Deconstructing that artichoke and other bookmaking tales

Poetry reading

I know I've been a huge slacker about posting. Ah, well. Work has been really hectic.

I've finally finished printing the tarot cards and the cases for them! Yea! Now I'm cutting them down and soon, I'll be folding the cases to fit. And then they'll be ready to sell.

But the real news is I've been asked to host a poetry reading (once a month, I think). The first reading is going to be Thursday, November 18 at 7:30. It's going to be at Socha, a cafe near my house. Right now, I have Hazel White, Judith Serin, Colby Phillips, and Katherine Case reading. I've done chapbooks for all of them. Very exciting!

Codex book fair

I was talked into doing the Codex book fair. I was interviewing Lucy Childs of Another Room Book Arts for an article I'm writing for the Ampersand, and she talked me into doing the Codex book fair.

What is the Codex, you ask? The Codex "preserve[s] and promote[s] the art and craft of the book." The people who will have tables are other book artists, printers, bookbinders, calligraphers, and others. Who will be there? Educators, librarians, lovers of book arts, conservators, booksellers, and more (this according to the Codex website).

Why did I decide to do this (it's expensive and I'm going to have to take three days off of work)? I decided to do it, because I have to take the plunge sometime. The PCBA Book Arts' and Printer's Fair is a great event, but it's small fry. The people who go usually buy my inexpensive items (there are exceptions, of course), but I want to meet more people who will buy my more expensive items. Plus, I love to show my books to people, especially those who will buy what I show them. I want to meet librarians and collectors. And I think I will be able do that here!

Onward!

Almost finished!

I finished printing the tarot cards yesterday! I still have to cut them down and print the cases, but the tarot cards themselves are done. I started them in 2007, and now I'm finally done. It's been a huge project, much bigger than I anticipated. I'm glad I did it though. I especially like working with Judith, the poet who wrote the poems. I'll take some pictures of the project, once I get the cards cut down. Yea for finishing something, especially such a gigantic project!

Getting there!

I finished setting type for Judith's tarot cards last Friday! Yea! It's been a long (long, long) project. So now, Judith has the last copy to read over and check for mistakes, and then I'll print the cards (We went to the Dodgers-Giants game last night; the Dodgers won. Yes! I was happy, Judith was not.). I also have to make a simple case for the tarot cards. I think I'll probably print the title of the cards, Days Without (Sky), on the case. It's going to be finished by end of the summer (well, at least a few of the decks will be finished!).

Teaching at 826 Valencia

Today is going to be my first day teaching at 826 Valencia. I love teaching there: the kids are adorable, the staff cracks me up, and I'm teaching what I love. I teach at 826 every year, and I very much look forward to it!

On the schedule for today is a "scenic concertina." What's that, you say? It's a folded deal with a place for animals (cut out from a magazine), and then it's got a spot for writing at the bottom.

 

Onward

Yea! It's summer, officially. I have lots of plans for this summer: I'm going to finish the tarot cards (I know, I know, you're sick of hearing about them); I'm going to finish the chapbooks; I've got more paper for Disconnecting Constellations, so I'll work on that book (I'll never say that I'm going to do 100 of a book again); and then I'll do a few more small projects. But the exciting project that I'm going to start is (drumroll please), I'm going to start researching women bookbinding unions in California.

Yes, well, I've started to do some research on the Internet, and there are some places locally where I can start my search: Berkeley, I knew their library would have some information; San Francisco State, in their Labor Archives and Research Center; and the California Historical Society. And my dad, who's a Teamster, said all their minutes and such from meetings should be in an archive somewhere. So it's all very exciting!

The Printer's Fair is over!

The Printer's Fair was a lot of fun. I met a lot of people, I showed off my books (especially Collapse!), and sold a few things! So now I'm trying to recover and clean the apartment.

Book Arts and Printers' Fair

Alright, I'm cutting and sewing and pounding out finger holes. The Book Arts and Printers' Fair is Saturday, May 15 from 9-3, Fort Mason. Back to work!

Not going to finish...

...the Tarot cards before the Printer's Fair. For a month, I was going out to Betsy's on both weekend days to print. I was starting to go to bed before 8 to get up at 6 for work. I was so tired. 

I was getting very close to being done, but I was going to have to take an entire week off work to be able to finish. That wasn't going to happen. So now the target date is sometime in earlier summer.

California Job Case

My type setting on the tarot cards is coming along nicely. I think I might get the tarot cards done by the Printer's Fair!

One thing I've noticed is that I set type with my left hand faster than I do with my right hand. I used to be right handed, but since my stroke I've become more and more left handed. I've always been somewhat ambidextrous, but now I'm even more so. I eat with my left hand now; I write with my right hand. It's very strange.

I think with setting type, the link between my brain and my hand is stronger with my left hand. You have to visualize where the letters are when you're setting type. And I think my right brain has the typecase memorized (or at least almost), while my left brain doesn't. Or maybe it's the links in the brain. In any case, I realized this late in the process for the tarot cards, but now that I've realized it, I'm setting type faster, which is making the project go faster.

 

It's very weird. It's been a strange process figuring out how my body works now that I've had the stroke.