The Milkfed Press Monthly — Issue #01

Hello, Hello!

It's been forever, and I must say, this will probably be my last post here.

If you're subscribing, I invite you join me in a new subscription-based "inbox-zine" via my website. It's a free, strictly-for-fun endeavor and should come to you in an easy manner.

Once you sign-up, you'll be able to keep up with me in and out of the studio. The first issue packs a punch, and while I just now sent it out into the world, I'm already working on issue #2.

Sign-up for it right here: website

Thank you for your interest and support!
xoxo

What's In A Name?

Hello, Hello!
It's been a great Summer—super busy with projects in June and then my family and I took the month of July off for a long-needed family trip! So many pictures to come.

In the meantime, a thought I had about names came up more than once. My daughter's name is "Astrid", and as you can imagine, she doesn't find too many others here in the States. With every museum we went to, there was the inevitable trip to the museum gift shop. There she would search through the mugs, keychains, placemats and other unrelated tschotchkes for the item with her name printed on it. She came close with an "A.J." (her initials), and for now, this will have to do.

But it's had me thinking to a conversation I had with a friend, where I boldly proclaimed that people innately love to see their own name in print. She is a calligrapher, and I was suggesting that she at least offer an alphabet sampler to show her clients, so they could find their letters and see how it looks. Am I off mark here? Do you like to see your name in print? Please feel free to leave a comment—those with the most complicated first names will receive a bonus treat! xo Victoria

Kiss Me I'm Irish

Ahhh... St. Patrick's Day is upon us. A day where everyone is Irish, the elusive shamrock is everywhere, and the Guinness flows like wine. Like our beloved St. Valentine, the real St. Patrick spent many years in captivity and survived awful conditions. The lore that follows is an amusing leap and here we are. All kissing aside, it has me thinking of bookbindings, and celtic type.

Here is a page from the very famous Book of Kells:



The Book of Kells is a group of illuminated manuscripts. Created by Celtic Monks in (a very debatable) 800 AD., it is a true masterpiece and is considered the pinnacle of Insular Style.

The manuscript was hand-written primarily in an insular script, which greatly influenced modern Gaelic scripts and typography. It has been noted that since the scribes were writing primarily from memory, there are a few instances between the text and the accepted Gospels. Aesthetics definitely took priority over utility or fact.

Here is a close-up of a decorated initial:


To say this is a lavish work of art is an understatement. If you ever find yourself in Dublin, please make way to Trinity College to see this amazing feat for your own eyes. There is so much information about it on the web, as well. It's worth a few hours if you have the slightest interest in art, history, and design. Erin Go Bragh!

Do the Hustle

Hello World!
It's been a few months, and this apparently seems to be my cycle.
Perhaps you've seen it from up-close or even afar: I get really busy, and then I work. There's a flurry of paper and presses, and then I meet deadlines. When I'm done, I am greeted with perhaps a few days in between projects. This is the point where I get to sit still and panic. I show up back here. One would think that after 10+ years of doing this, I would accept that this too, is part of my cycle.

I regroup, focus, think about where my work has been, and where it's headed. When in doubt, I make things (see above). I remain hungry.

Where am I going with all of this? With the passing of Spring, comes a new mindset. Where is my business going? What are my goals? Who cares? I try not to focus on the latter too much, but I am going to repost something that I've stumbled across on the internets that I found to be incredibly inspiring.

Not pictures or graphics, or a how-to, per say, but a Ted Talks featuring my new hero, Dr. Brené Brown. Have you seen it? She is so smart, so human, and frankly, so incredibly brave. As a business owner and a Mother, I can SO relate to what she is saying. What is it about vulnerability that is so difficult?

Here is the link, and I hope that all of you make some time to watch it:
http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

I watched it and am inspired. I like to work. I want to work. I have had some very lucky breaks in this world in regards to people having found me thus far.  I have had my work published, and received emails from people who make me quietly freakout! with joy. Yet I work by myself. I have a small studio and I don't have a team of people that work for me. But this is what I do.

Here's the rub, and the very important fact: I can only do this if I have people who want my work. So—how do I do this?

In the spirit of Ms. Brown, this is how: I ask.

So, here is my plea to you, Universe: I am hoping to find some new people to work with. 

Benefits to you are that I work one-on-one with my clients. I manage and handle every aspect of our project together—just you and me! I am a craftsperson, and a very fine one at that. With many years of experience, I am quick to see if your design (if you are creating this) will work, and the best way to make it happen. If I am designing our project, I will do so in a professional, yet enjoyable manner.

We are allies in this, and we will make something beautiful!

