the birds of south louisiana (as drawn by a UK native)--an interview with steve larder
Keep Writing number 101, illustrated by Steve Larder, designed and printed by gutwrench press September 2017
Months ago, I was writing with a friend and asked him if he might want to illustrated some postcards for me. I had been doing a bit of bird-watching in Louisiana and I wanted to be able to share what I was seeing. I'm not much of an illustrator but I like Steve Larder's style. He was willing way before I came up with the scheme to collaborate every month for a year. That is how Steve Larder became the first collaborator in the current Keep Writing series. Keep Writing number 101 was sent mid-September 2017 and included one of 4 illustrations he sent me. All four are available as postcards in my shop. This month's card also included a letterpress printed box to hold your collection of cards.
After all that Steve also consented to answer a few questions. Read on!
Introduce yourself! Who are you, where are you and what do you do?
My name is Steve, I live in Nottingham, UK and i'm an illustrator/comic and zine-drawerererer.
Describe your workspace--do you have a studio, or space in your home dedicated to drawing?
My workspace is generally the spare room of wherever i'm currently living - I would love to have a studio that requires me to actually leave the house but financial constraints and general lack of motivation to actually get that ball rolling keep me inside all day, ha! At the very least I have to keep the 'drawing' room separate and distraction free from the goings on around a house, I can't focus, otherwise.
the four cards together, printed on french modtone patterned paper.
What is your experience drawing for letterpress ? Are you familiar with the process or blindly trusting me to print your illustrations?
I guess I did blindly trust you, ha! I'm familiar with your letterpress work and it always looks great so was definitely happy for you to take the reigns on this. It's my first letterpress print but I definitely want to do more - I suppose the challenge was adapting my work to fit the scale and line production of the letterpress process.
In your zines I see 2 general types of drawing--quick loose sketches and detailed drawings. What is your process for deciding what subjects require more time and detail? Are your more detailed drawings done live or with reference materials?
I love drawing really detailed scenes (usually from reference), but I'm also just into being a complete goof - for ages I couldn't decide on which to focus on with my auto-biographical comic-zine, 'Rum lad' - so in the end I just decided to find a balance between the two styles. I usually choose the 'illustrative' style to set a particular mood or scene, while the 'comic' style is used to display dialogue between people or to keep a narrative flow. Ha, I've ended up describing that in a really over-the top clinical way - the reality is usually me thinking of something daft and drawing it loosely on the spot
cover of rum lad #9
Is your day-job art related? I've noticed more friends being able to find a way to integrate their skills from creative work (music, art, zines) into the work they do to earn money. Have you noticed this? Is this something you can relate to? I am curious how people who have spent years living on the fringes of an economic system by choice change as we get older.
My day-job is working in a university art-shop, so 'art' related in a literal way but not in practice. It can be a really exciting place to work - seeing new generations of students come up with some interesting work, and I have some ace work-mates. I've also hosted occasional workshops using skills i've learned through zine-culture, such as the general production, through to distribution and introduction to things like zine-fests, collaborations, all the self-publishing challenges a seasoned zine-maker is likely to encounter. I would definitely like to do more of this! I know quite a few people who have honed their skills in DIY culture through the years and channeled it into day-jobs - I find it quite empowering and reassuring that these things I essentially do for my personal pleasure can be extended to pay the bills sometimes, ha!
Have you taught drawing before? What is the first lesson like?
I haven't taught drawing, specifically - I think you can introduce people to some basic principles of drawing (ie - things to do with perspective, scale, etc), but even that seems arbitrary when a desired path and signature style of drawing is pursued. At the most I'd argue the best way to teach is just introduce ideas and methods, and just general encouragement that there's no 'wrong' way to draw. I have taught zine and comic workshops where I helped students think about how to represent a piece of text into a drawing, or scene - it was very challenging but I loved seeing how they interpreted ideas.
How are you at Pictionary?
I really dislike having an audience when i'm drawing so I think i'd be terrible at it - However it's been a while since i've played so who knows?
