May I Ask You A Question?--Summer Census New Orleans 2018
In February, we had multiple houseguests, our floor was littered with fallen glitter from so many costume changes for different Mardi Gras celebrations. I worked at the studio, trying to finish up projects before they were forgotten in the carnival buzz and as I was leaving the shop, Bob strongly suggested again that I apply for a Platforms grant.
I took the information home and, one rainy day, while we recovered between parades, I wrote the first grant I've even written where I felt like I had a solid idea of what I wanted to do.
I'm not saying that glitter and a deadlne makes a good grant application because I doubt it does. I think this idea has been brewing inside me and seems like the next logical step.
A month later, I received an email saying I had been awarded the grant.
The Platforms Fund is a collaborative re-granting effort of Antenna, Ashé Cultural Arts Center and Pelican Bomb with support by the Andy Warhol Foundation. Every year they award $65,000 in grants to a number of community based projects in New Orleans. I am one of many funded projects this year.
This summer I will be letterpress printing and distributing 5,000 postcards as part of the Keep Writing Project.
The June issue of Keep Writing, number 110, will be a mini-census for the city of New Orleans.
Since I moved here in 2002, summers in New Orleans have changed. It used to be the low season for tourists. Anyone who could leave, would. It was quiet. If you stuck around, it was great. The usual bustle was tampered by heat and you made friends with whoever was left in town. But not everyone can leave. And the tourist based economy thrives on constant influx of outsiders.
I want to take a poll of who is here, and why, where they are from and what they consider home.
I will bring these cards with me as I sit at the library, the playground, at summer camps, at the neighborhood bar and wherever anyone will have me. I want to talk to you about why you are here, how you got here, if you will ever leave. Let's talk about home and home towns, about the changes in this city.
I am in the process of booking events--casual porch sits and structured talks about letterpress and community.
If you have a porch on a busy street, can I come and sit and talk to you and your neighbors? Are you a teacher at a summer camp who wants a guest artist-speaker? I am looking for public spaces with a variety of people to interact with to get a good sample of who is here. Get in touch. I am reaching out to my friends, peers and co-workers but maybe you know someone I don't .
If you are a subscriber you will receive your card as usual. If you are a resident, you can follow me on instagram @gutwrenchpress, and use the hashtag #summercensus to see where I'll be!
In November, in time for the NOCAZ, I will release a new issue of Where You From? documenting the data I have collected.
Stay tuned for lots more news about this!
wasn't it just halloween (come see me in south louisiana!)
I know I know it isn't Thanksgiving yet but I'll be at a bunch of markets---every weekend at least one!--from now until Christmas. And this weekend has a special one so I wanted to get this out early. If you live in South Lousiana or if you are coming by in the next six weeks, come say hello! Click on links for more details!
Any outdoor market is subject to agreeable weather so check for updates on my fb page!
**also I will have new holiday cards this year but not until after Thanksgiving! I will also continue making new books and journals throughout the season so stop by for something new***
Here we go:
Friday 11/17--MidCity Maker's Market Baton Rouge 6-10 pm
It's White Light night in Baton Rouge so Government Street will be buzzing with art openings, markets, drinks, food and seasonally chilly air. I'll be in the alley between Arlington and Eugene but take a walk through all the vendors!
Saturday 11/18 & Sunday 11/19 NOCAZ New Orleans
The New Orleans Comics and Zine Fest is back! Held in the downtown public library, with lots of family friendly fun--from 11-4 on Saturday and 12-4 on Sunday.
Saturday 11/25 &11/26 Palmer Park Arts Market New Orleans 10 -4
Typothetae is back! Prints, cards, books and more from 7 local artists gather under one tent to share our letterpress love with you. We will be at Palmer Park both days, 10 am till 4 pm, and many of us have new stuff!
Sunday 11/26 The Bazaar NOLA 11-5pm
Two places at once! While members of Typothetae are in Palmer Park I will at Press and Dauphine sharing a spot with Lizxnn Disaster and her amazing collection of vintage clothes, flower essences and embroidered hankies.
Saturday 12/2 Ogden Park Prowl Baton Rouge 1-6 pm
Rescheduled from October, this neighborhood arts party has live music, food and vendors hosted by the lovely people of Ogden Park. I will be on Beverly Street near Government so stroll by!
Sunday 12/3 Paper Machine grand opening party New Orleans 1-6 pm
The details of this are still being worked out but come to the lower 9th ward for a family friendly celebration to warm the new building--which is also the new home of gutwrench press! 6330 St. Claude
tuesday 12/5 Odgen Museum Shop 6-8 pm
Once a year, the Odgen Museum in New Orleans asks artists and crafts people to sell in the museum for a few hours. This is our first year trying it out but I have always loved the Ogden.
Thursday 12/7 Holiday Shop Hop Baton Rouge 4-8 pm
Sip champagne and shop local vendors at the Capitol Park Museum (aka the Louisiana State Museum). The event starts at 11 am but we won't be there until the second shift at 4! (if we are going to drive to Baton Rouge we are going to eat lunch at Bay Leaf)
Saturday 12/9 New Orleans Bookfair 11 am -5 pm
The original and my favorite. A sweet day in Clouet Garden with all the best of New Orleans's scrappier self-publishers and artists.