Benefits to me are that I get to continue to do what I love. Yes, I am officially dancing here (click).

If you have made it this far, thank you! I truly appreciate your interest in my work, my blog, and my current thoughts. If you see the above promotional piece, and think you'd love to hold it in your dear hands, please leave a comment and send me an email (victoria[at]milkfedpress[dot]com) with your mailing address, and it's yours.

Thank you, Universe! xo Victoria

The Power of Words

I yawned no less than five times while uploading this picture. Why is this?! Do you know what that phenomenon is, that makes us yawn when someone else does? I can't even read it without doing it. Did you? Just a cheeky little reminder that this week we officially lost one hour of sleep, but really—gained an hour of daylight which I'll happily take.

I think I'm going to hang this in my bedroom, to help with any restless nights and to remind me of the powers of advertising. xo

The Process of Process

Hello All!

At the end of this last year I took on a super fun project for Process Magazine. They contacted me for a story they were doing on Letterpress Printing. What was interesting to me is that more than the usual questions and answers, they asked me to create a letterpress print describing "my process". This print that I would create would be bound in to the magazine. Who does this?! Being a lover of all things ephemera, I knew I had to participate.

What I knew, but didn't admit to myself, is that in terms of production, this would be averylarge project for me. And this would of course be crazy. My presses are old—the one I used for my print dates back to 1887—hardly an automatic-feed press, like many of the ones used today. Each sheet of paper is hand-fed by me, one at a time. And yes, of course I used two colors—so therefore, each sheet was fed twice, in the tens of thousands. In the end, I felt both at one with the paper, and like I had just crossed the finish line of a marathon.
















If you want to see the story, along with friends Twig & Fig and Mark Foxworthy/Printing Services of Napa Valley, please click here: PROCESS

Lastly, because I talk too much, the interview-portion was cut short. If interested, you can read the unedited version below:

What is your design philosophy when it comes to letterpress?

Letterpress printing, by its very nature, is an old and beautiful technique. I came to it by a place of letters and type, rather than pictures and illustration. This no doubt is the basis for which I start each project. What is the objective? I believe that type, in and of itself, is beautiful. It is enough. I try my best to create a design that gets the point across as succinctly as possible, and (in regards to my role as the printer) then I just try and stay out of the way and print as cleanly as possible. 

What has been your favorite project and why?

I have so many! I am really super sentimental, so any personal project speaks to me. I love the care, details, and intention that people already seem to have when they seek me out. Any invitation to a celebration is cause for joy. I know it sounds cheesy to read that, but I am sincere. I am touched when people contact me for Memorial cards, as well as trusting me with their new dreams of a business card.

I can tell you the most, “I can’t believe I’m doing this project”. It was for Dwell Magazine, and it was for an advertising series they were doing for Saturn Cars. I was a bookbinder, first, so they had me create four separate book covers, one for each part. On the cover, I was to letterpress the text. I LOVED that they went to the effort to have these authentically letterpress-printed (rather than a photoshop after-thought). The difficult, “I can’t believe it” moments came when I was printing the covers of the book. It was so difficult. I had one shot to get it set up exactly perfect, hold it in-place, and then print it. And then I had to do it four separate times (without smashing fingers), with four separate plates. I am really proud that I was crazy enough to do this.

Who or what influences your work? 

Really, I don’t have a specific person, but I’d say a collective group of strangers has had the biggest influence on the way I view my world. Sign Painters from the turn-of-the-Century, Craftspeople of all types. I really appreciate the care and precision that these people put into their work—mostly without any celebration. It’s just what they do.

If you weren’t designing, you’d be...

Still designing.

If you could host a dream dinner party, who would your top three guests (living or dead) be and why?

This is a hard question! Of course it goes without saying that any family member that is no longer with me would be welcome at my party. Other guests may include Aldus Manutius (the elder), who was the founder of the Aldine Press. Aside from his contributions to printing and publishing, he had such a large influence on all of us. C’mon—the man created the comma. I think we all owe him a cocktail. Johnny Cash popped into my mind, only because I’ve always loved his music and his legacy. He transcends type (no pun) and style, which is a trait that I appreciate in any medium, I suppose.

Daniel Flanagan and Margaret Kilgallen would be invited. We used to work together in the Preservation Dept. at the San Francisco Public Library, repairing old books. I didn’t realize it so much then, but that was a very influential time in my life. I’d love to go back to some of our conversations about design, craftsmanship, and the typefaces that we were privy to, just by going to work. So rich. 

In your professional life, what is the one thing you cannot live without?

My printing presses.

What’s your idea of a perfect day?

