BLACKDOGLETTERPRESS

The 2016 Calendar is called Interactions of Color and is influenced by Josef Albers 50th anniversary book of the same name. Each page is six colors of ink printed with expressive wood type and furniture. There are 48 editions of the calendar and 12 are part of the deluxe edition of my 2016 book printing now. 

Workshop for the Museum of Printing History in Houston, TX. Participants composed type and image created by using the materials in the print studio, from type cases to furniture and reglet as abstract image. The typography of their city overlayed with rectangles and lines create a unique map of where they are from.

In this workshop, “Printing Expressively with Furniture and Reglet, a Typographic Map” participants were shown that the horizontal beds of a Vandercook proof press and an Albion hand press are ideal for printing wood furniture and reglets—materials not normally thought of as relief surfaces—to create printing forms in the shape of maps and skylines.

Participants made reglets type-high by adhering them with double-sided tape to a thin plank of wood.

Foregoing traditional lockups, it was easy to create a fl􀓉􀓉owing, abstract layout of shapes and lines to represent a map or skyline. Where needed, em-quads were taped down to help support the reglets. Large furniture was used to provide solid areas of color. When the compositions were fi􀓈􀓈nished, these forms were placed on the bed of the Cary Collection’s Vandercook SP20 and carefully inked and printed.

The group created two maps, one of London and one of Seattle, and printed two image layers on each sheet using di􀓇􀓇erent forms on the Vandercook. Once the map layers were complete the sheets were over-printed with the name of the city, set in wood type and hand-inked in a third color.

A Manifesto Poster was a call for letterpress posters exhibit to the aTypI conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil in the summer of 2015. I continued with the theme of my core values and touch, ponder and makers as my three themes that I was developing in my first edition book, A Manifesto.

I challenged myself to print using materials on hand in my pressroom in a graphic and balanced solution, creating a limited edition calendar produced using only furniture and reglet for the abstract images. January is a representation of the north star and July represents an exploding firework, June is a fathers day tie and September is a school house. The months are printed with wood type and the dates from photopolymer plates set in Scala Sans. It is a colorful rainbow of abstract images influenced by HN Werkman and printed on a #4T Vandercook Proof Press. The display stand is made from maple, a wood used to make letterpress furniture, carefully dimensioned to be the same width and height. The notch in the furniture stand is to hold the entire calendar and the backing of maple is the same thickness and material as the reglet. 

As part of at the Houston Zoo and UHGAP, this invitational Mane Event poster competition was to raise awareness for animal research to conserve wildlife. Funds form the Mane Event and the auction were used to support conservation programs at the Zoo and student scholarships and programs for the University of Houston Graphic Communications program. I chose the Lion, Niassa Lion Project, Mozambique and created an image of lion using furniture, letterforms and reglet to inspire a playful and brilliant image of lion. 

These are random images from workshops and demonstrations and collaborative events over the past few years, since I moved to Mississippi. 

The intent for the installation is to distribute a series of informative messages about the little things each student can do to improve their environment and their future. The delivery for the words would be through a series of bird feeders that have colorful paper butterflies and seedballs tied to the feeders installed on the University of Houston campus. The book is a document/proposal of the Butterfly Seed dispersal project.

The piece investigates bus stops and journeys, wayfinding and mapping, memories and experience. The story grew out a morning bus ride, studying the scenes, the cast of characters and the journey itself. The book sums up the experience in a linear map with simple flat graphics and an accordion structure to further strengthen the narrative of the story. 

I presented a pechu kucha to Ellen Lupton, Curator at National Design Museum and director of Graphic Design MFA program at MICA and created the posters in summary of the work into a final piece. I investigated Sensuality and Sexuality of Typography as my topic and from my research, I chose quotes from the presentation and implemented a typographic, letterpressed solution. The “it is beauty” quote speaks of the ligature from the typeface Mrs. Eaves which is the perfect illustration of the quote. For the “kiss”, I mirrored garamond italics k’s which lean toward each other and barely meet in the middle to visually express the meaning of kiss in letterpress printing. For the “TYPE” solution, I paired found wood block typefaces with separate ink colors to overlay and join in a play of forms that are at once speaking of type and of the words that type forms.

The idea of the blind emboss surface for wall paper allows an exploration of each word in relation to its tactile dimension. The word CAST has both the meaning of shadow and of cast metal type. It can also be a cast of characters, the characters being the letters of each word used for many of my explorations. The varying the size and placement of the word using different fonts and different sizes to generate scale and contrast work to create an interesting play across the paper and the repetition is created along the length with a nice randomness within the grid.  Impress was selected instead of press to play off the idea of first impressions and how subtle the words are on the white on white composition. The word kiss is also used to contrast against the meaning of kiss in relation to printing on the paper, merely touching without impression versus the necessity of deep impression in order to have legibility. Each of the papers has a playfulness in the meanings and depths of the words as well in the way the words play across the surface.

This is my current exploration, which investigates touch on both a high design and low design. How is the piece addressed in a gallery setting and how do you allow touch or encourage it in a setting where touch is forbidden? I am working with cardboard and found objects as well as fiber as different substrates for my typographic message. I am hoping to encourage playfulness and openness to the approach of my work.

Trace Book
Trace is hidden words, white on white, but once one touches the surface the tactile information is revealed. The viewer is asked to draw marks and tracing and explore with graphite pencils following lines and edges to reveal the message within. The outer sheet holds the message, and gets replaced throughout the exhibition to continue to record the marks of the participant.

Hold Book
Hold has evolved into a system of blocks that contain layers of meaning. The interactivity of these objects explores problem solving and methods of communication. A tic tac toe game is on two opposing sides of the cubes. The three remaining sides contain the phrase “We hold, touch, play and explore to solve problems” in raised braille, impressed type and morse code. The final side is of my fingerprint, cut into the surface of the paper. The blocks allow one to explore and engage one’s senses in different ways and builds a simple message.

Stroke Book
Stroke is a blind embossed exploration to encourage touch with a cause and effect pressure switch. The action of touch will activate a pressure switch that plays a breath, a moan, a response to the fingertips. The breathing and tones are unexpected and meant to create a connection with the viewer who touched and stroked the book, while the types message plays across the surface.

Press Book
For press, the book holds a hidden message that is revealed by the viewers hand prints. The heat of the viewers hands causes the thermochromatic ink to change from solid black handprints to clear and reveal the color ink below, ACT transforming to CONTACT. The heat of one’s hand will reveal hidden text and without warmth, the word will remain incomplete in its intent.

Poke Book
Poke is a book of lacelike, perforated and lasercut circles that start to fall away as the book is touched. Over the course of the exhibit the material will be poked and fall away and its absence reveals a message with the space left behind.

 A simple typographic pythagorus’ hammer formed with the numbers he is known for in his geometry.