The brown and orange colors in this 7 color wood engraving are a tip of the pumpkin top to this colorful season we are in the midst of.

Believe it or not, this multicolored wood engraving was cut as a study for a one-color block print illustration. The examination of the color layers in this version help in determining the tonality of the final work, which is rendered in black on white.

Engraving into wood takes on a meditative quality as the tips of the variously shaped burins dip into the wood and remove tiny areas of negative space. Sometimes hours can float by without my being aware of their passing as I work on blocks such as these.

Cut into end-grain maple, this illustration is about 3 inches square and served its purpose well.

One of the benefits of using letterpress printing for the production of promotional pieces is the reluctance of the recipient to throw the work away. And if a prospective client saves your promotion there is a greater chance that they will end up hiring you to do some work at some point in the future.

For the most part that train of thought stands to reason although when a growing St. Paul company called Affina contacted The Nomadic Press about doing some promotional printing we thought we would take a different track.

Affina chose a paper that has been made from a flower seed infused pulp with the idea that their beautiful graphic design would catch the attention of the companies they hoped to do work with.

After that the work could be tossed into some dirt and the relationship would start to grow.

Flowers and letterpress printing. Bloomin’ beautiful.

This last year I was thrilled to have the opportunity of printing the business cards for the Minnesota chapter of AIGA. Not only was it nice to be chosen to do the printing that represents an organization of such high standing in the graphic arts community, but it was also nice to be chosen by such a sizable group of graphic artists.

These are people from wide and varied backgrounds who’s styles and areas of expertise are far-flung.

The paper the cards are printed on, which was donated to the organization by Neenah, is a Classic Crest 165 pound stock which took the ink beautifully and accommodated such a nice clean impression that I’ve taken to using it as often as I can.

And the red. How I like a bright red on a bright white stock. With black. Oh, yea. Red and white and black.

Say what you want about the sixteen jillion colors that you can have me mix, printing does not get much more fun than this.