Is there any other line of work you have considered?
Not really, I think I've always known that one way or another that I'd always be drawing or doing something vaguely creative.
What is your go-to karaoke song?
I am definitely not a karaoke singer, haha.
Any closing thoughts?
I literally just received the finished product of our collaboration through the post and I am SO happy to be a part of this - they look amazing. Thank you, Hope!
a portrait of my cat by steve, a birthday gift for andy g.
Thank you, Steve.
To see more of Steve's work, including issues of Rum Lad, check out his website--www.stevelarder.co.uk
He also takes commissions for custom portraits of pets, if you are looking for great gift idea--you can see his portrait of my cat above.
To receive monthly letterpress printed postcards, designed in collaboration with avariety of artists over the next year, sign up for a subscription to Keep Writing. New subscribers will also receive a letterpress printed box to hold their collection, as supplies last.
Steve selling prints at Nottingham Writers Studio. Photo by Tara Hill
resistance is love in action
My dad was visiting me in New Orleans during the inauguration and I missed all the marches. I was walking in the swamp trying to identify birds, or drinking coffee, trying not to read the news. I thought of the things that are most important to me and how I can use that to participate.
I offered pay-what-you-can subscriptions for inauguration day, and offered to donate 100% to the New Orleans Abortion Fund . I was hoping to raise maybe a few hundred dollars. We raised $800. I love sending postcards and I am happy to have new subscribers who are excited about participating. It is a small way to give back and it helps me to stay motivated and I think it is part of keeping the momentum of the movement. Whatever you think or however you voted, the next 4 years will be a marathon, not a sprint, and we have to find a way to balance the need to acknowledge what is said and done by the president, and not over or under react. And between tweets and attacks, there is proposed legislation cutting funding for people and groups who need it most.
This is only a small part.
The first 100 days ends June 9th and I will continue to donate all sales from Keep Writing subscriptions. For the rest of January and all of February, I will donate to BreakOUT!, dedicated to ending the criminalization of lgbtq youth in New Orleans. You can subscribe a friend, you can add on to your subscription. You can sign up a family member. This is what I have. Letterpress printed words to share, a dedication to communication and a willingness to share resources. Keep loving, keep fighting.
post script:
I have been proud of printmakers, reclaiming our history of those who spread news for the people. Power and Light Press took it one further and offered these tote bags, originally for the women's march but so many orders were placed they had to set back shipping times--100% of the proceedss are going to planned parenthoodd. The sale of this tote (still available!) has raised more than $50,000. yahoo!
You can go your own way...
If you have never read Ker-Bloom zine, the 20 year project from artnoose, stop reading here, find yourself at least one issue, through etsy or your local zine shop, savor it, and we will meet up in the next paragraph.
my collection of ker-bloom!
Ker-bloom is a letterpress printed treasure. Every two months, 4 pages of text are offered, a monologue on a theme, a story, a glimpse. When I moved to Seattle in 1998, I would use all the money I made in consigning my zines at Left Bank Books for the latest issues of Ker-Bloom. It isn't just the writing, or the letterpress cover and pages, it is holding the package in your hands. It is precious. And bi-montly.
For the 20th anniversary issue artnoose wrote about starting this project and what it has evolved into. The idea for a project that started small but became their defining work.
I can relate to this. Eight years ago, I left New Orleans to go to college. I left behind a lot of good friends. I wanted to send mail to everyone I missed in New Orleans and my other penpals. But school kept me busy. One day in my first semester, I was biking home from class when I thought, what if I sent everyone the same postcard every month? What if I designed it and printed it. I could keep in touch with all my friends and have a creatively challenging project every month. Now it is the project that frames my month, how I set up my weeks. After recently reuniting with a friend I have known since high school but have not seen in years, we realized are both still doing the same work we've always been doing. He is still writing. I am still sending mail. Our work might take different forms, and but the essence remains the same. .
