Blog
June 16th, 2014
This is my friend Carl.
He’s a wood engraver extraordinaire—
—and his West Seattle letterpress studio is a thing of beauty.
He does lovely, painstaking work (those are his engravings on the wall there), and he runs a tight ship at that studio of his.
Which is why my friend Mary-Alice called on Carl when she picked up a vintage Adana flatbed press, and wanted help whipping it into shape. She and her husband were planning to bring the press to West Seattle yesterday. I’d never seen an Adana in action before (I’m more of a Vandercook gal myself), so I asked to tag along.
Carl was more than ready for us.
He gave the press a quick once-over. “I think you’re getting off too easy, Mary-Alice,” he said. “There aren’t even any spiders under here!”
A few drops of oil,
some careful adjustments,
one of Carl’s own engravings to use as a test,
and a little text M-A set from his massive collection of type—and all of a sudden the Adana was print-ready.
Carl even broke out the fancy handmade paper—”This is an important occasion!” he said.
Pretty darn good results, if you ask me. Carl made us all sign the finished broadside. (Mariners pencil for the win!)
“How come I get to sign?” I asked, confused.
Carl chuckled and said, “You documented the occasion. Sign it!”
Aye, aye, Captain!
June 9th, 2014
This week I added a new stockist to my list when I dropped off a pile of cards at Tacoma’s newest shop, The Nearsighted Narwhal.
The shop fills a specific niche that book artists will love: the art of self-publishing. The store is chock-a-block with zines, comics, self-published and small-press publications, and artwork by a whole array of independent artists.
It’s the sort of place you might normally have to travel to Portland, or San Francisco, or Brooklyn to find. But I can tell you that from the perspective of someone who’s been self-publishing for over a decade, the Nearsighted Narwhal going to be a very welcome resource. I can’t wait to dive in and start reading!
May 5th, 2014
I cross-posted this (in a slightly different form) over at Drawn the Road Again, but I’m too excited not to share it here, too. After I illustrated two iconic Tacoma theaters, the kind folks at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts offered me a media sponsorship of one of their upcoming shows. I was happy to say yes (hey, free tickets for me and my friends!), but I didn’t give it much thought beyond that—the illustrations were plenty of fun on their own. But then they said, “We think we have the perfect show lined up for you.”
Photos by Mariesa Bus (left) and Laurie Cinotto (right)
And that’s how I got to chat with Ira Glass yesterday. (Yes, of course he’s charming and super nice!)
While I waited my turn at the meet-and-greet, I did what I always do: reach for pen and paper. The best part was the sketch turning into a collaboration—when I asked Ira for his autograph, he added the word bubble.
Yep, that was a good day.
April 30th, 2014
Don’t be distracted by Ric’s smile—see the puddles everywhere? See the winter gear people are wearing? Sunday was the craziest Wayzgoose yet, hands down. That’s because we had both the biggest crowd ever and the worst weather imaginable. So that smile is one of triumph: getting a decent steamroller print that day required beating some serious odds.
It rained sideways while Jessica inked.
It hailed while we lined up our block.
Photo by Dr. Jamie Brooks
It froze while we peeled our prints up.
Photo by Dr. Jamie Brooks
It blew a gale while I painted.
Still, despite the mishaps, I think it turned out alright. Jessica and I are calling our print “Park Place”—created in gratitude over the passage of a bond that would fund our city park system. The map in the center shows most of Tacoma’s parks, with twelve of our favorites called out like properties on a Monopoly board.
We even took a snippet of the illustration and sent it over to the talented screenprinting booth folks, who turned it into a t-shirt design during the event (you can just see a peek of it in the upper left corner).
Since the rain and wind prevented us from hanging the finished prints outside during Wayzgoose, most of the people who came that day didn’t get to see anybody’s finished print. So today Ric, Jessica and I remedied that.
Thanks to Spaceworks Tacoma, all of this year’s steamroller prints are on exhibit in the Woolworth Windows downtown…
…where you can see them—in fair weather or foul—now through August 21.
Thanks to everyone who visited or volunteered at Wayzgoose this year, and to King’s Books and the Tacoma Arts Commission for making it all happen!
April 25th, 2014
The carving is done, and we can’t wait to show you the finished product. See you at the Wayzgoose on Sunday!
April 21st, 2014
Here we are: year ten. Since the time Jessica Spring founded the Tacoma Wayzgoose all those years ago, it’s become one heckuva beast—and a veritable Tacoma institution.
So here are a few sneak peeks of the giant linoleum block Jessica and I are carving—and we’ll reveal all on Sunday:
10th Annual Tacoma Wayzgoose
Sunday, April 27, 2014
11 am to 4 pm, Free!
King’s Books
218 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, WA
If you’re new here and don’t know what a Wayzgoose is, or you just want to relive the glory days of old, here are links to all the Wayzgeese (gooses?) I’ve been a part of:
• 2009 (Tacoma)
• 2010 (Tacoma)
• 2011 (Tacoma)
• 2011 (San Francisco)
• 2012 (Tacoma)
• 2013 (Tacoma)
Itching for more? Well, then, see you on Sunday!
March 31st, 2014
I just picked up a sheet of the new Shirley Chisholm postage stamps—not just because Shirley is awesome, but also because the color scheme matches our Shirley broadside perfectly! (Great minds think alike?)
March 13th, 2014
Well, I only just realized that my only photo of last night’s opening (stupid phone!) was so out of focus, but oh well. It still gives you an idea of how nicely the Wayzgoose steamroller prints look on a gallery wall!
Thanks to everybody who made the trek down to Parkland last night for the shindig—and to Jessica Spring for organizing, curating and installing these beasts!
March 7th, 2014
Jessica’s studio is hopping lately. She and I are working on the next Dead Feminist broadside, and our friend R.J. joined us on the adjacent press. There’s just something so satisfying about a room filled with the sound of Vandercook motors humming…
February 17th, 2014
Photo by Candace Rardon
If you know me at all, you know this is how you’re likely to find me. But I’m not the only one known to be seen with a sketchbook and paintbox.
My friend and fellow travel sketcher Candace has been in town visiting lately, and we’ve spent most of our time together with sketchbooks in hand.
In addition to showing her my favorite haunts, it’s been fun to introduce her to some other Urban Sketchers I know.
And I have a feeling you can guess what happens when a bunch of sketchbook nuts get together.
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