My daughter, who is 5, has started cooking us breakfast. Coffee with my husband, Chris and Astrid’s eggs are a great start to any day. We all three keep pretty busy with projects (art, music, printing), so perhaps we’d be hanging out and scheming together, and of course, making things.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

My iphone.

What’s on your iPod?

I don’t have an iPod. We still buy vinyl over here! My musical tastes are all over the map—I’m looking at a Joni Mitchell record that is sitting next to MC5. Dolly Pardon, Japandroids, Ernst Reijseger, and Dinosaur Jr. have all been playing lately.

The content of a person’s refrigerator says a lot about them. What’s in yours?

Apparently, I live in a world where I think anybody might drop by at any given time for a visit, and I think our refrigerator looks like that. We have many drinks—beer, juices, waters and chilled wine. Also, I see cheese, fruit, and assorted olives. Try me—I’m ready for your impromptu visit (ha ha).

The Politics of Politics — Part Un

"What are you fighting about—you two?

  Why, my eyes are grey, and his are blue."

- taken from Poor Humphrey's Almanack, 1829

The above image maps out the position of the Dueler's assistants, or "seconds", and is from The Only Approved Guide Through All the Stages of a Quarrel (click).

I'd be a liar if I didn't mention how heavily politics have been weighing on my mind lately. Naturally, it happens every election year, but this election feels heavier to me—more dire with a lot more at-stake. I've been in a battle between my quiet, creative spirit and my heavy, pick-apart rock 'em, sock 'em inner analyst. No, these are not mutually exclusive, but perhaps a little more balance is in order. Is this part of parenthood? Am I simply getting older? Did my parents worry this much in the 60's? These thoughts all run through my head. I've been blaming the media (easy) as well as my self-induced connectedness. Sadly, if I'm going to get through the next month with my sanity intact, then I think it's best if I either tune out, or figure out a way to calm myself down. So, I'll choose the latter. 

In this pursuit of calm understanding and a large dose of levity, I decided to do a little digging. I came up with a few items that lightened my load and made me realize that once again—everything old is (somewhat) new again. Whether you're voting for that guy, or the other guy, let's take a moment and simply appreciate that perhaps we have evolved a bit as a society. Yes, there is slander and that guy is of course totally lying (!). We have our opinions, yet we may exercise our right to share them with our vote come election day. Enough said— back to the levity.

The first article I came across was really fascinating. Titled, American Politics at Ten Paces (click) it begins with the detailed account of the rivalry between Button Gwinnett and Lachlan McIntosh, soon after Gwinnett had signed the Declaration of Independence. The rivalry began with words, and McIntosh claimed that Gwinnett was, "a scoundrel and a lying rascal". Harsher words were never spoken, and Gwinnett's honor was now on the line. Naturally, he's left with no other option but an early morning duel. Sadly, this did not end well for Mr. Gwinnett. Further along in the article, it states, "Dueling and politics became intermingled for another, less well-known reason: a surprisingly large number of combatants walked away unscathed. Only one in five duelists was killed (one study has estimated the death rate at only one in 14). The pistols of the day were not “rifled,” so they proved quite inaccurate even at close range. In addition, many seconds managed to negotiate a settlement before the duel took place." (direct quote). Aha! I see that the 2nd Amendment made a little more sense back in its day, and again—there were very specific rules to dueling, and the practice lasted much longer than I imagined. Remember the notorious hothead, Alexander Hamilton? He suffered the same demise some twenty-seven years later. 

With cross words and dueling matches being de rigueur, things really changed in the election of 1800. A bitter partisan battle (sounding familiar?) between Federalist John Adams and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson resulted in what Jefferson called, "The Revolution of 1800". To sum it up, Jefferson became the third President, and proved victory without bloodshed and the birth of a two-party Nation. Because of the deadlock between Jefferson and running mate Burr, the 12th Amendment was created.

Moving along, I see that the Political Apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Above we had Adams Sr. (2nd President) and coming down the pipeline is the "Quincyer" Adams Jr. (6th President). The original Father/Son Presidential Team.

Things especially heat up when we get to the long campaign between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams (as well as Clay and Crawford). This was the first election in history to use campaign buttons, slogans, posters, matchboxes and flasks so extensively. So, here we are in the year 1824 and it appears that Jackson won both the Popular and Electoral Votes (meaning, he won the Plurality), however, he did not win the Majority Vote. Sadly for Jackson, the vote went to the House of Representatives. His (now former) running mate, Henry Clay, was also the Speaker of the House, and therefore was able to vote for someone whose politics were more in-line with his. That would be John Q. Adams. Jackson and his supporters accused Clay of doing exactly what he (Clay) did, now coining this, "The Corrupt Bargain". Adams, being a Federalist like his Father, did his best to appeal to the public, but most of his programs were fairly unpopular with the people and Congress, and many were angry at him for "stealing" the election. The second of his tariffs passed was referred to as, "The Tariff of Abominations". Not to be deterred, he ran for Presidency against Jackson again in 1828.

