazy to see these all together, like, well, birds on a wire. Each one has been broken down into its own little assembly line for so long that I forget sometimes to see them as a set.

5birdsforblog_lr5a

Western Tanager; Lazuli Bunting; Northern Flicker; Bullock’s Oriole; Belted Kingfisher

5birdsforblog_lr4a

Common Loon; Marbled Murrelet; Northern Shoveler; Harlequin Duck; Brown Pelican

As you can see, what’s represented here is a pretty broad cross-section of Washington birds. There are so many bird species ’round these parts, in fact, that I almost didn’t know where to start—and narrowing the choices down to twenty-five was by far the most difficult task.

flock_box_9611

Wait. I take that back. The hardest part was keeping the glue off of the pricey imported Japanese book cloth (glue plus cloth equals death—or at least wailing, gnashing of teeth, and starting all over from the beginning).

flock_box_0407

You see, it seemed silly to have a set of prints with nothing to house it. My inner book artist took over (thanks to Jessica’s tricksy enabling), and insisted on encasing the first ten sets of the edition in handmade clamshell boxes.

flock_box_0379

Even though the results are always worth it, I don’t have much love for making boxes—what I do love is printing the colophon, or production notes. A colophon (or in today’s hardbound novels, the “note on the text”) is an essential element in any artist’s book; this is where the artist steps outside the book’s content and talks about the making of the book itself. For this I decided to go back to my letterpress roots, and hand-set the text in metal type.

flock_box_6437

While I’m rarely able to fit hand-setting into my projects these days (a drawback to all this D.I.Y. lettering I’ve been doing), it’s still my favorite method of getting a block of text onto a page. And this beloved Bembo, cast locally at Stern & Faye, is so beautifully spaced and balanced that it’s a dream to set and a pleasure to read.

flock_box_colophondetail

flock_box_6446

Here’s what it says:

The sheer variety of avian species here in the Pacific Northwest is staggering. Nurturing a fledgling love of birding was easy; the hard part was winnowing my list of favorites down to a couple dozen portraits. Here, then, is Flock, a motley kettle of songbirds, waterfowl, raptors, and shorebirds. While they’re not exactly birds of a feather, every member of this brood can be found either as a permanent resident or a passing traveler in Washington state—with just a wingtip of artistic license, that is.

Printed from October 2008 to December 2009 on a gaggle of presses, including Vandercook models SP15 and Universal One, a Craftsman 6.5 x 10 platen, and my little Kelsey 3 x 5—at the School of Visual Concepts in Seattle, Springtide Press in Tacoma, the University of Puget Sound, and here at Anagram Press, respectively. The colophon is hand-set in Bembo, and each hand-carved linocut print is hand-painted with Pelikan watercolor (no pun intended). Of a covey of 25 birds, a tweet of 25 prints each, and a parliament of ten box nests, this is number [2].

flock_box_0381

Okay, so maybe I went a bit overboard on the avian puns. It’s just that the thought of getting my hands dirty on type drawers again had me all twitterpated.

The ten box “nests” are now sold out, as are several of the individual birds, but about a dozen or so bird designs are still available in the “Flock” section of the shop. And I have a fluttering feeling that there might be even more birds in my future—one of these days, anyway.

flock_box_0409

Posted by Chandler at 11:30 AM in Behind the Scenes, Book Arts, Drawing, Illustration, Life, Pacific Northwest  |  Permalink  |   Comments (7)
Tags: , , , ,
April 28, 2010
A flat-out smashing time

wayzgoose_2454_1

Inked up,

wayzgoose_2574_2

hand-pulled,

wayzgoose_2559_3

and voilà! Our second collaborative steamroller print, an unofficial Dead Feminist, inspired by Cora Smith Eaton King, who in 1909 climbed Mt. Rainier with a party of Mountaineers and placed a “Votes for Women” banner at the summit.

