Alternative Media Expo

I just finished unloading the car after my whirlwind visit to New Orleans this weekend for Antigravity's Alternative Media Expo. The event was great; my Alabama-based collective talked to lots of talented, engaging, and unapathetic people. The interest that our table generated only reaffirmed my belief that New Orleans is the city for me, and that it really is the perfect place to establish a center for book arts in the southeast.

Some of the people we talked to were Sarah, a staff writer for Gambit Weekly, one of the city's alternative publications, Alison of Circular Accessories, whose screenprinted goods are gorgeous, and Lillian of Go Green Nola, who had lots of great information about the community and its potential for change. We were also interviewed for local radio station 91.5 WTUL. You will eventually be able to listen to a streaming version of it here.

Overall, the weekend was a success, and I'm really excited about returning soon to teach workshops on sustainable papermaking at home, bookbinding, and maybe even some letterpress. But that's all to come. In the meantime, I'm working hard on the new book; the paper (a linen and wool blend) is made, and I'm in the final stretch of designing. I should be at the Vandercook printing within the next two weeks. I'm excited about how easily I've been able to accommodate my changing vision throughout this process, and I'm sure this will show in the finished piece.

Finally, now that I have enough of a blog to show people, I'm going to begin weekly book arts tutorials. This Friday, I'll post instructions for making paste paper. I plan for these tutorials to be cumulative, so the skills demonstrated in earlier installments will turn up in later projects.