The Biological Reaction to Seeing a Small Child

This is a piece I did for my letterpress class. I like the idea and overall composition and colors. But frankly, I'm a bit disappointed with myself on this one.

It's about being baby hungry. I wanted it to be absurd as well as understandable and relatable, and I sort of think those two things are felt pretty separately in different parts of the text. I also overdeveloped my plate with the text, washing out punctuation as well as a few letters. I think I could have spent more time with the text, but I got to a point where I just needed to print it and be done.

It was printed in an edition of 50 copies. I would like to sell them so others who can enjoy them instead of looking at them with disgust at the little technical things that went wrong can have them. So. $25 each, along with shipping and stuff to wherever you are. Either send PayPal money or a message to find another way to do it to trishelle_jeffery@yahoo.com, and you can have a print. Everyone else I've shown them to thinks they're lovely. So really, I think it is just me that would rather be rid of the things.

Below I'll post the text that's in the print, in case it isn't terribly legible on your screen.

Spaces

This is a piece called "Spaces" that I did for my letterpress class. It's 2 photopolymer plates and a blind embossment of text (which you can't see), printed in an edition of 45. It's been done for a bit, but we just got them back and did an exchange of our broadsides today.

The assignment was to respond to an artist who does letterpress or bookwork. I chose Julie Chen. More specifically, I was responding to a line of text in her book "Panorama".

"Leave a space for the things that are gone so they will not be forgotten."

Something in that sentence that really inspired me. It almost made me cry the first time I read it.

The piece was first sketched out with the full quote, and the lone figure in the bed that you see a version of on the middle left. Originally, it was pretty obviously me. But after a really good discussion with my teachers about it, I changed it to be less about me, and more about an overall feeling that is shared throughout the human race. It was helpful, and I ended up with a much more successful piece because of this suggestion.

It was different for me. My work is generally so heavily autobiographical. And it still is here, but it's also more accessible, which I like. It's just hard for me to think this way on my own. I'm going to miss the sort of response and help I get with my art in school when I'm done.

I'd go on, but it's finals week, and I have tons of work to do.

Things Used (Summer 2011)

 I love Letterpress. It's all the things I love about relief printing, plus it's easy, bigger edition sizes are more attainable, and everything is so much more consistent than it would be if I were inking by hand. I hope that I can own a really nice proofing press someday. If only they were still made.
 So, at the end of the summer, right as school was starting up, I did a workshop with the University of Utah's Book Arts program called Comic Relief: Alternative Letterpress Forms. It was delightful. We all made zines, then traded them among ourselves at the end. This was what I made.

 It's called "Things Used (Summer 2011)." It's a pack of cards rather than a more traditional book, and each card has an object that I used a lot over the summer. Included objects are a stamp, my comb, my laptop, my cell phone, my pillow, pencil and pens, toothbrush, plastic fork, shoes, glasses, bags, pants, keys, underwear, and my debit card. The process we used, using scratch film, allowed for a ton of detail, which was nice. (Sadly, now that I'm at the school, I don't have access to a good camera to photograph this detail. The light grey I printed with doesn't show well with cell phone pictures.) It was printed in an edition of 35, which is definitely a record for me.
 I'm taking a letterpress class now, and already enjoying it. The University of Utah is a good place to be for that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go proof some type.