Now that I have moved back to New Orleans it is i a good time to notice how things have stayed the same, what remains true, how I have found a way within this truth. This is Keep Writing number 91. Sent a bit late. I am still adjusting to my new old life. But there is mail. And a new po box. An aisle away from my old one.
Do you want to receive monthly mail like the card above? subscribe here: www.gutwrenchpress.com/subscribe
READ
I don't read as much as I used to. When I was in middle school, over the summer, I would read the entire Little House on The Prairie set over and over. I would read all day, sitting outside at the day camp I attended. But for the past year or so, I haven't found anything that would hold my interest for that long. I read magazines, I read short stories when I travel, I listen to audio books. I've tried taking only baths and reading in the bath, I've tried reading at night. I wasn't upset but there were books I wanted to have read but I didn't have the focus to sit and read.
One day I was giving away a pile of books (not because I have given up on reading, these were books I have already read). I stopped at one of the many free little libraries in residential streets on my way to work. I saw a copy of Dune. I remember when the movie came out, I remember the images for the movie poster. It was never a book I read or had much interest in. But I do like a paperback with a good design and as a bonus there is a map inside of the planet where the book is based. I threw it in my bag and took it home.
Over the next few weeks I read it every chance i got: in the bath, on break at work, in bed with a tiny light on so my sweetie could sleep. I'm not a huge science fiction fan (though the last book I had read was a selection of feminist sci-fi) but something about the book was captivating. When I came to the Litany against Fear, I made a note of the page number and knew what my next postcard would be.
I had no idea that the passage was famous that it might be on coffee mugs and high school yearbooks. But it appealed to me as I think a lot about fear, about things I am afraid of, about how to look at those things, see them, acknowledge them, and act not react to them.
I was telling everyone who would listen about Dune as if I had discovered a new treasure. And I had. Years after everyone else.
PS I was looking for a clip of the movie without an ad and then I found this. Which I like better.
Shark Attack!
For November's postcard, I wanted to accomplish two things:
- experiment with overlaying two colors to create a third color
- make something with the image of a shark to be included in the annual animal themed fundraiser at the Practice Gallery in Philadelphia.
You many not have even realized that I have goals each month, that I am not just making up designs willy-nilly. Well, there is some of that too. But it is nice to have a goal, a chance to refine a skill, or just show off. When I was training on the Heidelberg at Painted Tongue Studios, I didn't quite realize how tight the registration was on their designs. (Oh, non-printer side note here: in letterpress each color is laid down individually, on a separate run through the press. So if the design has two colors that are close together with fine lines, it is important that they line up. That is called registration.) Once in a while they would lay one color onto another, often using a cool red and a green to create brown. The card would have three colors with only two runs through the press (and with your fellow printer-in-training only crying once or twice). When I left Painted Tongue, I opted for a much more loose style. Until I remembered the magic of overlays. And so here I was, wanting to use a little more green in my print without having to clean off the press and add that color. Viola, my favorite teal made of lime green and bright blue.
As for the shark, you may have noticed that most of my designs are text-heavy. I also like to look through Dover books of old printers cuts--things that would be lead images if I had moveable type. Since I don't I make my own plates form old cuts. But once in a while I can't find what I need. I barely passed my drawing classes in school, but it is fun to practice. This is what you get. This creeper. I made a few prints which were hand colored and then stored away somewhere. I really need to get back to cleaning up my studio.
PS Thanks Charity for asking me to participate in the fundraiser. And yes, my name is Hope and I know someone named Charity. Also we are both from New Hampshire. True story.
In My Backyard
keep writing number 76
So I won't even post what my front yard looks like. We have a large picture window, which offers a view from my studio space onto an exciting stage of drama. If I lay on the rug and look up at the sky I can see the tops of the three eucalyptus trees that survive the concrete plaza's offerings. But if I look right outside there is a park, a plaza really, where a bunch of folks hang out all day and a few regulars make it interesting. It is mostly harmless, folks tending to keep to them selves, with loud laughter and talking and sometimes yelling. Most people don't recognize my street name but if I name the intersection of the nearest 2 streets, most know the spot. I have a lot of complicated feelings about living here, but there are some bright spots.
