learning printing

i've made lots of flax paper this winter.

one mould,

custom made by britt quinlin the paperwright for a zone 4

and brush gallery project,

makes a dry sheet of about 10 x 24 inches.

the mould is unweildy and tricksy to use.

but i like it. 

working with the expert guidance of melissa schulenburg

i made some collagraphs 

about weave.

my living room furniture as drying rack. 

there was no way i could abandon these to the drying rack 

in the studio for five days,

they're too new and special for me.

and living with them helps me figure out the next steps.

dog kennels re-purposed.

 my living room includes two,

for the visiting setters,

gwen, who has made a happy comeback from her bad spell, 

and tess the princess birddog.

i opened up my sketchbook

looking for pulp stories

 and found this

from two winters ago.

a pulp herbal.

shanna's covered rock holding the page.

at school

the freshman group made 

super mokuhanga self portraits,

here are some of them.

and a warwick press surprise

i found in my mailbox.

a reflection on the times,

a poem, and this lovely, lovely landscape.

it feels like almost nothing in my hands,

so light and airy.
it's been a good week.

two books

wake robin

has produced a small edition

(two)

called

NOVEMBER SONG

 carol blinn of warwick press

provided typographic expertise

and, let's be honest,

the encouragement for me to have

mark tomlinson

build two boxes for these books.

 each book now lives

in a lovely soft, barely gold box

with carol's title page and colophon--

 and are now, 

here.

shown.

there are several gatefolds

so the book stands alone

as a map of my ecotone, new york's north country

plants, metals, fungi,

and mineral laden water.

(secrets and truths about here) 

 showing off the structure

and i show off the title on the box spine.

my

NOVEMBER SONG:

cave paper covers, 

presentation box by mark tomlinson,

typographic design by carol j blinn,

and

a plethora of ecoprinted arches velin (text wove) papers

 printed in the cold seasons before, 

bound in autumn of 2013,

and ready in june 2014.

part of the HORTUS SICCUS project

by me, 

velma bolyard.

two books.

mail call

while i was sick, 

the mail still came. 

wireless worked.

a few new goodies arrived

as i was becoming ill

and then during.

some i've written about

some are not yet seen, 

but sophie, and carol, and haystack, and pien

here they are!

 sophie munns sent me a book and a few goodies

that made me dance and shout

 carol showed me some tempting process photos, 

as did aimee

 these are mysterious

but there's even more mystery i can't write about, yet

 a place i want to go to this summer

maybe

and i may have some interesting teaching gigs popping up,

 can't give details till they're worked out.

 and pien rotterdam, 

someone i "met"

years and years ago as part of the YAHOO papermakers group

evertything was beautifully wrapped

 and her sample book was lovely

really fine papers

the kind that take your breath away

these and so much more 

(you know who you are, i've still got it all confused)

enriched my illness

with caring, and art, and thought, phone calls and interest,

enough so i was able to keep stitching

one     stitch     at     a     time     .

love makes it through the internet

i swear it.

wings and heart

this woman is special. one day, when ian was 15 and hannah 12, we ended up in her shop, warwick press, unannounced. i'm sure that was a surprise, to put it nicely. we were visiting prep schools where i thought ian might find a scholarship (he did, but not a full one). i had been writing to her for several years. so we met. 


how did that happen? well, i ordered a book called once upon a time, book two. and fell in love with her storytelling, her drawing, her quirky sense of humor. yesterday when i got home from work, this card was in my mailbox. it's a drawing of a figure that hangs in her kitchen (and that kitchen is a very important place). i think they are sisters. carol j. blinn, proprietor of warwick press, and a little figure, made by anonymous (who was a woman) who has wings AND a heart.


carol is one of a handful, a very full handful, of special friends, mostly women, who have, at times, saved my life.