Watching Ink Dry

Drying Time on Drawers of Type Cabinets

Drying Time ©2013 Bo Mackison

“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”
~ John Quincy Adams

Another look at the letterpress room at Whispering Woodlands. Isn’t this an amazing sanctuary?

The cabinets, a half-dozen metal cabinets, aged, battered with hard use, and yet fully functional, even beautiful. Each cabinet holds dozens of trays of type — mostly lead type, but there is a bit of vintage wood type, too.  Type for 6 point to 60 point. Each tray in precise order, so the same motion that fetches a Capital T from one tray would find a Capital T of a different font in the same space in any other tray. It’s the tiny organizational things spread throughout the entire process that I find so appealing.

And yes, in a letterpress room filled with a cylinder press, and a wall full of cabinets and other necessities, the most convenient drying spaces for the just printed papers are on pulled out trays. The rubber based inks are slow drying, and dry by actual absorption into the paper instead of drying upon it. A full day process. They are lovely inks to work with – smooth, slightly opaque, and forgiving of a beginner’s practices.

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Instructive Papers © 2013 Bo Mackison

“Finding a sanctuary, a place apart from time, is not so different from finding a faith.” ~ Pico Iyer

Truly, I do feel rather as if I am creating in a sanctuary – private, quiet. Just me and the letterpress, just the power from my arms and my body to turn the crank and “walk” the paper through the press. Then the process in reverse — walk back and crank in the opposite direction.

On this run, I did the words “SANCTUARY” and “LETTING GO” together, more because of the length of the words than the meanings. But I like the idea of working in my little printing room, repeating the same practice for each sheet of paper, while letting go of outside distractions, old conversations, difficult encounters, stinging words embedded in the subconsciousness. WOW! What a healing experience — running a letterpress.

Interesting that there is personal healing in the process, as I create this first edition of the Desert Wisdom Cards — cards which I hope will inspire self-discovery and inner healing in the people who work with them.

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Bo Mackison is artist, photographer, book-maker, naturalist, poet, curator, and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is learning the wonders of the cylinder letterpress, and also experiencing personal healing in the process, as she prints the Desert Wisdom Cards.

Sunflowers at Sunset

Sunflowers at Sunset

Sunflowers at Sunset ©2013 Bo Mackison

Adrift in a wave of sunflowers,
adrift in a wave of humanity –
we are all one.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Her exhibit, Garden Party – A Celebration of Botanical Photography, is at the Alicia Ashman Branch Library Gallery in Madison, Wisconsin and runs through September 5, 2013.

 

A Letterpress Day

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Letter Press circa 1930s ©2013 Bo Mackison

On March 17th of this year, I made my first Desert Wisdom Card. It was on the theme “PLAY” and I included a photo of a bunch of pottery jackrabbits playing musical instruments. The photo made me smile every time I looked at it, and I wanted to share that happiness, so I posted the photo and my thoughts about play on my blog.

On March 20th I posted the second Desert Wisdom Card. The second one was on QUEST. A few days later I did a third. ATTENTION. And so every few days, for the next few months I wrote another card. I posted the last one, SIMPLICITY, on June 23rd. When the card set was complete, I’d created 22 cards.

During the summer, I experimented with many ways to create an art edition of the Desert Cards. I studied templates from indie games manufacturers. I created cards with photos and ink and rubber stamped titles. I did several renditions using photo processing software. None of the prototypes were quite right.

Until…

…I went to a book structures workshop at Whispering Woodlands in Verona, Wisconsin. Owner, book artist, and instructor Jackie Hefty showed us the many books she’s created and collected over the years. I was especially drawn to her many books printed on the letterpress. Later we toured her studio, and there, in a small room in the back, was her letterpress — ah, love at first sight!

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Imagination – Perseverance ©2013 Bo Mackison

And so the final piece of the puzzle fell into perfect place. I imagined printing the first edition of the Desert Wisdom Cards on the letterpress, and so Jackie and I made the necessary arrangements.

