gdGraves

“-you know, I’ve either had a family, a job, something 
has always been in the
way
but now
I’ve sold my house, I’ve found this
place, a large studio, you should see the space 
and the light.
for the first time in my life I’m going to have a place and the time to
create.”

no baby, if you’re going to create
you’re going to create whether you work
16 hours a day in a coal mine
or
you’re going to create in a small room with 3 children
while you’re on
welfare,
you’re going to create with part of your mind and your
body blown
away,
you’re going to create blind
crippled
demented,
you’re going to create with a cat crawling up your
back while
the whole city trembles in earthquake, bombardment,
flood and fire.

baby, air and light and time and space
have nothing to do with it
and don’t create anything
except maybe a longer life to find
new excuses
for. 

~Charles Bukowski, The Last Night of the Earth Poems

youngmanandoldsoul:

Work with your hands.

Let’s see how short I can make this long story…

1. Went to Endicott College (Beverly, MA) for Graphic Design
2. A professor of mine recognized my draw to woodblock-esque typography and all things created by hand and mentioned letterpress once or twice
3. Finally found out during my senior year that I could take a course in letterpress at Montserrat College of Art (also in Beverly)
4. Focused my senior thesis on letterpress
5. After 6-9 months of searching for agency gigs post-graduation, I realized I wasn’t cut out for that environment and started hitting up any printer that would talk to me
6. Got in touch with Mike Dacey over at Repeat Press (of Fringe Union fame) and he pointed me toward the internship at the shop I’m working at now.
7. After a year of job searching with no luck, I ended up with the gig at The Mandate Press (SLC) in a matter of weeks.

• Finish a pet project that I’ve semi-started
• Update gdgraves.com with some projects from my time at University Healthcare 
• Read up on some color theory
• Read the Heidelberg Windmill manual
• Keep a journal for my days at the shop to track and motivate my progress (thanks to Dad for the idea) 
• Pursue other pet projects

• Correspondence
  I always seem to read an email and tell myself, I’ll reply later tonight. Of course, I then forget about it for a week. This is nothing personal, I promise… I do it to all of you. In 2012, I’m hoping to do better with this.
  Piggybacked on this, I should include my need to keep in better touch with everyone I have left back east. I make too many excuses for myself about there being so many people to try and keep in touch with. All the same, I can send one email or make one phone call each week, right? 
• Motivation
  Being home over the holidays I realized just how lucky I am to have the opportunity that I’ve been given and I want to hold onto that now that I’m back in SLC. Rather than focusing just on each day as it comes I need to keep focused on the long-term goal and track my progress a bit.
• Drive
  Whether I pick up any freelance projects or not, I always have little ideas for personal projects here and there. I need to pursue those ideas, developing the good and tossing the bad. After (finally) finishing Seth Godin’s Linchpin, I’ve realized that I’m never going to make any progress if I don’t make myself just “ship” some things rather than sitting on them until the someday that never comes.
• Hustle
  Nothing is gained by consistent laziness or procrastination (an occasional lazy weekend day can be healthy, of course). As exhausted as I can be at the end of a workday, I need to push through that and at least get a little something done each evening.
• Comfort
  I’ve had some awesome experiences in the past few months and feel like I’ve grown a bit because of them but none of it would have happened if I didn’t step outside of my comfort zone. I need to continue to be willing for that in the new year.
• Appreciation
  Again, I’ve had some pretty awesome things land in my lap in the past 6-9 months and I want to stay mindful of those things. The days that I remind myself of these things tend to go pretty smoothly and be more upbeat. Besides, our emotions and attitudes affect the people around us. 

Letterpress fail… (my apologies)

wedoprinting:

hrmsketch:

(via 2012 Letterpress Numbers Vintage by ReneeVintage on Etsy)

2102???   I don’t get it…..?

Oh to skate on that ice.

thetieguy:

awesome red wings!