(P.S. Typothetae will be holding down the tent at the MidCity Maker's Market that afternoon if you are in Baton Rouge!)
Saturday 12/16 Midcity Maker's Market Baton Rouge 4-8 pm
Back to Baton Rouge for another round on the corner of Eugene and Government.
Saturday 12/16 & Sunday 12/17 Palmer Park Arts Market New Orleans
We will be here with other members of Typothetae selling the last of our holiday gifts uptown from 10 am till 4 pm.
Saturday 12/23 pop up at smallchalk New Orleans
Now that you have your gifts come uptown and print some gift tags with me! I will have letterpress goods for sale too. Free! Ashlee of smallchalk is hosting a popup every Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Follow her for more details on the other unique offerings.
Is that it? Not really. I'm also teaching a class or two, and giving a talk in Baton Rouge so follow me on facebook for more up to date information. Or, stay home and shop at my new online store. But I'd rather see your face.
More from the Desktop
friends' front door, new orleans
The first datebook I ever made for myself was really just a tall journal with blank pages. Each page was a list. Once I ran out of room on one page, I would transfer the parts of the list that had yet to be completed and crossed off, and that still seemed important, and started again until I finished the next page. I did have a lot of deadlines, so it worked well. I like lists a lot. i subdivide lists into other lists. But the chance to reevaluate is important. To cut loose what is unnecessary, to re-prioritize. This might be what is so appealing about the idea of a new year. I know that January 1st is an arbitrary date to choose to start over, and check in, but it works for me, as I stay in a little more, have a little more slow time, and anyway my other favorite time to do this--my birthday--is nearly 6 months away from January 1st. So here are more things I saw this year that I wanted to share, other things people made that are inspiring and important and beautiful.
knotless knitting demo on handmade paper vessel by Tamaryn
postcard from the new orleans book fair
zines procured from the new orleans book fair
Where You From?
With everything that has been going on in Ferguson and in cities all over the country, it has been hard to sit and write about zines and postcards. I've been watching the news, reading, and trying to find constructive things to say. And sometimes I've just been angry and sad. But the work to do in this country is ongoing and so while it becomes less in the forefront in my mind, I work to keep these struggles part of my every day conversation, while talking about the things I make too.
When I moved to Baton Rouge, LA six years ago, I was struck by how many people I met who were from Louisiana, from Baton Rouge and other smaller towns. I had been living in big cities most of my life, leaving my home state at 20 and even then, I had moved twice within that state. I become interested in the ideas about why people leave their home towns and why they stay. I wanted to explore the benefits of leaving a place when you've outgrown it and the benefit of staying rooted in one place. In 2 issues, I asked friends and acquaintances, many from Louisiana, to write about their experiences. This comprised the first 2 issues of Where you from?
Then 2 years ago I moved to Oakland after spending 6 months in Italy. I had a bunch of ideas to connect, from traveling with my sister in Sicily, talking with my grandmother about her parents home towns in Sicily, moving out west with my partner, who had lived in Baton Rouge his whole life. I thought I would have a new zine soon--I've sketched out a huge project in my head, with maps and letterpress printing and so the project is still just ideas. I got so stuck on that project that it's been years since I've made a new issue. So here it is.
I wanted to make a zine with the instant book form because it offers a great structure for telling two sides of a story. And it meant I could letterpress print some for fun while still digitally printing affordable copies. I chose to write about leaving places I've lived and returning.
It was harder than I realized to write these. When I was done, I slept for a week and they sat on my computer, waiting to be turned into files to become plastic plates to print. They are short, and the form thwarts my proclivity for run on sentences. But here it is: one sheet of paper, ten stories. Mostly about New Hampshire and New Orleans. One or two you may have heard before , maybe not. but now they are in print in a copy that fits in your pocket.
*****Did you want a copy? They are all available in my etsy store and if you live in the Bay Area, I'll be at the EBABZ this Saturday with a table full of stuff. And if you want to hear me read from it along with a bunch of other great zine writers including artnoose, come to the EBABZ reading this Thursday here. Phew.
Take care of each other ok?
New Orleans Without Color
my dancing shoes
I brought a camera to New Orleans, I even checked the batteries before I packed it. And then it stayed in my bag for my entire visit. Most of the time, I wanted to just be with my friends, ride around, not answer the phone, not check my email. Aside from arranging meet-up times with busy friends, mostly it worked.
My first day in town, my friend Matt Runkle made a facebook challenge. Normally I ignore these, I duck in the internet corners so I don't get picked. But this one was about posting five black and white photos in five days. It was a challenge I was willing to participate in. I love color photos. Phone cameras and apps have improved, making it easier and easier to take lovely square images. I used to own a poloroid camera . The colors and instananeos nature of poloroid was appealing. Also the physical photo that emerged, to be tucked into a notebook, or glued to a journal cover. With all the instagram fanciness, it was nice to focus on composition with the same instant results. I took a few photos that didn't work in black and white, but here are the five I chose. I posted them on facebook but I thought they were nice all together. Maybe I will start taking more.
two against one.
woke at 6 am.
the industrial canal from the end of the world
end of the world graffiti