Above is a picture of the very rare, "Monumental Inscriptions" (click). This letterpress printed broadside was the first in a salvo of "coffin handbills" fired off by the Adams forces during this next election. It skewers Jackson for the allegedly unjust execution of six Tennessee militiamen after leaving their unit near Mobile in the Summer of 1814. Whatever the merits of the accusation, the story caught fire. “Monumental Inscriptions” was soon issued in pamphlet form, and no fewer than 26 other “coffin handbills” appeared during the campaign. All trumpeted the theme of Jackson’s misdeeds, but many expanded the range of accusations and increased the number of his purported victims. However effective as propaganda, the handbills of course failed to turn the tide of the campaign, and Adams lost in a landslide. 

This is all feeling so familiar. 

Moving forward in my research, I come across this lovely little piece of ephemera. While the robo-calls we receive nightly are a fairly new invention, we see that political slander is not. The image below is a brilliant example of—ohsnark!—a perfect political putdown.

This printed card appears to have been printed by Abraham Lincoln, but was actually published and distributed by his opposition in the 1864 Presidential election. It promised that, "after losing the election, he’d return to Illinois to go back to his job of splitting rails and trading horses." Such hubris!

Here we are today. I still have 148 years to go, and I'm already exhausted. Calmer, but am back to wondering if we've actually evolved as a society, or have we simply come up with slicker packaging? I need to ponder this before I go on. Let's call this part 1. Before I sign off, I will thank my lucky stars for the First Amendment, and leave you with this disastrous poster by one Gerald Ford. What was he thinking?! xo Victoria

I ❤ Snippet & Ink!

This week is starting out to be a very exciting one!

Today I am debuting my new collection of Wedding Stationery on the very fabulous Snippet & Ink (click), and I could not be more proud.

As a long-time reader of Kathryn and her blog, I can honestly tell you that her site is like a tall, cool glass of water in the wide-open oasis also known as Wedding Planning. Seriously. I also need to mention that her Inspiration Boards (collected little bits of eye candy) were around long before we could say, "Pinterest". Kathryn's eye for design and gracious writing style have made her a destination blog for many of her readers, long after they said, "I do". Honest, funny, and always fresh.

Best yet, the amazing Kathryn has schemed with me for a very special giveaway. Please have a look here (click) and feel free to enter!

Many, many thanks to Kathryn at Snippet & Ink, her readers, and the very talented Cooper Carras (click), who helped me with the photos! xo

Come One, Come All!

Hello, Hello!

I hope you are gearing up for a fun weekend!

I'm looking forward to finishing up a few projects, hanging out with my family, and putting together some items for a super fun, local Trunk Show that I'll be participating in next weekend, at Lilac Dress Boutique (click), right here in Alameda, California.

If you are planning your Wedding in the Bay Area, please come and see what myself and others have to offer. Lilac's owner, Pilar, is so very nice, in addition to knowing all-things-bridal-gown. Read what nice things people have to say about her right here (click). Alameda locals have known about her for years—in addition to her beautiful gowns, she sells really great clothes, Hobo (brand) bags, and other unique, hard-to-find accessories for everyday wear. Plus, her shop smells divine and she is genuinely awesome to talk to.

I'm really excited that she will be offering up her beautiful boutique to myself and others next Saturday, the 25th of February, from 1-4 pm. Please come by and say hello!

Here is a list of participating folks (I'll link when possible): Susan Bell Florals, Anne Kohler Photography, Malia May, Alive Events & Entertainment, Bird and Whale Design, Tucker's Ice Cream (but this day they will have their amazing cakes), The Wedding Coach, and Milkfed Press.

Hot Off the Press, Part Deux

Hello All! It's been a busy month, and I'm happy to tell you that in between working on projects, that I have managed to produce the latest offering from my new line of cards. True to the nature of Letterpress, these are happening slowly, but surely. For now, they can be purchased by clicking here (click).

Other projects include a new design in shades of blue for the good folks at Martha Stewart Weddings. Look for it in the Summer issue. This is off to a great year so far, and soon I'll have some pieces to show off from my latest collaborations. xo

This Is My Brain On Press

Hello, Hello! I hope you are all enjoying the New Year, and that it's off to a wonderful start!