This month's postcard asks you to write about your favorite spot in your neighborhood. Most Saturdays, Andy and I walk four blocks to another rowdy park, walk through a small handmade gate into an oasis. City Slicker Farms have been bringing produce, garden starts and eggs to West Oakland since 2001. The urban garden and farmstand in our neighborhood is only a part of what they do. They have a nursery a few blocks away, a backyard gardening program helping to build raised bed gardens in residential and small businesses in the community. They recently purchases a lot of land not too far away that will include a playground, and an outdoor classroom and so much more. They just completed a fundraising event for construction costs, surpassing their goal by 10%.
Our Saturday walks lead us past abandoned empty houses, families outside, newish condos, artist lofts converted from a school and to the shady corner where the farmstand is set up every Saturday. Recently, they moved the stand inside, allowing for a glimpse into the garden. Prices are sliding scale, allowing anyone to get fresh vegetables. I usually pick up some flowers too, and on the way out we stop to see the chickens. I've seen a mix of people shopping at the stand but Joseph and the volunteers will chat for a minute if you want. Two weeks ago, I gave them a copy of this month's card. If you live in West Oakland, stop in!
Farmstand offerings a few weeks ago.
Farmstand flowers at home.
City Slicker Farms farm stand is open every Saturday at 10 am until they run out. Prices are on a scale and if you are able, give them a little extra. It is an amazing asset to the community.
Collapse of Industrialized Society
Once a week or so, especially after a long day printing or washing dishes, I like to fill the tub with hot hot soapy bubbly water and read the fiction selection in the latest New Yorker. I might also make myself a beverage, maybe grapefruit soda and gin with a little rosewater, perhaps even drink it out of tall glass with a fat straw. When I am warm and pink and sleepy, I might get out of the tub and eat a few spoonfuls of ice cream for dinner.
Don't mistake my occasional treat as a symbol of a decadent lifestyle. I know how to enjoy myself but the realities are also crystal clear. I live in a state in the middle of a severe drought. (I skip showers and generally use an "efficient" amount of water so I can sometimes take a bath). Sometimes I look forward to the collapse of industrialized society. I am not sure how long I will last, but I am an efficient cook, with a lot of practice at one pot meal (post-Katrina Plan B kitchen, anyone? I was cooking with one burner in a bicycle shop). I can make do. I will certainly miss the warm tub of soapy water, and silly silly straws, but I will be ok with letting a lot of other things go.
Every month I print a folded card and mail it to a list of subscribers and call it the Keep Writing Project. One part of the card is for you to keep, a letterpress memento. The other half has a little story about the image, and some instructions. For April, I sent these, asking people what they will bring to the collapse of society. I post the responses here but you can also see them if you follow me on instagram, @gutwrenchhope. Oh, and if you want to subscribe, you can do on my website here or in my etsy shop .
And, if you live in the Bay Area you can come look through baskets of responses when i share them at a show at EM Wolfman's Bookstore for the month of July. There will be more special treat but you will have to wait and see.
Keep Writing number 73, mailed April 2015
Seashells by the Seashore
Between a new computer, which subsequently crashed, and a tendency to hold onto any scrap that might inform later, I found these photos om my desktop. About a year and a half ago, a friend drove us to Muir Beach for the day, for the first cold swim of the season. We discovered that the beach adjacent to the famous forest is packed, even on an overcast day in May. The trick is to hang out on the corner of the beach with nudists. No kids, no families, plenty of wet sand and rocks to explore. After a brief swim that was so cold I gasped, we walked up and down the beach. There is something appealing about many tiny things that make up something larger. I've been holding onto these photos waiting for the story, decided to share them without a story and, as I have been writing this, thought if what I might use them for. For now, enjoy.
