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Mountain dispatch

Penland School of Crafts photo by Chandler O'Leary

All I can manage is a quick note today—because this is where I am right now … and this place has got me pretty speechless.

Penland School of Crafts photo by Chandler O'Leary

I’m here teaching with Jessica this week, with a studio full of smart, sassy, and seriously talented women.

Penland School of Crafts photo by Chandler O'Leary

The class has got us inspired to stay up late printing every night, but it’s hard to feel tired—

Penland School of Crafts photo by Chandler O'Leary

—when you’ve got this view waiting for you when you return to work every morning.

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Wild, wild west

Barn photo by Chandler O'Leary

The Tailor and I took a road trip to a friend’s farmstead wedding in North Dakota this month.

Rocky Mountain National Park photo by Chandler O'Leary

We figured that while we were at it, we might as well make a mountain (read: 750-mile) detour to complete our vacation.

Rocky Mountain National Park photo by Chandler O'Leary

So off to the Rockies we went,

Rocky Mountain National Park sketch by Chandler O'Leary

sketchbook in (my) hand,

Buckhorn Exchange photo by Chandler O'Leary

with our eyes peeled for roadside attractions,

Devil's Tower photo by Chandler O'Leary

and the camera ready to capture every perfect moment.

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With a cherry on top

Pie cherries photo by Chandler O'Leary

Picture a Chuck-E-Cheese-ball-pit-sized vat of pie cherries: that’s what our kitchen feels like right now.

The Tailor loves fresh sour pie cherries with a fiery passion, but they don’t grow well in western Washington (not enough sun). And they’re both hard to transport commercially (thin skins) and not super popular with folks under the age of 80 (too much work). So as you can imagine, even though home canning is a big part of everyday life around our house, he hadn’t been able to add cherries to the routine.

Until now.

Pie cherries photo by Chandler O'Leary

He managed to find a farmer on the other side of the mountains who specialized in pie cherries. To make it worthwhile for both the farmer to harvest them fresh, and the Tailor to drive three hours one way, he ordered a metric boatload.

So now our kitchen is filled with pitted cherries.

Pie cherries photo by Chandler O'Leary

And mashed cherries.

Cherry pie photo by Chandler O'Leary

And pie’d cherries.

I gotta say—I finally see what all the fuss is about! That is one tasty labor of love.

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Pristine waters

Browns Point photo by Chandler O'Leary

I fancied a drive around the Bay today—it seemed like just the thing to get the creative juices flowing.

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Just in case I missed the rain

San Juan Islands ferry sketch by Chandler O'Leary

I think Washington was jealous that I left it for Texas last month—

San Juan Islands ferry photo and sketch by Chandler O'Leary

—because when my best friend Elizabeth came out for a trip to the San Juan Islands, we were treated to endless rain. That’s okay, though—the San Juans are absolutely gorgeous in any weather.

San Juan Islands photo by Chandler O'Leary

The place could not be more different than what I saw in West Texas—not the landscape,

Orcas Island photo by Chandler O'Leary

not the culture,

San Juan Island photo by Chandler O'Leary

not the flora or fauna, either.

San Juan Islands whale-watching sketch by Chandler O'Leary

What it had in common with the desert, though, was that it made me fall in love in exactly the same way.

San Juan Island photo by Chandler O'Leary

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Deep in the heart of Texas

Big Bend National Park photo by Chandler O'Leary

Mexico on the left, Texas on the right.

With all the crazy work I’ve been doin’ lately—and all the rain that this season brings—I really, really needed a vacation. So the Tailor and I took ourselves on a little road trip—way the heck down to the Texas-Mexico border. Yep, we drove 2,200 miles one way, just to be able to stand ten feet from an international border. It’s a pretty amazing feeling, actually.

Big Bend National Park sketch by Chandler O'Leary

We spent most of our time at Big Bend National Park (you know how much of a national park nut I am!), which allowed for plenty of time for sketching—

Big Bend National Park cactus varieties sketch by Chandler O'Leary

—and lots, and lots of desert sun to soak in.

Prickly pear cactus photo by Chandler O'Leary

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Wild goose (paper) chase

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary

Oh, man. I’m beat. You people plum wore me out this time. Every year I keep thinking we can’t possibly top the previous one, but Wayzgoose just keeps getting better and better. And this year, the weather was so unbelievably good* that I think half of Tacoma (plus a good portion of Seattle and a smattering of Portland) put on their walking shoes and marched into our midst.