Mine has started off well. I made some new friends—the fabulous Pilar at Lilac Dress Boutique (click), Sanford Marshall (click) as well as the very kind Saskia and Ben Winter (click), all at Lilac Dress Boutique's Trunk Show this past weekend. Pilar was hosting her annual Bridal Gown Trunk Show (she truly is fantastic, if you need to find something amazing), and was kind enough to open up her doors to Milkfed Press so I could join in the fun. Samples were shown off, paper packages handed out, and the Mimosas were flowing. Not bad for the first weekend into 2012.

The timing could not have been more perfect—I have just completed a new collection of Wedding Invitations. We all know that with the making, comes the hustle-part. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's one thing to create things—this part I get and am good at. But the veryimportant part of being in business, is that you need to reach people that may be interested in what you have to offer. Here lies the rub for me. I make, I talk, but the photography? It's killing me. And the photography is the new handshake, right? In my fluster, I took this snap and thought it was the perfect example of the state of my brain these days. Enjoy! xo

Letterpress Printing 101

I'm so familiar with the hows and whys of what I do, but it's occurred to me that I don't really talk much about this here. It was my original intention, but as you know—I get distracted.

So, back on point, I present to you The Sounds and Sights of My Printing Press, part deux.

This beautiful press is not as old as the previous post's (Chandler & Price), but what it lacks in age, it makes up for in sheer weight. This is my Vandercook Printing Press (click). Originally designed to be a 'proof press', it has become the workhorse of what I'll call the Letterpress Revival. At a smooth 2,500 pounds, this is not for the weak of heart.

For those that have never seen this process in action, you can see here that I don't exactly click on, "print". Each color requires a separate plate, therefore set-up and its own ink. Above is a quick look at a second color/image being added to this simple, two-color poster that I've created. By hand. While the inking drum is motorized (it spreads the ink out evenly throughout the rollers), it is my right arm that drives this baby. You can see here how each sheet of paper is fed (by my left hand) into the press, and my right arm rolls up, and then rolls down to simultaneous ink/press. Voilá! Magic. So, for say, an edition of 100, if this is to be 2 colors, I would feed my paper through the press 200 times. The speed and accuracy is determined by me (and as you can see, I'm not that fast) and my feeding skills. This is, what I call, the human touch. This latest sentiment can be yours for a song by clicking here. xo Victoria

(ps. sorry if the movie doesn't play on your phone)

Hey—I Know You: Memories of a Memory Box

The thing about being a Maker, is that I tend to make things and then move on. The process of making—the planning and design, the gathering of materials, and then the actual creating and putting things together is such a long process that by the time I've finished, my brain has almost moved on to the next thing. I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. You see, the more things I make, the more times this process is repeated. Design in-mind, create, give away. I used to sit with the things I made for a few days, before they'd find their new home.

In my fantasy work-life, I am super organized about the post-project stuff: I take fantastic photographs of my work, hang out with it, and then send it on its way. In reality, this isn't always the case. Deadlines, shipping times and eager collaborators sometimes make it so we (my stuff and I) need to be brief with each other—say our goodbyes and not look back.

This lovely box was one of these kinds of pieces. It didn't quite make it into my camera, but lucky for me, this is another reason I love the internets. I was looking at behind-the-scenes stuff and found—Hello there!—the link to this (click). The good folks at Martha Stewart Weddings *do* photograph everything! I'd made this Memory Box a few years ago. I remember it well—the couple had sent this special fabric to me so I could prepare it, and use it as bookbinding cloth. They had an idea of the size, and from that, I created this. I loved how I was able to line the paper up to match perfectly. The fuschia ribbon was their idea, and today, I get to have a moment (again) with it, to see how it all worked out. Here's to the happy couple!

REPOST: José Guadalupe Posada

This being November 2—Día de los Muertos—I thought it only proper to celebrate the work of one of my all-time, very favorite artists, printermakers and general smarty-pants/clever guy—Señor José Guadalupe Posada (click). I've been writing this post in my brain for a week, but alas, this one will be painfully brief.

I think everyone is familiar with his work—whether they know it or not. Known as, The Father of Mexican Printmaking, he was born in 1852. At the age of 16, he begain his apprenticeship with local printer, José Trinidad Pedroza. It is here where he learned to create his first lithographic prints. He later moved on to specialize in engravings, and finished his career/life working with his publisher, Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, (click to see images of Posada's work used on his Galería de Teatro Infantil pamphlets) until his death in 1913.

