DESCRIPTION thINK Chapbook DATE September 2008 – July 2009 DESIGN CREDITS Book design, Jamie Mahoney VCUarts. Student designers, Karla Mickens, Kelly Gasque, Rachel Gropper, Jordan Weaver, Jennifer Valenzuela, Eric Wolinsky, Sean O'Neill, Jordan Tropp, and Caitlin Martin. PRINT CREDITS Woodblocks by Hatch Show Print, Nashville, Tennessee. Poetry spreads printed by graphic design students at VCUarts Bowe House Press, using a Vandercook 4 Hand Proof Press. TYPE CREDITS The cover and title page are created using various wood fonts. The introduction and credits are set in Bembo 14pt. English Monotype by The Letterfoundry of Michael & Winifred Bixler of Scaneateles, New York.

QUANTITY PRODUCED 150 PRODUCTION COST $60 spent on the cover stock, as all other materials were donated. PRODUCTION TIME 10 months DIMENSIONS: WIDTH × HEIGHT × DEPTH 6.5 in. × 9 in. × .75 in. PAGE COUNT 11 pages + 9 gatefolds PRINT METHOD Letterpress PAPER STOCK French Dur-O-Tone Orange Butcher 80lb. cover Lynx Soft White 80lb. cover Donated by B.W. Wilson, Richmond, Virginia. NUMBER OF COLORS Each gatefold is different VARNISHES Spot varnish on cover BINDING Buttonhole stitch, found in the book Volume I Non-Adhesive Binding: Books Without Paste or Glue by Keith Smith OTHER Additional techniques include hand brayering, screen printing, chincolet, debossing and spot varnish using a hand brayer.

Instructor Jamie B. Mahoney set out to develop a unique project for her students at Virginia Commonwealth University. Along the way she asked her friend Jim Sherraden, from Hatch Show Print, to lend a hand--or, specifically, woodblocks.

This, our second issue is dedicated to Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tennessee. It is the result of a rather unconventional exercise in artistic collaboration: nine graphic design students were teamed with nine published poets. Together, the teams picked from a selection of Hatch woodblocks dating back to the 1930s. The poets then created original material in response to their chosen woodblock. The designers, in turn, created impressions based on the poems. Design inspiring poetry inspiring art.

Jamie and a handful of students have been slowly binding the books, stitching each book in teams of three in fifteen minutes or so. While only 150 copies are produced they are hoping the sale of these will help fund the materials they are needing in the studio: rollers for 2 presses, ink, paper and more wood type for starters.

This book is a rare beauty, one where personality is apparent from the moment you feel the paper, touch the letterpressed letters and study the binding. Further developed by the uniqueness of each gatefold, each student strongly voicing who they are--this is all brought together by continuing elements such as the titling of each work presented and the cohesiveness in structure. But it is possible that the most successful aspect of this project is the intangible, that which was discovered by Jamie over several months:

Designers and writers make a great team. It took a while for my students to understand that this relationship is much different than a client relationship. In the beginning they didn't see themselves as having an equal say in the process but as soon as they understood the writer was their partner, the work got so much better.

This is absolutely beautiful. Where can they be purchased?

Bruce, it's not there yet, but I am guessing eventually you will be able to purchase it here http://bowehousepress.com

Thanks for your interest. We haven’t set up PayPal on our site yet but you can make your check payable to VCU Graphic Design and mail it to Jamie Mahoney 325 North Harrison Street, Suite 332 / Box 3085 Richmond, VA 23284-3085. I’ll send a numbered edition to you within two days. $40 will cover the book + shipping.

Ooooooh, I want one too!