I got back to the studio this week to work on a print.

Letterpress printing is always an exercise in patience and tends to reward those detail oriented. Sputnik Press has open studio time on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays for about four hours for each day. To complete a usual project, like this one, I normally need two sessions. One to handset the type and then one to actually set up, run the press and final clean-up. Depending on the amount of text, I could probably get away with one session, but since I like more then one line it will usually take me two. On my last poem, it took me four sessions. Two to set, one to run, and one to clean-up.  Of course, I made it more complicated. For something like Nature, I can set the lines the same, and there aren't too many gaps. The quote is from Emerson’s work called Nature.

I used 5.5” by 8.5” paper with green ink something called ivy moss. I used this color for the first time, but it came out well. Once I had the lock-up on the bed of the press, I needed about three adjustments through. Even with catching spelling errors and using the wrong type piece, the type won’t necessarily catch the ink. There are different ways to accomplish making sure each letter is inked.

I think all in all the prints turned out well. My spelling errors and wrong letters have gone down dramatically. Since each letter is hand set, and put away by hand, it’s easy to pick up a “b” placed in the wrong drawer and not realize it until your on press. Luckily, Adam came out spelled correctly!

Most of it comes down to stubbornness. I’ll switch out the letters, double check the look and then go from there. It doesn’t meet the fine printing standards, but I tend to think that’s part of the reason to do the letterpress printing with the handset type. Working within the constraints to create.

Crazy to believe I was in Bali, Indonesia just a few weeks ago. Luckily I wasn't caught up in any of the trouble currently going in Lombok due to the earthquake.

I loved going on vacation and turning off my brain from work for a few weeks. You know that list you keep thinking you need to tackle? My to-do list had write and post each week and then I'd need to buy groceries or do the dishes or take a nap (no real regret, naps are great) and it never quite got done.

I'm happy to report though that I haven't been completely behind on the writing. Don't Belong to No City, my upcoming book, is out to the beta readers and I'll send it to the editor I'm working with this fall. You may have noticed I pushed back the release date. This is the first time I've elected to use an editor so I'm nervous and excited for their feedback. While my betas are reading the draft, I'm hard at work at my newest book. It's still percolating so I won't bother saying much. I think next release will be Book 3 in the Ravana series. It's already written and so is most of Book 4, but they've been gathering dust. I wanted a break from that world, something about those characters take a lot of emotional energy. I feel ready now to jump back in.

On another note, I'm still working on letterpress and am loving doing broadsides. I hope to branch out soon to chapbooks and maybe looking at some book binding techniques.

Hope everyone is taking care of themselves. Wear sunscreen and drink water!
Olivia