By Myles Ludwig
John Cutrone is a tireless cheerleader for the hand printed and the art of the book. He heads FAU’s Arthur and Mata Jaffe Center for the Book Arts (JCBA) located in the school’s Wimberly Library, a treasure chest of the book as an art; i.e. the container, rather than necessarily the contents. I am a fan.
On Oct. 29, John put together the first edition of the Autumn Wayzgoose and Makers Marketplace which spotlights print and book makers — not the betting kind, but the craftspeople from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach Gardens — so I went down to Boca to see what was up.
What’s a Waygoose, I asked John, thinking it might be an exotic Florida bird that heads northwards in winter – the opposite of the well-known species that populates our early bird feeding grounds. But no, he explained while we leaned on a large old-fashioned wooden type case next to a small platen Pilot proof press where Jill Janov was helping interested perusers like myself hand-print Halloween cards, Wayzgoose is an old English printer’s holiday that combines cakes and ale and candlelight.
At the beginning of autumn, as daylight wanes, he said, print shops of yore would lay on a little holiday celebration in which candles and lanterns were brought in to lighten their efforts and, while they were at it, called forth suitable refreshments and friends to enhance the mood and mark the changing season.
Hence, the Autumn Wayzgoose on the FAU campus in Boca Raton: A pleasant way to pass a chilly Sunday afternoon and support the book arts and the jewel of the Jaffe Center.
John’s own Convivio Bookworks stand was a carnival of German Advent calendars, candles, Christmas goodies, Mexican silk-screened shopping bags, cards of all kinds and letterpress supplies. A sumptuous riot of color.
As I toured the booths, I was entranced once again by the delicacy of Kim Spivey of Ground Printmaking in Palm Beach Gardens. She cheerfully demonstrated how to make etchings on a small press she brought. Spivey, as finely wrought as her lines, also does lovely monochrome prints and, in her studio, holds workshops and classes in how to craft your own creations.
She’s also a painter, but became enamored of printmaking techniques because it “balances technology, art and experience and that balances me out.”
It was serendipitous to see Ingrid Schindall of whom I’ve heard much but never met. She is very well-known in printmaking and art book printing circles and is particularly interested in the latter, i.e. finding and creating the right form for content.
Her IS Projects in Fort Lauderdale is what she calls “a public access printmaking and book arts studio.” There’s a gallery and a shop for letterpress work, fine printmaking, limited editions and book binding. She also hosts workshops, rents the studio to others on an hourly basis, has internship opportunities and can do commercial letterpress printing.
IS is equipped with six letterpress printing presses, more than 200 faces of antique lead and wood type and hundreds of vintage image cuts, as well as an etching press and screen printing facilities. She displayed several fine art books she made and a comprehensive selection of handmade notebooks, both leather-wrapped and long-stitch bound.
Jessica Garcia and Kathleen Reyes of Milk and Honey Books were sprightly, and their card read they “create handmade paper goods with eco-friendly, recycled material, making you an active part of efforts to be kind to the environment without sacrificing aesthetics.” They displayed a selection of small notebooks which feature sweet line drawings on their covers, prints and stickers.
Karen Esteves of Rolling Pin Press showed several surprising limited-edition art books which combine her photos and poetry, particularly her Cityscape Series in a form she calls a leporello, a folding method which allows you to flip the book over from the back cover and see the story from another side. She also has a series on Surrealism in Paris, Gardens of Giverny, Orchids and More, and The Journey, “an accordion-bound collection of handmade papers” based on the drama of the Oregon coastline.
Other vendors included Black Salt Press (including a book on the development of skateboarding), Vintage Pops, Second Star Wood Crafts, Noelle McCarthy, Quiet Parrot Project, Paper Owl Artists, Hal Allen, Fleur d’Elise Ecoprints, A Better Life Rescue and Classy Creations by Barrie.
There was music by Brett Saska and Walt Rooney in a tent outside the two old buildings, once part of the radar training facility of the U.S. Army Air Field during World War II, now the JCBA’s Satellite Book Arts Studio for workshops in papermaking, decoration, marbling and eco-dying using natural pigments.
In addition to cider and doughnuts, there was food from Rocco’s Tacos and Louie Bossi and buckets of apples to take home (proceeds benefit the Jaffe Center’s collection and activities) and the Hitched Photo Booth Lounge in an Airstream trailer. Sponsors included Trader Joe’s, Questing Hound Technology Partners, Sperry Tents of Miami and Rorabeck’s Plants and Produce.
The next Makers Marketplace is scheduled for Dec. 3.