Notes From the Studio

11/15/2024

Thanks to everyone who came to my talk at Revolve CC! It’s a magical thing, a group of people committing an hour of their time to generously give you their attention. I keep that in mind whenever I’m talking, and try to give something of value in return. In our present age of distraction, where our attention is being pulled in a million different monitizable directions, this simple, communal act of sharing an idea is incredibly special.

I had such a great time the whole weekend, whether it was learning about anti-excellence while playing with clay, becoming terrified at the legal impacts of AI on creatives, making new connections, reinforcing old ones, and just enjoying each other’s company. Already looking forward to next year!

Ink on Paper

Earlier this summer I took a trip to Detroit for work. Since I had a free morning before an afternoon meeting, I reached out to a couple letterpress shops to see if I could stop in. Printmakers are generous folks and love to talk shop, so I met up with Gerald at Smallworks Detroit, and afterward got a tour of Signal Return. At one point, Gerald shared a proverb with me that he learned from his friend Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., that "when the printing is good, keep going!" I didn't understand it at the time, and our conversation moved on.

Fast forward to last week, when I was doing a quick run of bookmarks to hand out at RevolveCC. I planned to run about 40 or so, but when I finished, they looked so good that I was like "I gotta print more!" The printing was gooood. I just couldn't stop there, so I cut some more paper and ran a couple dozen more, finally understanding what Gerald was talking about.

I mean just look at these! They were printed on the Vandercook No. 01 proof press. The top line is Coronet Bold, and the kerning looks a little wonky between the P and the A, but that's just how the typeface is. The bottom line is Stymie Extra Bold, and reminds me of those old "READ" posters from the 90's.

Upcoming Events

RevolveCC was my last planned event, but I'm starting to look a little further ahead at art shows and markets in 2025.

Other Rambles

There are a few authors whose work I absolutely devour whenever it comes out, and Tim Kreider is one of them. Like most of us, the election last week has left me reeling, feeling powerless to do anything resembling “make the world a better place” in the face of such headwinds. Kreider’s latest helped put things in perspective a bit, especially where, talking about the Berlin Wall, he says:

At a moment when language feels silly and impotent in the face of dumb blunt power, it’s heartening to recall that that wall—and, subsequently, the Eastern Communist bloc and the Soviet Union itself—was brought down by words.

Keep going, keep making, keep shining your unique light out into the night. Who knows what walls it might bring down?

Stay tenacious, and see you out there,

~PB