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We place book orders every Monday and can usually have the book by the end of the week. Contact us at:
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Small Press Month Wayzgoose*
Celebrate
Small Press Month with King's Books' fourth annual Wayzgoose,
or, gathering of local letterpress printers and book artists.
Meet local printers and view their wares! Print your own
keepsake! Make paper! Make paper
creations!
And, new this year...Steamroller Printing!!!
Check out this video from
Exit133 to see it in action.
We'll be making 3' x 3' prints designed by local artists, some of which
will be raffled off at the Wayzgoose. Thanks
Tacoma Arts Commission!
We're also doing a series of Book Arts Classes in the weeks following the Wayzgoose. More information below.
Construction material generously provided by Phase II Construction.
Small Press Month takes place annually in March. Now in its twelfth year, the event highlights the importance of independent, small presses. Publishing is increasingly controlled by international conglomerates who choose which books to market and thus which books sell. This trend makes the contributions of small presses even more vital as it gives an independent voice to authors and artists who don’t fit into the mainstream.
SPECIAL NOTE: We have procured additional parking for the Wayzgoose (as neighborhood parking is limited). You can use First Presbyterian's parking lot from 1 - 4 pm located at 2nd Ave and G St - across from Wright Park. To get to the lot from King's (going towards downtown), turn right on 4th Ave and take it all the way to the park. Take a right (on G St) and you will see our signs by the entrance (after 2nd) noting it as King's parking.
The participants in this year's Wayzgoose include:
Jessica
Spring, of Springtide
Press in Tacoma, designs,
prints, and binds unique artist books, broadsides and ephemera incorporating handmade paper and letterpress printing.
Small finely-crafted editions consider historical topics and
popular culture with a twist. Jessica teaches book arts at Pacific
Lutheran University.
Beautiful Angle is a guerilla arts project run by graphic designer Lance Kagey and writer Tom Llewellyn in Tacoma. Since October 31, 2002, they have created an original letterpress poster monthly that they post around the streets of Tacoma. Beautiful Angle will be designing a print for Steamroller Printing.
Catherine Alice Michaelis owns and operates May Day Press in Shelton. In operation since 1992, Catherine makes letterpress Artist Books, prints, cards, and paper whimsies.
Lisa Hasegawa of ilfant press teaches letterpress printing at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, is the Co-Founder/Organizer for the Postcard Exchange and sole proprietor of ilfant press. Her artist's books and prints are collected nationally.
Jenny
Craig of Notta
Pixie Press in Seattle studied Book
Arts at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and in Seattle at Day Moon
Press on Beacon Hill. Her work
wavers between general amusement at the antics of household objects and
experiments with ink and paper.
Tacoma, Washington 98402
253.272.8801
Store Hours
Mon. - Sat. 10am - 7pm
Carl Montford is the proprietor of the Montford Press in West Seattle. His specialty is practicing the centuries old art of Wood Engraving. He markets these engravings as 'Limited Edition Prints'. His other specialties are lino cutting, wood cuts, letterpress printing, and producing broadsides on his 'Iron Handpress'. He also teaches these subjects out of his own private studio and lectures and demonstrates in various settings throughout the Northwest. Montford will be designing a woodcut for Steamroller Printing.
Photo by John Labovitz
L'Arche Farm & Gardens, of Tacoma, has a mission is to create and sell quality products, support purposeful work for people with developmental disabilities and foster a spirit of caring for the land and people. The L'Arche community produces handmade paper and will be doing a demonstration at this year's Wayzgoose.
Seattle Center for Book Arts (SCBA) was formed to promote education in hand book binding and related art forms. They have a variety of classes and workshops available. In the past year, Seattle Center for Book Arts has sponsored three 8-week courses. .
Jami Heinricher of The Sherwood Press in Olympia designs and prints everything from weddings, stationery, and a sprinkling of poetry to a line of letterpressed retail products and the occasional urgent flurry of progressive counter-propaganda. The Sherwood Press has been in continuous operation as a letterpress job shop since Jocelyn Dohm opened doors in 1940. Jami has been owner since 2003 and bedeviled Jocelyn for the previous 14 years after graduating from The Evergreen State College.
Abegale McDermott is the seven year old proprietor of Guinea Pig Press in Tacoma. Specialized in hand-made cards featuring her guinea pig, McDermott operates her own bookstore within King's Books where she markets her work.
The Elliott Press at Pacific Lutheran University is one of the focuses of the Publishing and Printing Arts Program directed by Solveig Robinson. Elliott Press strives to help students see the visual and tactile dimensions of the printed word, not only the literary one. Elliott Press will produce the poster for this year's Wayzgoose. Students' work from the course the "Art of the Book" will also be on display at King's Books.
Steamroller Prints!
Chris Sharp of Tacoma works in letterpress, painting, graphic design, installation, and vintage sign painting. He is a recipient of a Tacoma Artsist Grant from the Tacoma Arts Commission. Sharp will be designing a print for Steamroller Printing.
The Printmaking program at Stadium High School in Tacoma has been active for the last 10 years. Started in 1998 by Laurie Brown, classes include Intro to Design in Printmaking and Commercial Printmaking. Students learn to do Relief (linoleum, wood, collograph, etc), Intaglio (dry point), and Silk Screen. The program has three etching presses and a silkscreen press. Last year, a printmaking student won a WAVE (Washington Award for Vocational Excellence) Grant with two years of college, all expenses paid. Students from the program will be designing a linoleum print for Steamroller Printing.
The Letterpress Studio at the School of Visual Concepts, Seattle, is truly the community's print shop. It is sustained by local professional printers, and accessible to students of all levels. In addition to classes, the SVC letterpress shop offers tours and workshops for educational & private groups, custom publishing for nonprofits, and an annual autumn Wayzgoose. Learn more about upcoming studio courses and register online.
Book Arts Classes!
Stop by and see our table at Wayzgoose! Pick up a make n' take, gather information on book arts classes and peruse handmade books and other items available for purchase. Book Arts Classes cost $25 each and include supplies. Participants are welcome to bring their favorite papers, embellishments, ephemera, and tools. Class size is a minimum of 5 people and a maximum of 10. Pre-paid registration required to reserve a space in class. Please contact Randi Kander or Rochelle Monner.
March 15 * 11 am - 1 pm - Book Arts Class: Wrappers and Closures.
This class focuses on wrapper and closure variations that enhance the experience of receiving and opening a special book or card. We begin by folding several sizes of accordion books. They will be the forms that we work with to create a variety of bands, wraps, and closures.
April 5 * 11 am - 1 pm - Book Arts Class: Pamphlet & Stab Bindings.
This class will focus on two basic stitching techniques used to create handmade books:
Two-Signature Pamphlet: Stitching two signatures to the cover at the same time makes this book easy to construct. Its personality is yours to define! Note: We will teach the basic pamphlet stitch on a single signature book with a three-hole sewing station first.
Asian Stab Binding: Books with stab bindings usually have soft covers with visible sewing that wraps around the spine edge. We will teach the basic four-hole stab binding in this class. Individual pages can be single sheets of paper or they can be folded with a crease on the fore edge to form "pouch bindings".
The
Tacoma News Tribune picked the Wayzgoose as one of the top 10 art events of
last year:
"King's Books' annual Small Press Month
Wayzgoose, in March, gets the award for best-hands-on, a fun event where you
can meet artists like the Beautiful Angle team, find out how they do their
stuff, and do it yourself (sort of)."
* wayzgoose: The name of the annual feast give by a master printer for the staff of the press. In modern parlance, it is an annual gathering of printers. The word is of obscure origin.