RANDOM SUNDAY, or SOME THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE

Spent the day at the studio today, giving Brandon Mise of Blue Barnhouse his final lesson on the Heidelberg windmill. You can read about his experiences with the machine on his blog (which is, by the way, very well written, informative, entertaining, and funny). After looking at the website of Cuneiform Press, I tried to write a post on the history of the NewLights Press, but stopped because it was getting too long and self-indulgent (I do, believe it or not, try to keep these posts at a reasonable length). So I thought I’d take some time now and lay out my plan for the blog over the next few weeks.

As I prepare to write the NewNewLights manifesto, I need to make notes and sketches of the various ideas that I want to address. And making those essay sketches is the main IDEA (of the) IDE(A/O)(B)LOG(Y/UE). Thus, a list of possible topics:

• Constraint and Freedom
• Inspiration, Originality, and Genius (a brief against)
• DIY Ethic and the Current State of Spectacular Artworks
• Between Spaces, or Operating in the Nexus
• The Hand-Mechanical
• Book Arts, Printmaking, and the Expanded Field, or Rethinking Form & Content
• & many, many more.

Another highlight of the weekend: volunteering for both days of the San Francisco Center for the Book’s Holiday Fair: tons of fun, lots of nice work, really nice people. I’m looking forward to becoming more involved with the Center down the line. If you live in the Bay Area and like books, you should really check it out. Places like that are one of the reasons that this kind of work is so fun & rewarding. Not many other disciplines have such an open, dynamic, and engaged community. I am continually amazed & thankful.

(PS: In case anyone was wondering, I intend to try to post every weekday morning, and occasionally on the weekends. I will, undoubtedly, not be able to post everyday, and I have no intention of posting unless I have something worth saying.)

(PPS: I’m sure that you millions, nay billions, of faithful readers that this blog has gathered in a week were deeply disappointed by the lack of a new post this Friday last. I am so very, very sorry. My apologies to you and your families.)