Thursday, March 19, 2009

VaBook! Festivities at The Virginia Arts of the Book Center

My journey to becoming a graphic designer started in high school when my amazing teachers told me about the different types of printing and print processes, from Gutenberg’s movable type to letterpress to silk screening. It instilled in me a love for what has now become a dying art with the overwhelming new waves of technology. 

Virginia Festival of the Book is in full swing right now with a variety of events where participants can interact and hear from the authors personally. For the past three years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with Virginia Center for the Books director, Susan Coleman and the festival’s program directors Nancy Damon and Kevin McFadden on the annual guide that gets inserted into The Daily Progress and distributed at various locations around Charlottesville. It wasn’t until just recently I discovered another facet of the vfh (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) - The Virginia Arts of the Book Center. There they offer community programs and a working studio for the support of traditional and experimental work in book arts, printmaking, and graphic media. I was ecstatic to find there are other people out there keeping the arts I have come to love - alive.

On, Sunday, March 22, The Virginia Arts of the Book Center will be joining in the festivities with an open house from 1-3 p.m. On display will be recent collaborative projects by the artists, including the Frankenstein-influenced project “F.“ There will be live demonstrations of letterpress, etching, and drypoint processes. Letterpressed cards, broadsides, and ephemera will be available for sale. And snacks will be provided by chef extraordinaire Gay Beery!

So join the VABC at their Ix location to meet members and book artists.
The Ix Complex is located at 977 Second Street SE (accessed via Elliott Ave. past TV stations).

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

celebrating the new issue by giving back

We’re so excited to present the spring issue of Charlottesville Woman celebrating women’s history, available in The Daily Progress today!

After debating the best way to celebrate (a bottle of ice wine at Enoteca on the downtown mall? cupcake party at Bethany’s house?) we thought we’d do something a little more philanthropic - donate blood. Blood banks need donations more than ever, a scary thought when someone in the U.S. needs a transfusion every two seconds. And women slightly more than men; 53 percent of transfusions go to our mothers, daughters, sisters, and BFFs. Making a one pint donations can save up to three lives, and it’s a donation that only costs a little time - something everyone can give even in this economy. As The Red Cross so aptly says, together we can save lives.

We like the Virginia Blood Services donation center at 2401 Hydraulic Road, but the Red Cross also needs support. For more information and to sign up for a donation appointment visit vablood.org or givelife.org.

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