In the last weeks, I’ve learned how to set type on a composing stick, tie type, position type on the letterpress bed, and clean and work a letterpress. Currently, I’m printing the first set of cards. One page at a time, and a truly Zen experience — the simple yet precise machinery, the repetition, the rhythm.

When I took a few photos to document the process, I photographed two lines of type which I had tied together. (When I set the words on the press, I separate the words so I can print one piece of paper with two cards each time I crank the press.) I realized I had bundled the words “imagination” and “perseverance” together.

How appropriate, I thought, as I considered the journey of the Desert Wisdom Cards — from a vision in my imagination to their physical creation, a path which required lots of perseverance along the way.

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Bo Mackison is artist, photographer, book-maker, naturalist, poet, curator, and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Bo is learning the wonders of the cylinder letterpress as she prints the Desert Wisdom Cards, two at a time!

Wonder – A Prairie Wisdom Card

Sunflower in Detail

Sunflower © 2103 Bo Mackison

“Could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy; and you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.”
~ Kahlil Gibran

If you ever have a chance to see a giant sunflower, up close and personal, you will notice that the sunflower seeds always form in a spiral pattern. Each successive seed placement approximated the golden angle, (137.5˚) and so fully covers the space.

What a wonder-evoking sight. We know nature is filled with patterns and sequences, but often they remain hidden from our unseeing eyes. The sunflower, another natural things like pine cones, the leaves on a stem or the branching of a tree, the fronds on a fern, even the tippets covering a pineapple, follow this mathematical formula.

The beauty of the pattern, in part, is a result of the precise play of the positioning of each concentric layer, and the creation of an eye-pleasing spiral. Gifts of wonderment!

“This very moment of your life, if you experience it fully, will show you astonishing wonders and exquisite delights.” ~ Martha Beck

The WONDER card offers activities for contemplation, art, and writing and a call to action:

  • Journal prompt: Compile a list of things that are common to our culture – for example, a vending machine, a super-sized grocery store, the subway. Choose one thing and write about it, writing from the perspective of someone unfamiliar with such conveniences.
  • Art and contemplative activities: The circular mandala often is used as a symbol for the Universe, for the whole. Seeds are the tiny packages filled with potential.
    • Gather seeds of any kind — choose one kind of seed, or different colored and sized seeds. Begin with a seed for the center, then create a circle with seeds, much like the sunflower with its closely packed seeds in ever-expanding spirals.
    • You can create this in nature as a temporary art installation in miniature. Or you can glue the seeds to cardboard for a more permanent mandala.
    • As you create the mandala, consider the potential of each seed, and consider the potential that exists within you.
  • Call to action: Take a walk in nature and look for some of the countless patterns in nature. Express your wonder with each discovery: “What a wonder-filled world!”

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a set of Prairie Wisdom Cards, second in a series of cards based on natural habitats, and used for exploration and self-discovery.

Acceptance – A Prairie Wisdom Card

Cosmos

Cosmos © 2013 Bo Mackison

Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like. ~ Lao Tzu

When we can’t change our reality, the key to peace and a life-long happiness is to accept that which is. Not deny what life is handing us, nor sugar coat the problems. But practice acceptance at what this moment holds. Life happens. It is hard in the present to see the gifts that a difficult or unexpected situation can offer. But challenges often gift us with new perspectives and opportunities.

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.  ~ Søren Kierkegaard

The ACCEPTANCE card offers activities for contemplation, art, and writing and a call to action:

  • Art and contemplative activities: Arrange objects on a small altar. Include objects embody characteristics of imperfection, objects that are tarnished, rusted or frayed. Add natural items that are weathered or cracked. Notice the beauty in these imperfections. Show acceptance for the natural cycle of growth, decay and death.
  • Journal writing activity: Journal about a challenging past event in your life. Write about the lessons learned or the gifts received through your experience.
  • Call to action: Take a walk in the natural world. Pay special attention to the different cycles of nature. Notice the depth and beauty in the fading flowers and grasses, the fleeting shadows on the pavement.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  Bo is creating a set of Prairie Wisdom Cards, second in a series of cards based on natural habitats, and used for exploration and discovery.