The Panic Sets In
This happens every year when we realize that it’s only a matter of weeks until Earth Day and Rick’s big show at Sivertson Gallery in Duluth. This year I’m sharing the panic a bit because we’re sharing the show (it’ll still be mostly Rick, but I’ll have a bunch of new stuff to bring out). Plus I’m giving a Fireside Chat in Grand Marais on March 10, which could be a pants-peeing disaster of epic proportions, so any public speaking advice for novices would be very much welcome!
Meanwhile, on a whim, I went on Pinterest and searched for Rick Allen, just to see if he has any presence there, and low and behold:
So thank you, sweet pinners, whoever you are!
Printer Humor
Printers are notoriously cantankerous types. And in the old days, before inkjet and laser printers, they were the only ones (as Rick is fond of saying) who truly had freedom of the press.
Any time we visit an old print shop, like the one from which we just purchased our Kluge, we find these little letterpress-printed gems with which some ink-smudged wretch, slaving over a hot press, vented his frustration. They are wonderful! I have a whole collection that I thought I’d start sharing with you.
These first two I just found today, tucked into an old drawer at the soon to be-no-more Quickprint in Superior Wisconsin. Fantastic!
Here is one from the legendary Dave Churchman whose shop was located in Indiana. He had a sense of humor that was a bit more refined, but equally biting.
So biting, in fact, was his socially inappropriate sense of humor that he began printing newly manufactured historic oddities and selling them on eBay to letterpress lovers. This magnificent little baby is as big as a postage stamp, printed on old vellum and then packaged on a piece of black card stock in a tiny glassine envelope.
He did quite well selling these things, from what I understand.
Moving the Kluge
I think that could be a new dance, don’t you? Instead of “Do the Dougie” it could be “Move the Kluge.”
Our friend Randy Larson helped with the move. Randy and Rick have been friends since they were little boys. Randy is a master of all things physical having to do with building and machinery. Here they are consulting with each other. Rick’s in the white shirt, Randy’s in black. They have the same glasses.
Here are the Kluge’s former mom and dad, Kathy and Kermit, saying goodbye.
On the truck and ready to roll, in beautiful downtown Superior, Wisconsin.
And finally, having arrived at Randy’s shop—its temporary home until we figure out how to fit it into the tiny space that is Kenspeckle Letterpress.
Rick covered it with a tarp after rubbing its exposed bits with turtle wax. The love affair has begun. I should tell you that this press is considered so unsafe to run that you have to be an owner in order to operate it legally. When it’s running it’s like some kind of comical yet logical Rube Goldberg animation… beautiful.
Are you a Turophile?
Then you’ll enjoy this print. An oldy but a goody. Not cheesey at all. Much. Rick did this for the Northern Waters Smokehaus, way back when they first moved into our building. Everyone who works here smells like smoked salmon, and that’s the way we like it.
It’s called “The Adult Form of Milk.”
Turophile: A lover of cheese.
Some ice and a Press
We’re already 19 days into January, which makes me shriek a little with apprehension because good lord there was so much I swore I’d get done before now, like this blog post, but instead we were out taking pictures of little pools of pancake ice, out of context.
The really BIG news around here is that we bought another press. Another press for which we have no room, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. It’s a Kluge (pronounced Kloogie) and is a wonderful letterpress built in the early 1960′s. It will allow us to print bigger and faster, once we figure out where it will go and how we’re going to move it. Isn’t it pretty?
In the meanwhile we’ll store it at our friend Randy Larson’s shop because he has room. And also a truck.
Week Two
Week Two of the holiday crazies is upon us as we shift gears to contemplate the momentous event-stream that will be 2012. Here at KL World Wide Industries, we are very excited about 2012. Things are falling into place for us. Marian is planning to do less commercial design work and more art, and she’ll even be giving a Fireside Chat this year at Sivertson Gallery in Grand Marais. More about that as the time approaches.
Rick has a new book project in the works, which is always a big, exciting undertaking. And we are starting off the New Year with a couple of Left-Handed Gestures: two new cards!
How Good are You Willing to Let it Get?
And Some Day. A couple of piggies to wish you Happy Birthday, baby.
Thank you, everyone, for making this such a fantastic year for us. The love is flowing and we are so very, very appreciative! May this year dream for us all, even more than we dream for ourselves.
Left-Handed Gestures
New letterpress cards in our Left-Handed Gesture series are now up on the website. First, for all your ambiguous yet heartfelt holiday needs, Never Worse:
And second for a definitely Valentine’s type sentiment or whenever one needs to remember that love does indeed always find a way, even when one is perhaps not exactly sure how this could possibly work out:
gaaa!
How is it possible that I haven’t posted here in almost a month? I promised myself I’d do it every week. Even twice a week! And as for my determination to send out a Kenspeckle email four times a year… that’s gone the way of my resolution to work on our bookkeeping every month instead of for 48 hours straight in January. But we will be sending out our annual email some time next week in time for your holiday art needs… so keep those fingers off the delete button. And speaking of buttons… free buttons are part of the deal!
In other news, we’re starting a new line of letterpress cards that will begin to show up on the website as soon as it’s sunny enough to photograph them. Which could be another day or two. They’re called Left-Handed Gestures. Look for the red hand on the back.
Meanwhile, I’ve been doing a bunch of new work in Nimitta-world. Inspired as always by my intoxication with the effects of color. These are quite dramatic printed large, but sweet when smaller as well. Throb:
and Peek:
So it’s Thanksgiving tomorrow. Rick’s favorite thing to do on Thanksgiving is to come down to the studio and be the only one working in our usually bustling building. He loves the absence, the emptiness, the feeling of being the only one on the airwaves. I feel the same way about working at 4 a.m.
Oh! Another thing. We’ve begun experimenting with printing on canvas. It’s very cool. Sivertson Gallery is doing the stretching for us and you’ll soon be seeing our canvas wraps at the Duluth and Grand Marais stores. Priced right and ready to hang!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
The Sleeve is Finished
For many months now, our very own Warrior Printress has been subjecting herself to the needle in the name of art… and finally this phase of her work is completed. For all of the many fans of Janelle, we present: The Sleeve!
Bestiary reprise
Nothing says Happy Holidays around here like a forlorn-looking bundle of hanging Wooliness, unless it’s a lipstick-wearing Narwhal. Seriously. Newly re-printed and updated for this pre-apocalyptic holiday season, in silver and gold metallic inks to add a bit of elfin sparkle to our usual red and black. Hot off the press.
