The VABC will join a long line of artists in investigating the intricacies and mechanisms of a postal system with their next collaborative project. In the project entitled “Postmark,” artist-members will create handmade editions of postcards which consider the mystery of distance, place, communication, memory, and nostalgia. (Among other topics!) All participants will receive a complete set of the postcards produced by the group for their personal archives.

THE PAPER IS IN. Artists can pick up enough paper to make their 65 cards. It’s cut to double size, for work-and-turn, or to trim to the 4 x 6.5 size. You must be a member of VABC to join the project.

Sets of cards will be auctioned off to the public at this year’s Raucous Auction on 11/11/11 which will also feature a show of all of the pieces.

Join a long line of amazing postal artists: Saul Steinberg, Ray Johnson of the New York Correspondence School, Bruce Licher of Independent Project Press, Charles Peale, Henrik Drescher, and most famously in the world of trade books, Nick Bantock author of the Griffin and Sabine series. You can participate by contacting Garrett Queen at gsqueen@comcast.net.

There will be a brainstorming and informational meeting at the VABC on Wednesday night, August 31, (Block Night) from 6:00 until 7:00 PM. If you’re curious about membership, come that night to see what we’re all about.

Yours truly will also host a display and discussion of postal art and its possibilities at Block Night on September 7. I will also lead a tiny workshop on carving rubber stamps suitable for use for cancelling your mail at Block NIght on September 21.

-Josef Beery

Postmark Project Specifications

A project open to all VABC Members! Completed artwork due
October 15, 2011. Each participating artist will receive one set of all
cards. Our gallery show of the edition will be the Raucous Auction, November 11,
2011.

If you would like to participate, contact Garrett Queen
(gsqueen@comcast.net). We would like to gauge how
many postcards will be produced.

Guidelines

Participants will do each produce an edition of 60 postcards (print 65)
(trimmed to 4” x 6.5”), emphasizing

-the distance or travel mystery that postcards present (sent
from places we are at one moment, but usually are not; received when we the
sender may even be elsewhere)
-the two modes of communication on each
side—one primarily visual, one verbal
-memory and meaning and nostalgia of a
place and the separation from the postcard’s destination
-travel and
correspondence emphasis; not the sort of “business” postcard meant to remind,
etc.

Paper: Double-size stock is available at the shop (Lennox 100, 250 gsm). This can be used to print 2-up,
or single prints with full bleeds to be trimmed to size. Other papers may be
substituted at participant’s expense, but should meet the trim size (see below).

Process: All work must be printed in the shop,
with bookarts presses and methods; no clipart or inkjet for work that could be
otherwise done with press; if inkjet is used it should be for original works
only (photographs, etc).

Features: Complete postcard, written-on or not;
if mailed should include stamp and be cancelled; consider creative ways to
postmark 11-11-11 (we may create a cancelling stamp or stamps for this)

We will start a collection of postcards to use for
inspiration at the shop. If you have posts of interest to the group about any
aspect of the project, please comment below (“Leave a Message”).

Press-Time Scheduling: Please contact Garrett to schedule your press time (this includes key-holders) In planing your press usage, please remember to allow for sufficient drying time if printing on both sides of your card.

Additional Notes & Questions…

Photopolymer Plates: We use KF152 plates that can be ordered from Boxcar Press.

Full-Bleed Printing: When printing bleed on the stock we’re providing (8 x 6.5″) you can only print one-up (2-up on the supplied stock is possible with no bleed.).

The bleed area can be any amount in excess of the trim size of the card (4 x 6.5″) usually .25″ all around works fine (a 4.5 x 7″ image area before trim).

Printing on a single 8 x 6.5″ card (and trimming to 4 x 6.5″) provides ample room for gripper, bleed area and registration marks (for those doing more complex color).

Printing the second side of the untrimmed card (on the Vandercook) will require some planning as to align the card (image/text) front and back prior to printing.

In the tradition of the founding father of our craft, Johann Guttenberg the VABC will issue a “book” of Indulgences.

For this year’s annual members’ project, we will do a book of indulgences—coupons granting the bearer a pass on some modern sins, offenses, lapses, peccadillos, or transgressions. The books will be sold at an upcoming VABC event and each contributing artist will receive one.

Examples:

Permission to Embellish Your Life Story – Nancy Kober
Permission to Have a Crush on Your Best Friend—Michael Swanberg
Permission to Commit a Sin of English—Addeane Caelleigh
Permission to Eat Endangered Fish—Angie Hogan
Forgiveness for Your Carbon Foot Print—Garrett
Forgiveness for Texting While Dining with Loved One—Kristin Miles

Permission to Have a Bad Hair Day
Forgiveness for Roasting the State Bird on a spit of the State Tree while Playing the State Song
Permission to Drunk Dial
Permission to Send that Flaming Email
Forgiveness for Forging a Diploma
Permission to Steal One Image from the Internet

Format

The book will be in the form of tear-off certificates or coupons, about the size of stock certificates (such as 10” x 17”). Inside this space is a breakout of template areas detailed at the link below:

View PDF of Page Size Specifications CLICK HERE

To achieve cohesion as a project, we recommend that this template/matrix for design be implemented. Creative ways to engage the two major block spaces (the Record Area 9″x2.5″ and the Certificate 9″x12″) are encouraged. Leave room for a perforation or perf line between them.  Within the Certificate area, artists are encouraged to suggest a border area (12″x9″) with image, text, or artwork that fills to full area.

A suggestion for each page will have some type of official seal.  Some options discussed:

°         The artists/writers will be free to interpret the seal as they wish, but the seal should always be in the same place (far right side—away from gutter). The seal may be printed; if added, the material used should not be raise the paper thickness by more than double its original thickness, so the pages will not look too bulky in one corner when bound.

°         The pages could have both front and reverse seals (artist’s own on front, VABC on back).

°         The seal could be embossed, and a ribbon or fixture may exceed the edge of the page. Again, something less than double the page thickness will be preferred.

Content

Each participating artist/writer will decide on the topic and design of the sin or transgression for his/her page. The design can be any colors (no guidelines in this area). They will register their choice to Garrett Queen and be listed above to avoid duplication.

Officious, bureaucratic or obscure language consistent with the tone of an indulgence-granting agency is encouraged.

The written part of the design could have blanks to be filled in, like an official number or the name of the person who buys it. The blanks could be filled in with a special color, such as the violet or green ink used historically for church documents.

Participants who want to design their own left (receipt) side of the page are encouraged to think about the interplay between the left and right sides.  For example, one size could have a different tone than the other.

Book features

The pages will be bound into books with an edition size of about 50. We will each make 55 copies of our prints to hit this goal and leave room for selecting the best. Each participating artist/writer will produce one page and will receive a copy of the book.

All the pages will be the same Crane Lettra paper. It is cut to size.

The cover may have an inset hot wax seal, perhaps be tied with “red tape” to give it an “official” appearance.

Subcommittees will be set up to decide on the printing of the reverse side of the sheets, cover design and binding, technical specifications such as paper type and size, and table of contents and title page.

For questions contact:

Garrett Queen
VABC Printer in Residence
& Clerk of the Works

gsqueen@comcast.net

Collaborative artists include John McCarthy (posthumously), Kristin Adolfson, Josef Beery, Bonnie Bernstein, Pierre Blondel, Patrick Costello, Dean Dass, Stacey Evans, Barbara Heritage, Angie Hogan, Sarah Knorr, Kevin McFadden, Lindsey Mears, Catherine Moore, Garrett Queen, Frank Riccio, Joani Schatzman, Jesse Wells.