LA Printer's Fair

Next Saturday, October 3, is the LA Printer's Fair at the International Museum of Printing in Carson, CA. It's a great show where you can try your hand on a letterpress or type setting machine, purchase your very own press and supplies, or just buy finished product from a variety of talented sellers.

I'll have a booth and I've been madly printing in order to get ready for the show. I really wanted to have my 2016 calendar done, which it finally is. I draw all of my designs on tracing paper and then transfer the drawing to the lino block. The image on the block is in reverse and it will print like it looks on the paper.

Lino block in progress

And here is the finished month of July

The calendar will be in my shop next Sunday, as soon as I get a chance to photograph it. And I'll see you at the Fair on Saturday!

Bird Rescue

Last weekend, our neighbors were walking their dogs and found a bird sitting on the sidewalk in front of our house. Not just any bird. A Hawk. It was just sitting there. We knew that it was either sick or injured since we were able to get quite close to it. Things always happen on a Sunday or holiday and this was the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We tried calling bird and raptor rescues in the area but no one was answering the phone. I finally called our local animal shelter to see if they had any advice. "We'll send someone right over" they said. We stayed with the bird until help arrived. "Right over" happened to be an hour and a half but an animal control officer did come, put the bird in a carrier and took it to the vet.

Cooper's Hawk on our sidewalk

We originally thought the bird was a falcon but I believe that it it a Cooper's Hawk. The bird was transferred from the vet to a rescue and is now getting care. Aside from helping an injured animal, we got to meet some neighbors we didn't know.