Aside from his technique, what drew me to his work was the fact that he really was the first one to create such imagery. The ubiquitous Calaveras (skulls) that I remember from my super-early days in Southern California, were all created by him. His imagery was political, smart and flat-out cheeky. I'm citing this web page (click) with this blurb:

Posada's prints cover an amazing range of imagery. National events, disasters, miracles, abnormalities, executions, illustrations to popular songs (corridos), broadsides and street gazettes (gaceta callejera) cover a large portion of his artistic oeuvre. As well, his notorious 'Calaveras' have permanently been placed at the summit of Mexican artistic expression. By means of the Calaveras (Spanish for skulls or skeletons), Posada mimed practically every human folly. In a very strong way, Posada is to Mexico what Daumier, Goya and Hogarth are to their countries. Masters of the succeeding generation, such as Rivera and Orozco, were deeply influenced and indebted to Posada's art.

Diego who? I know—not cool as without Diego, I would not have learned about Frida Kahlo (click).

I have been thinking a lot about Posada's work, lately. I think all citizens can admit that the current political climate is both exciting, and maddening—all rolled-up into one. I think that We as a people have made so much progress, and then I look at this man's work brilliant work, and I consider that perhaps we have not:

Here is an image of the Don Quixote Calavera engraving done around 1905. The tireless Calavera represents the poor while storming through the minority of the wealthy. Sound familiar?

So, tonight, Sr. Posada, I will light a candle in your honor. Respectfully yours, Victoria

Repost: A Thousand Words, Right?

I have always been a huge fan of the posters from President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA), and frankly, the scope of the project itself. The largest, and most important of The New Deal Cultural Works—The Works Progress Administration—launched on May 6, 1935—seventy-six years ago—with the simple philosophy of "Putting Unemployed Americans back to work in jobs which would serve the public good and conserve the skills and the self-esteem of workers throughout the United States." FDR himself says this, in regards to our need for change:

"...We find our population suffering from the old inequalities, little changed by our past sporadic remedies. In spite of our effort and in spite of our talk, we have not weeded out the overprivileged and we have not effectively lifted up the underprivileged....We have... a clear mandate from the people, that Americans must forswear the conception of the acquisition of wealth which, through excessive profits, creates undue private power over private affairs and, to our misfortune, over public affairs as well. In building toward this end we do not destroy ambition, nor do we seek to divide our wealth into equal shares on stated occasions. We continue to recognize the greater ability of some to earn more than others. But we do assert that the ambition of the individual to obtain for him and his a proper security, a reasonable leisure, and a decent living throughout life is an ambition to be preferred to the appetite for great wealth and great power."


Persistent unemployment was a continuing concern, and Roosevelt felt that simply doling out relief payments would mean, "spiritual and moral disintegration destructive to the national fibre."


Work began immediately on the WPA's Federal Project Number One (simply known as "Federal One"). The project covered Five Cultural Arenas: the Federal Art Project, the Federal Music Project, the Federal Theatre Project, the Federal Writers Project and the Historical Records Survey, each headed by a National Director. Just one year after the five national directors first met in Washington, some 40,000 WPA Artists and other cultural workers were employed in projects throughout the United States. The cultural impact of this simple fact was far-reaching, summed up by Holger Cahill, director of the Federal Art Project, in a 1939 speech:


"... The Project has discovered that such a simple matter as finding employment for the artist in his [sic] hometown has been of the greatest importance. It has, for one thing, helped to stem the cultural erosion which in the past two decades has drawn most of America's art talent to a few large cities. It has brought the artist closer to the interests of a public which needs him, and which is now learning to understand him. And it has made the artist more responsive to the inspiration of the country, and through this the artist is bringing every aspect of American life into the currency of art."


I'll spare you the history, but long story short, roads were built, parks were cultivated and our Nation's infrastructure was both created and made stronger. A perfect example of that (if we work together),
"The Whole is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts"- Philosophy that Aristotle spoke of.

The poster above was created by Ms. Vera Bock (click)—one of the two noted women creating these works. Created sometime between 1936 and 1941, it is a great example of the WPA's original intent: encouraging laborers to work for America. And perhaps I'm sitting here, listening to the latest happenings in New York, and feeling restless. Perhaps you have been feeling the same way? The economy and the overall state of our Nation has been up in arms, or so it feels. I am counting my blessings Every. Single. Day. I am grateful for health, happiness, a roof over my head and an incredible job. But what more can be done? Moving along, perhaps this next segue may help to guide me:

