Hello all!

I apologize from being away from the internet so long, I’ve been busily working on my independent project!  As my final assignment as a intern here at PRESS, I was asked to print the poetry of Annie Raskin and Stephen Rifkin for an exhibit Gallery 51 will be putting up later this May.  The exhibit consists of Raskin and Rifkin’s work as well as the artworks of Wilma Rifkin and Ellen Joffe-Halpern.  The poetry and artwork react to one another, or how it was better described to me are “in conversation with one another.”  Over all I should say printing poems for the exhibit has been quite an experience!  Through this independence of working with the press I have come to learn fourteen lessons when it comes to printing.

ONE: Have patience with yourself as well as the press.

TWO: Use MORE ink.

THREE: Check your measurements frequently and often (learned this after being 1/16th of an inch off after printing half of a poem).

FOUR:  If something doesn’t feel right, check in with what you’re doing.

FIVE: Know when to step away for the day.

SIX: Or know when to step away and dance for a bit.

SEVEN: Not everyone will notice the small mistakes.

EIGHT: In relation to seven, the question becomes “Are you okay with these mistakes?”

NINE: The press will be funny.

TEN: There is blame in the operator as well.

ELEVEN: Know when to start over.

TWELVE: Know it will totally be fine, and will work out in the end.

THIRTEEN: It’s always worth it.

FOURTEEN: The press is always forgiving.

The show opens May 28, 2015! I hope you have a chance to swing in and enjoy it while it is here.