Brian Dettmer Exhibit

Brian Dettmer — Book of the Dead — 2008While I’ve written about Brian Dettmer’s altered books in the past, I’ve only seen pictures of his work. That is until today, when I paid a visit to the Toomey Tourell gallery in San Francisco. There’s nearly 2 dozen pieces on display, all picture books (mostly encyclopedias) that have been carved up and layered, producing an almost kaleidoscopic effect. And they aren’t just single books, several are like the one to the left — conjoined to make a much more interesting sculpture. The exhibit runs through the end of September.

Italic Handwriting

Yesterday morning I hand wrote a gift card for an order. While I try to print as neatly as possible, I’m never happy with the results. And I have to print — my cursive or script looks like the stereotypical unintelligible doctor scrawl. Later, when I went to read the paper at lunch time, what did I find but an op ed piece saying we can all start writing legibly if we use italics rather than cursive.
Italic Printing
The authors, Inga Dubay and Barbara Getty, give examples, a lesson, and room on the page for you to practice the letterforms. So I got out my pen and tried it. It’ll take a bit of practice, but this might make me cringe less when I write out gift cards! The authors have also written books and manuals on italic handwriting, for more examples and more practice.

And the winner is…

And the winner is…I had a hard time distilling my own summer into 6 words, but here it is: casting about for new book ideas.
The winner, chosen by random.org, is Jeannie with “Foot in a cast. Deep patience”. And I’m sorry I forgot that it’s only summer in the northern hemisphere, as I have Australian readers, who, as Yasmin reminded me, are “still awaiting, winter not yet done.”

Giveaway: Haiku Cards

Set of 12 Haiku Letterpress-printed cardsI’ve got a new set of of 12 letterpress-printed flat note cards with envelopes, featuring my haiku, in my shop. I thought I’d celebrate the end of summer with a giveaway… To enter, describe your summer in exactly 6 words (short, like a haiku!) in the comments below. Contest ends Friday, Sept 4th 7am (PT). A random entry wins a set of the haiku cards.