*See all those pairs of sunglasses? That straw hat? You don’t see those much ’round these parts. We’re the pasty-rainy vampire people, remember? Sunshine in April = naw, son, you must be dreaming.

To put it another way: it was absolute crazy sauce.

Or maybe it was just that the word is fully out now about our little printers’ party. After all, the Weekly Volcano said last week, “There are otherwise button-down, Wonder-bread, vanilla South Sounders who lose their ever-lovin’ shizz over Wayzgoose.” Amen, bros.

Big thanks to everyone who showed up to the party (even if I didn’t get a chance to thank you in person); to the Tacoma Arts Commission for being our fairy godparents; to the small army of adorable volunteers who kept everything chuggin’ along; to Rosemary Ponnekanti at the News Tribune for the write-up; to Kyle Durrie for making an appearance in her travelin’ Type Truck; and to sweet pea Flaherty and Jessica Spring for making it all happen.

Anagram Press table at the Tacoma Wayzgoose. Photo by Chandler O'Leary.

Speaking of Jessica, I think I laid eyes on her all of twice, all day. She was scurrying around and herding cats outside, while I was camped behind a steady stream of folks at our adjacent tables (thanks, y’all!). There wasn’t even room to sneak a hip shot of how many people were shoehorned in there, so the only photos I could snag were right at the beginning before folks showed up, or at the end, when people finally started to clear out.

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary

I know this doesn’t look like a big crowd, but trust me—it was a total sardine can in there. (Or clown car, if you prefer circus metaphors. I know I do.) But when the room is packed with all your favorite Northwesterners, it’s a win-win.

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary

Among the talented regulars was my lovely friend Keegan (and of course, Atticus, who frequently thinks he’s a pirate parrot. Yarr!).

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary

There was also a very special newcomer this year. My former student Sara caught the letterpress bug, and caught it bad. In less than three years since she took my class, she and her husband Brad (pictured) have gone from newbie nestlings to fully-fledged, successful business owners. Sigh. My kids are all grown up and making a hand-printed ruckus! It does my heart good.

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary. Steamroller prints by Audra Laymon and Ric Matthies.

Outside, the steamroller prints were better than ever. (Special shout-out to Audra Laymon for her goatey Blueberry Park print! I think a hundred people heard me squeal when I saw it.)

Jessica and I decided to sit out the steamroller this year to make room for a few new folks, and that turned out to be a smart move. Just standing at my table for six+ hours hobbled me like an arthritic old woman—I don’t think my knee would have been up to printing. My only regret was not being able to witness much of the spectacle this year.

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary

I did sneak outside long enough to learn that Tacoma’s own Arts Commissioners had been pressed into service (heckuva job, Scott!)—

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary. Steamroller prints by Chris Sharp and Charles Wright Academy.

and that the print quality was the tastiest it’s ever been, thanks to some tweaked techniques Jessica gleaned from our day in San Francisco last fall.

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary

Attendance reached a new record this year—I think we’re an official Tacoma institution now. Mr. sweet pea says the count of men, women, children, babies and beasties approached the 1,000 mark!

(R.J. says: Word to your mother.)

Tacoma Wayzgoose photo by Chandler O'Leary

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Printing at Penland

Blue Ridge Parkway photo by Chandler O'Leary

When Jessica and I were in North Carolina last summer, we had just enough sightseeing time to squeeze in a short trip along the aptly-named Blue Ridge Parkway.

Blue Ridge Parkway photo by Chandler O'Leary

Between the dappled sunlight,

Blue Ridge Parkway photo by Chandler O'Leary

the lush Southern greenery,

Blue Ridge Parkway photo by Chandler O'Leary

and the unexpected splashes of color,

Blue Ridge Parkway photo by Chandler O'Leary

we were enchanted in an instant.

(I, for one, was tempted to do a little Katniss Everdeen impression—just run away from it all and head for the hills.)

Blue Ridge Parkway photo by Chandler O'Leary

It wasn’t hard to imagine sitting down and breaking out the paper and paints, with all that blue haze as inspiration.

Penland School of Crafts photo by Chandler O'Leary

The folks at the nearby Penland School of Craft certainly agree. Since Lucy Morgan founded it in 1929, Penland has become a national center for craft education. Widely respected for its preservation of handcraft traditions, Penland is centered on total-immersion study and both traditional and experimental techniques. Settled in a quiet pocket of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it’s an inspiring setting for focused work. Thanks to its reputation and location, the school attracts some of the country’s best artists and fine craftspeople to study and teach in the Penland studios.