wayzgoose_2373_4

This year’s Wayzgoose was the biggest bash yet! Outside we had all the regulars, like the steamroller sorcery of Chris Sharp,

wayzgoose_2567_5

Ric Matthies and his seriously-amazing perfection under pressure (no pun intended),

wayzgoose_2599_17

Jessica Spring, my partner in crime,

wayzgoose_2562_6

and the gifted-as-ever Stadium High School printmaking students.

wayzgoose_2455_7

Inside, folks were printing their own copy of the excellent new Beautiful Angle poster,

wayzgoose_2358_8

and many other talented book artist and printers (like Lisa Hasegawa here) were showing their stuff.

wayzgoose_2390_9

The whole shindig had a befezzed flavor, thanks to C.L.A.W. and the inimitable R.R. Anderson,

wayzgoose_2388_10

and the Dockyard Derby Dames rounded out a whole host of newcomers.

wayzgoose_2394_11

We had an enormous crowd (thank goodness for the good weather!),

wayzgoose_2339_12

and even a few unexpected audience members.

wayzgoose_2516_13

This year I got to try my hand at driving the steamroller,

wayzgoose_2409_14

but I think pretending was plenty enough for this little guy.

wayzgoose_2447_15

Thanks to everybody who stopped by to say hello, or stuck around to lend a helping hand.

wayzgoose_2429_16

And of course, a huge bucket of gratitude to the Tacoma Arts Commission for making it all happen!

One more acknowledgement: photography by Michael O’Leary. Thanks, Dad!

Posted by Chandler at 2:17 PM in Book Arts, Dead Feminists, Illustration, Kindred Spirits, Letterpress, T-Town  |  Permalink  |   Comments (8)
Tags: , , ,
February 14, 2010
Vandercooks never knock twice

agee_photo

This is my friend Adam Agee, one of my favorite people on the planet.

Adam and I go way back—we were at RISD together, and shared a house in Rome, where he rode a unicycle everywhere and taught me to juggle. He also planted the seed that grew into an artist book: many years ago he told me of a fountain in Bologna, Italy, with a shocking secret that was obvious from a single vantage point, and invisible otherwise. No matter how much I pressed him, he would only answer that I had to go there myself to find out. The year we lived in Italy he finally took me there personally (it’s true: shocking!), and the experience became a clue in A Riddler’s Compass.

agee_twopatrons_b

Adam is probably the most talented person I know. In art school a teacher of ours was always saying Adam was born in the wrong century, and I’m inclined to agree. But like any Renaissance Man, his interests and skills range far and wide, from inventions (he majored in Industrial Design) to graphic design to painting to comics and back again.

agee_robotpoetrylesson_b

agee_robotpoetrylesson-detail

Many artists with diverse interests turn to printmaking for its versatility, and Adam is no exception. A few years ago he invested in a floor-model platen press, and created an ambitious series of prints called the Dream Press Cycle. You’d never know this was his first attempt at letterpress, but then this is Adam we’re talking about.

agee_dreampress-sevenandnine_b

Since then letterpress has been a staple in Adam’s personal and professional work.

agee_youarethelightmatchbox

agee_weddinginvitation_b

agee_kisshere_b

I’ve been able to have a front-row seat for his growth as a printmaker,

agee_dreampress-two_b

and have collected a few pieces myself.

Now it appears that a golden opportunity has presented itself to Adam: a Vandercook cylinder press (the press every letterpress printer—including myself—dreams of having one day) in perfect working order is for sale, just minutes from his studio (Boulder, CO), and he’s got first dibs. The trouble is, he’s only got a few days before he has to say yea or nay.

agee_receipt

So to help fund the spur-of-the-moment purchase, Adam is offering extra-super-cheap custom poster printing and original artwork right now. Since this isn’t a chance that happens every day (try every decade or so), I told him to jump at it, and signed up to be his first customer. So if you’re looking for some seriously affordable custom design or handmade artwork, or if you’re in a band in need of a concert poster, read more about it here.

Best of luck, Adam!

Posted by Chandler at 10:25 AM in Kindred Spirits, Letterpress  |  Permalink  |   Comments (2)
Tags: , ,
OLDER POSTS
NEWER POSTS