WE LOVE MAKING BOOKS!
April 17, 2023
KBAC intern Ann Marie binding Afterlife
This past year we were proud to receive a Grants for Arts Project Award from the National Endowment of the Arts. This grant allowed us to host visiting artists in the studio, present exhibitions and poetry readings, and work on new broadsides and two special limited-edition books: Afterlife, by W. Todd Kaneko with linocuts by John McKaig, and The Ghosts, by Kia Penso with images by Caroline Allen.
It has been a very busy year, but we’ve had fun doing all the work! We’ve been setting type, printing pages, and binding books to complete the editions in time for the book launch on April 22, 2023, at 7:00pm. We are celebrating with an in-person and online reading in which all the artists and writers will be in the studio for the event.
Afterlife, by W. Todd Kaneko is a long poem that explores themes of paternity and mortality. The large intricately carved linocut prints by John McKaig, included in the edition, add to the somber intrigue of this book. Working with black cotton fiber donated to the KBAC, our interns formed, pressed, and dried the rich pigmented paper used for the hardcover edition. We love the way the black title printed on the black sheet leaves a ghostly impression.
Interns setting type for both books
The Ghosts, by Kia Penso, contains two short stories that recount experiences and describe people she was close to while growing up in Jamaica. The multi-colored linocut images for this edition were designed from painted paper collages created by Caroline Allen in response to the stories. These prints were a challenge to create, with some of the images consisting of up to nine colors. This meant carving individual linoleum plates for each color and passing the paper through the press up to nine times for each image. We’re pleased that the resulting prints are very close to the original collages.
We are very proud of these books, and thankful to the NEA for helping us with our publishing program. We’ve now created a library of limited-edition, collectable books, bringing writers and artists together on these creative projects. This is a huge part of our mission, and we look forward to creating many more. You can see all the books we’ve made here, and please join us for the reception and reading on April 22.
Jeff, Katie, and Lorrie
Page of The Ghosts
Gallery Hours
Monday - Friday10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
or by appointment
The KBAC is committed to inclusion of all members of the community regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, age, or ability.
Thank You!
KBAC’s educational and artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of these organizations, other private funders, and people like you.