While puttering around on here and looking at the WPA Posters (click), I started reading about Anthony Velonis (click). He was a schooled artist who joined the New York City WPA Poster Division as a Designer in 1935. In the beginning, the posters were hand-painted or (though, rarely) letterpress printed. Velonis had worked in his brother's sign shop (prior to his time at the College of Fine Arts) and it was he who brought silkscreening into the Poster Division. Through his efforts, silkscreen prints were turned into a fine art medium (serigraphy). He wrote a book called, "Technical Problems of the Artist: Technique of the Silkscreen Process", which can be read in its entirety here (click). Because of his work and contributions in regards to silkscreening, his Dept. was able to produce their posters at a much greater volume. Even still, while creating each one by hand. Enter the concept of an Edition. While I have yet to silkscreen a poster myself, I can say that I know it takes great skill—especially considering the amount of colors that they were using and the separations necessary to recreate the art in multiples. The ink is applied with a squeegee and pulled (using your hands on said-squeegee) with pressure across the sheet of paper/posterboard for each stencil. The ink dries on the paper, so the quality is much closer to the originals than the type of digital printing we'd see today. In a word, simply gorgeous. They were soon producing up to 600 prints a day. Not easy, and I can guess that most printers working in this department probably looked more like linebackers than artists.

In the end, the Works Progress Administration gave way to the Work Projects Administration and then, go figure—government and politics and censorship all reared their special heads (and this is my simplifying at its worst). There were problems too complicated to go into, and most State Units started to assign employees to non-cultural work. Finally the War put an end to all subsidized-artwork. It was formally ended in 1942 and here we are.

I would be lying if I didn't say that these posters are a big source of inspiration for me—artistically and spiritually. It was more a of 'band together' motion rather than a 'stand alone' posture. And maybe this is what I'm getting at? I'm curious—how are you dealing with these times? Are you coping? Are you angry or simply relieved? I understand all of those positions, and I would love to propose a project:
I am thinking as I type, but what about a Collective Poster? Here. If you simply think about these times (and please spend some time on the links in this post), is there a word or words or a sentiment that comes up for you? I'd love to hear it. Perhaps I could take my ramblings and turn them into a Something. Let's see what we can come up with. In the meantime, I am going to go back to my printing press. xo Victoria

Be @ Home: Best of the Web

I just heard from the darling Jennifer at the Be@Home blog, and they have kindly selected my blog to be part of their weekly, Best of the Web series. I was sincerely flummoxed when she reached out to me, and visions of 7th Grade Oral Report Day came flooding back into my consciousness. What? People actually read this blog? Well yes, apparently, you do.

Above are some samples of the fruits of my labor—from my garden (carrot seeds were from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (click) and raspberry shoots were from Bob Hattich, in Napa) and eventually to my press (click). I thought that these would be fitting photographs for such a blurb. The intention of this blog is to offer a behind the scenes look at my work, and this does it well. My confidence in my craft and at the press is pretty high, but I am still learning to trust my voice here, on the not-page. I think that the picture above illustrates a process; knowledge, some hard work, skill, faith and (hopefully) some little victories. I find myself in the middle of these states at any given time, which makes it a little hard to recognize. But if I'm going to be honest, right now it feels wonderful to sit here and feel a little, well, victorious.

To see the Jennifer's post, please have a look here (click). Thank you again! xo Victoria

Insanely Great

Below is a citation by Steve Jobs that I'd added to a post written (click) about a year ago. I used it to illustrate a point I was making about Letterforms, and ways we land where we do (simply put):

"... Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand-calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

Next is my favorite part:

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts.

Did you notice the typography used in his computer? Oh, beautiful serif! He truly was sincere…

What can I say? It really comes down to this:

Dear Steve Jobs,
You changed my world. Thank you for your open mind, your quest for learning (traditional or not), your willingness to take risks, and your ingenuity. May you rest in peace.
Respectfully yours, Victoria

Out on the Town, I Bring You... The Album Cover (with links & links)

Album covers from top L to R:

1. S. Neil Fujita 2. Jim Flora 3. William Eggleston

4. R. Crumb 5. Josef Kalousek 6. Andy Warhol

7. Salvador Dalí 8. Saul Bass 9. Saul Bass

The other night I had the pleasure of catching up with my dear friend and date, Richard Seibert, while attending a talk for The Colophon Club.

A Colophon is an inscription at the end of a book which states the name of the printer, bookbinder, foundry, publishing information as well as the typeface(s) used and the edition size (amongst other things and not necessarily all or in that order).

In this case, the Colophon Club is a group of Bookbinders, Printers, Typographers, Designers, Calligraphers, Rare Book Dealers, Artists and general Book Lovers here in the Bay Area. It's an organization dating back to the late 1970's, whose main objective was to curate a monthly discussion (along with cocktails and dinner) and to provide a meeting place for like-minded enthusiasts to get together and share ideas. A traditional Salon, if you will. I have not attended for quite awhile, so when I saw the Invitation saying that Milo Miles was giving a talk on Record Album Art, I knew it was time to get back in.

