Broadside

The project for Letterpress I was a 10x10 broadside - text with a corresponding illustration. I chose a quote from Kurt Vonnegut, one of my all-time favorite authors. I had the opportunity to see him speak at the University of Iowa many years ago and I feel fortunate to have been there. I remember sitting in the lecture hall listening to his stories and thinking, wow, this is amazing.

I've had a lot of opportunities that I'm really grateful for, I have an amazing happy baby, great family and friends. I often pause what I'm doing, whether it's playing with Isaac, reading a good book, or taking a walk outside in the perfect weather we've been having lately and think "this is nice." I resolve to do that even more often, because I don't do it enough. I'm going to frame this broadside, because I am so proud of it, and hang it up where I'll see it every day as a reminder.

You can see some of the process here - proofing the text, carving a linoleum block, proofing the block, and the final print. There is a whole stack of proofs and goofs that you don't see here. This was a time consuming process, but the nature of setting text and pulling prints is almost meditative and gives you time to think "if this isn't nice, I don't know what is."



Type: Stymie 24pt

Paper: Rives BFK