About me...
I spent my childhood transported by storybooks and fairytales while growing up in Taiwan. Following a career in academics as the Professor of Printmaking and Chair of the Art Department at Warren Wilson College, I'm now a studio artist in Asheville, NC, where I make prints, books, and crankies. My practice revolves around narrative relief prints, wood engravings, letterpress printing, and linear storytelling through scrolls and crankies. I draw inspiration from music, folk tales, ghost stories, children’s books, and the ancient beauty of the Appalachian mountains.
My work has been exhibited internationally and can be seen in public collections including Yale University, Stanford University, Lingnan University Hong Kong, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Publications include Letterpress Now: A DIY Guide to New & Old Printing Methods, published by Lark Crafts, and Ladies of Letterpress: A Gallery of Prints, published by Princeton Architectural Press. I'm the co-founder of Ladies of Letterpress, an international trade organization of women printers, a member of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild, and I'm the current President of the Wood Engravers’ Network.
Fancy degrees I hold include a BFA in sculpture from East Carolina University, an MA and MFA in Printmaking from the University of Iowa, and a Graduate Certificate in Book Arts from the UIowa Center for the Book. When I'm not getting inky in the studio, you can find me catching a breeze in my sailboat Cassiopeia.
Some frequently asked questions:
Where did you learn how to make prints and book art?
I studied sculpture, primarily metal work and iron casting, as an undergraduate student at East Carolina University where I also learned to repair books while working at the university’s Joyner Library. After graduating from ECU in 2000, I worked for three years as a conservator of works on paper at the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Massachusetts. During this time I set up a studio and took workshops where I learned the basics of book art and printmaking. From there, I moved to Iowa City where I earned an MA and MFA in Printmaking in 2008 and a certificate in Book Studies in 2009 at the University of Iowa.
What is a crankie?
Crankies are storytelling devices that include a box, two cranking handles, and a visual scroll. In the 19th century, these were often called panoramas and were full theater or room-sized canvases painted with scenes that transported viewers to far away lands. These evolved in different places for different uses, from a large immersive experience of the Panorama of the Paris Exposition, from the Seine in 1900, to traveling musical acts in the Appalachian Mountains depicting the stories of the ballads as they sang. I explore crankies in a slightly different way, from a historical book perspective, starting from an interest in ancient Chinese and Japanese scrolls. As the scrolls I made grew longer, I needed to find a better way to display this work, and when I discovered the crankie from an Anna & Elizabeth show here in Asheville, it was clearly the perfect fit for my work.
How do you make these prints?
Each of my prints are hand pulled from letterpress printing presses. My studio is equipped with a Challenge 15MP (Sweet Pea), Chandler & Price 10x15 (Ernestine), a Showcard Press, and a Kelsey 5x8. I also have a small etching press for intaglio prints.
Each print starts from a drawing, which will then be cut as a wood block, engraving, or linocut (many prints actually include elements of one, two, or all three of these). The text is printed from handset metal type or photopolymer plates. Check out my Media page for videos of how this is done.
Do you teach classes or workshops?
I teach printmaking, bookbinding, and crankie workshops at John C. Campbell Folk School, along with occasional other arts and crafts schools (check my Calendar for updates).
Where can I see your work in person?
In the Asheville area, you can purchase original work at Blue Spiral 1 Gallery and digital prints and ephemera at Horse + Hero.
Other places include:
Starfangled Press (Brevard, NC)
Emerge Gallery (Greenville, NC)
River Gallery (Chattanooga, TN)
Minnesota Center for Book Arts (Minneapolis, MN)
To see more of my artist books, please visit Vamp & Tramp Booksellers or check out my work in these public collections:
- Brigham Young University
- Lafayette College
- Lingnan University, Hong Kong
- NC Museum of Art
- The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Scripps College
- Stanford University
- Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- University of Iowa
- University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Yale University
You can also check my Calendar for any current exhibits or upcoming craft fairs where you can visit me in person!
Where are you located, and can I come visit your studio?
I work in my private home studio in the Swannanoa Valley just east of Asheville. When I'm not staring off into the distant mountains, I like to keep an eye on the neighborhood bear. My studio is not open to the public, but please contact me if you'd like to schedule a visit.
Can I hire you to print my wedding invitations?
Yes, please check my price list at Over Yonder Press.
I have an idea for a book. Do you want to work on it with me?
Well, maybe. I stay pretty busy with my own book and print projects, but I'm always interested in new book projects. Contact me and we'll talk.
Here are a few things said and articles that have been written about me and my work:
"There was both a somber honesty and an unsullied optimism that damn near brought me to tears."
"It's the good dream you want to remember."
"It's what you'd get if Beatrix Potter crashed into Edward Gorey."
"You works reflects a highly refined sense of absurdity."
"I'm not usually a profound person, but I look at your work and think 'that's profound'."
"This reminds me of Charlie Brown."
Printeresting: Letterpress Now
Felt & Wire: Behind the Book: The Making of Letterpress Now
Poppytalk: Giveaway - Letterpress Now
CNN.com: Ripple Project for 9/11: 10 Years Later (the last image under "The Day")
Asheville Citizen-Times: The Artistic Type
Mountain Xpress: Read the Storyline at Blue Spiral 1
Verve Magazine: One for the Books
Panel Patter reviews: Art School Chronicles