Milo Miles is a music critic and a lively speaker, harking back to his Montana Days with his old friend, Peter Koch (former Colophon Club President/whose Print Shop/Studio is where I learned to print). His presentation was short, but very sweet. There were some kitschy (I know this is subjective) offerings as well as some striking and straightforward graphic design. I was well aware of Andy Warhol's iconic album cover (the banana) for The Velvet Underground & Nico, but I had never seen the Kenny Burrell or Johnny Griffin album covers that he did for Blue Note. Lovely and simple, much like his earlier/Andy Paperbag drawings. Miles offered a Jackie Gleason (presents) album, Music to Make You Misty, and I have since found a copy of his infamous Lonesome Echo (cover art by Salvador Dalí) which sounds equally schmaltzy.

Personally, I have always been interested in music. For me, the album covers and liner notes were a giant part of the listening experience. It wasn't until I started consciously learning about typography and graphic design, that I started seeing these pieces with a new perspective. Much like the sign painters of the last Century, this type of graphic design was part of a trade. A skill, where larger Record Labels (Decca, Columbia and RCA to name a few) employed real artists—in house—to create their packaging. Most of the artists were uncredited but these unsung heroes helped to create a large part of the American landscape and pop culture as we've come to know it. Listeners like myself would sit and listen to an album for hours, with the sole purpose of just experiencing it. The album cover and liner notes were there to teach, and to entertain. I wasn't already sitting at a computer, listening to music while I was also doing a bunch of other things at the same time. It was a different pace and bird all-together.

And I'm also the first to admit that I see parallels between the craft of letterpress printing and vinyl records. Both were pushed aside by the shinier, faster 'improvements' (offset/digital printing for letterpress printers and compact/digital downloading for the vinyl industry). While letterpress printing has certainly enjoyed a renaissance, the record industry has been almost completely wiped out; the entire business has changed. It warmed my heart to hear Miles saying that he believes (vinyl) records are going to make a (perhaps small) comeback. People are realizing that these too, are tactile objects. Like books. Like print. You can sit with it, feel it and experience it.

Of course the days of high-end production for said-albums are waning/gone, but there is a new movement of self-produced albums and smaller record labels, offering well-crafted album covers and cds. The art of the album is coming back. Bloodshot Records, Arhoolie and Bear Family Records are all coming to mind as I type this. Jon Langford is a fantastic artist/musician and his work is (to me) becoming as iconic as others mentioned. While they mostly put out cds, Winter and Winter's Editions offerings are just lovely.

In the spirit of this week's talk, I have been compiling a collection of album covers and I thought I would put something together. But forget about the unsung heroes-portion of this writing. In this sampling, I am showing off some now-famous (again with that subjective part) artists' offerings to the world of Album Covers. And oh, I know; the irony is not lost on me that I am putting all of this together on that greatbighug known as the internets, but I digress. I will leave you with this lovely earworm (click on "earworm") while I sit here and continue to mourn the loss of the little red string in the band-aid wrapper... Happy Friday! xo

Hear Me

Hello All,

Just a little experiment here. In my pull between work and blog-time (we know what wins), my current, probably not so original thinking is, "Hmmm... does anyone read this?". 

I get notes from people in reference to things I've written, but not so much on the comments-part. Shall I sweeten the pot a bit? I know keeping up with it is helpful, but could you be so kind as to leave a note here? I'll make it worth your while. Happy Monday.

Beverly Hills

I'm back from my whirlwind trip to Los Angeles! I had a really fun time at the Wedding Salon event and a big thank you to all who came to see me. It was really great to meet so many people and I hope everyone had a great time. 

Here is a little picture of my booth. 

I like how everything came together—and simply. 

I'd never participated in an event like this and I was humbled to see how much work goes into this kind of thing. The entire process from planning (starting a few months ago) to creating pieces to show, to actually getting your stuff to the event and setting up. My hat's off to those who do this all the time—and so many seem to do this so well. I'll try and post more pictures later but some of the participants completely blew me away. There was an entire room filled with hand-sewn real flowers hanging from the ceilings. It was amazing.  We all had the bones and backdrop of the Beverly Hills Hotel to work with so it was all  pretty stunning. 

Non-show related, my friend (and I mean this—she's a total champ and helped me with this entire process and then some), B, and I had the most amazing meal at the Hotel Palimor afterwards. It was pretty late by the time we got down from our room to eat and we luckily fell into the hands of the fabulous Michael, who kept bringing us the best food and drinks ever. I didn't expect to have such a fun, full experience on top of such a fun, full day.