So you can imagine how thrilled and honored Jessica and I were when they asked us to come and teach a letterpress workshop there this summer.

We’ll be teaching a one-week printing intensive, and doing our very best to turn the printshop upside down. This ain’t your grandpa’s letterpress. Here are the details:

Letterpress: Old Dog, New Tricks

A printmaking intensive with Chandler O’Leary and Jessica Spring
Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC

Summer Session 7: Aug. 26 to Sept. 1, 2012 

Typesetting photo by Chandler O'Leary

In the class, we’ll work with both hand-set type (don’t worry, we won’t monkey with any linotype machines…) and photopolymer plates to produce editioned prints that combine the two techniques.

Process photo of "Tugboat Thea" letterpress broadside by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

We’re going to get pretty technical, pretty fast, but don’t worry—the workshop is open to all levels of experience. That way we can bring letterpress newbies up to speed quickly, and give more experienced printers the chance to go nuts and geek out with us.

Detail of "Unnatural Light" letterpress print by Jessica Spring

“Unnatural Light” by Jessica Spring

You’ll be doing some death-defying typesetting by hand, using Jessica’s acrobatic techniques,

Detail of "On a Mission" letterpress broadside by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring

On a Mission Dead Feminist print

and I’ll teach you the ropes of designing for photopolymer, so you can throw a three-ring hand-drawn circus into the mix.

Blue Ridge Parkway photo by Chandler O'Leary

So get thee to the mountains and join us! Registration is open now, but don’t wait too long—the class is capped at 12 students.

See you in North Carolina! Save me some grits, will you?

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Printer’s devilry

Last Sunday, to raise funds for the upcoming Wayzgoose, we had a little “Wayz & Means” film festival celebrating all things letterpress. Even though the show’s over, the main event of Wayzgoose itself is still on deck. So as a little warm-up to get you in the printing mood, I thought I’d share a couple of the films we featured.

First up is an animated short I first saw over a year ago, at the Codex Bookfair in California. I’m pleased to announce that Old Time Film, by Barbara Tetenbaum and Marilyn Zornado, is finally viewable online! So let’s get this party started:

Oh, man. I love that. If you want your very own copy of the film (trust me, you do—there’s a little making-of featurette on the DVD), you can purchase it here. No, Barb and Marilyn aren’t paying me to hawk their movie—I’m just a believer, that’s all.

Burgess Meredith in the Twilight Zone episode "Printer's Devil"

I’ll leave you with one of my very favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone, circa 1963, where a gleefully terrifying Burgess Meredith gets a newspaper job as the world’s fastest linotype caster. There’s a catch, though: Mr. Smith has a secret. To get in on it, you need to understand the little letterpress inside joke behind the episode’s title.

You see, a typesetter’s inky hands (and quite possibly the inflammatory writ published by the early masters) earned printing the moniker “the Black Art.” So there are all sorts of clever nicknames to go with that title. For instance, a letterpress apprentice was called a “printer’s devil,” and old, broken type gets thrown in the “hell box” to await being melted down. The list goes on.

Get it yet?

Burgess Meredith in the Twilight Zone episode "Printer's Devil"

Well, watch and you’ll see what I mean. (Gaah! That face.)

Da, da, daaaaaa!

Join us on April 22 for the Wayzgoose, and get in on the devilish fun.

Eighth Annual Wayzgoose
Sunday, April 22 • 11 am to 4 pm • Free!
King’s Books • 218 St. Helens Ave. • Tacoma, WA

In the meantime, I’m going to practice lighting cigars with my index finger.

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Snow falling on cedars

Forest in snow photo by Chandler O'Leary

I love it when a journey is required to bring Christmas home.

Hood Canal photo by Chandler O'LearyHood Canal photo by Chandler O'LearyOlympic Peninsula photo by Chandler O'LearyOlympic Peninsula photo by Chandler O'LearyForest in snow photo by Chandler O'LearyChristmas tree photo by Chandler O'LearyChristmas tree photo by Chandler O'LearyOlympic Peninsula photo by Chandler O'LearyChristmas tree photo by Chandler O'LearyChristmas tree photo by Chandler O'Leary

Hoping yours is holly-jolly, merry and bright.

"Mini Flock" holiday ornament illustrated and letterpress printed by Chandler O'Leary