When my moc toe Beans wear out, probably (most likely) going Red Wings. Love Bean but realized my pair were made in China… made in the USA, please!

benkb:

why don’t i own these. norse projects you have my heart

lylaandblu:

perfection…. minus the fact that coffee looks like it may be from starbucks.. if you travel, try as many new things as possible. You look back and you say “I drank a coffee from starbucks at the ocean” some will look and nod with a slight grin… you explain a story of impeccable new findings, you impress and inspire.

That view will be mine… someday. Not so much the specific landscape (seascape rather) but the view of a westy’s dashboard.

baltimoreprints:

Scrap Metal Only.

What remains of a large newspaper press is now destined for the scrap yard. Dismantled and unceremoniously laid to rest.

Found in downtown Lafayette, IN.

Trying to pull my stomach back from the depths of my intestines… 

designcloud:

The Rules of a Creator’s Life

by Creative Someting

Last winter I was working alternating weeks of day and night shifts, either 6am-4pm or 4pm-2am. Day in and day out it was steel toes, carhartts, company shirts, ID badge, earplugs, safety glasses, hair and beard nets, and a hard hat, as I worked my way through six rotating positions on the production line. Whether operating a forklift or just pushing buttons, a crew whose motto seemed to be “nothin’ to me,” surrounded me. As in, “sure that should probably be done but why should I do it? How is that going to affect me? It’s not my problem or mine to worry about. Do your own job and leave me to mine.”

Staying motivated was not the easiest thing to do. Keeping my cool wasn’t always that easy either when guys would start razzing me, saying I’d still be there in another 15 or 20 years. I did my best to use those comments as fuel for the fire under me arse. 

I had started telling myself that if I hit a year out of school without finding my first job in the design industry, I would move to the Portland/Southern Maine area to attempt to infiltrate the design community there. If I was going to work a warehouse type job, it might as well be in an area where I could attempt to build a network and bring in some freelance work until I found something full-time.

That cut-off point was only weeks away when a letterpress printer in Somerville, Massachusetts (Mike Dacey of Repeat Press) told me about an internship position open at The Mandate Press in Salt Lake City, UT. On June 23, I showed up for my first day as a part-time intern at 1077 S Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Six months later, I’m working 35 hours a week at the shop (no more working two jobs!) and I’ve put a month or two in on the Heidelberg Windmills after spending most of my time in the first few months cranking the Vandercook #4.

Being home for the holidays has been awesome for reaffirming the fact that I’m on the right track and doing what I want to do. I’ll admit that some long hours and some difficult setups have left me a bit frazzled and frustrated over the past few weeks. At some points it seems to be just the luck of the draw whether I breeze through a setup or it takes me hours and of course, a longer setup means a later night at the shop, which means Ramen for dinner. However, coming home and seeing college friends in Boston, the guys at the rink, and family at the house has led to many conversations that have highlighted all the best parts of my job. I’ve been left with the reminder that this is the time to earn my stripes and the days of more experience and greater knowledge will only come as a result of working those longer hours and being patient through the challenges. Over the past few weeks I’ve been worrying a little that I haven’t been noticing a lot of progress but these conversations have reminded me of where I started at the end of June. It is no exaggeration that I used up my previous experience in the first week (if not the first day) on the job and that everything I’m doing now has been learned first-hand by simply doing it.

In addition to securing the exact job that I thought I’d never have, I’m also getting more comfortable with the city which has led to me enjoying it more. Now, refreshed a bit by kicking up my feet on the East Coast, I’m looking forward to a Happy New Year at The Mandate Press.

Pictured is 55his’ ”Retro Radio Print,” printed by The Mandate Press

llbeanpr:

Yes - this is real.  Thanks USPS.  (Circa 1981)

formfollowsfunctionjournal:

Maine Heritage

crbrown:

If you are spending the day with family, eating, or just wasting time in front of the Internet, then you have a lot to be thankful for.

jesuslovesdesign:

Today, I’m thankful for the beauty of Maine. #WonderfulMaker