Happy New Year 2023!

It finally warmed up a bit this past week … and then it snowed.

And then it snowed some more. This was the view from one of my studio windows a couple of days ago. (It isn’t quite as impressive as it looks since my studio windows are only slightly above ground level.)

By lunchtime on Friday David had shovelled the drift so that I could get a bit more light. (The odd appearance in the window’s lower right corner is caused by light reflecting from the window onto the snow and then being reflected back again onto the window.)

Work didn’t stop at Byopia Press with the completion of the Advent Calendar for 2022. I finished several small wall pieces which will be included in my upcoming exhibition at the AGO. (The one in Outlook, Saskatchewan, not the other one.)

Here’s Sun Day 2.

This is Sun Day 18 held up to catch the light and show off the shiny paper.

The last of the annual Beeston Calendars will be delivered today, so I can give you a look at the 2023 cover. This year shows Beeston in his new role as my assistant.

This week the mail —after delays relating to snow— included my copy of the Partial Press publication A Physical Book Which Compiles Conceptual Books by Various Artists: Possibly Undermining Their Conceptual Commitment to Dematerialization, but Also Sparking Unforeseen Juxtapositions and Insinuating the Works into New Situations.

Here’s one of my four conceptual books.

The book includes some lovely stuff, including India Johnson’s Afterword which offers a set of prompts based on the United States Postal Service regulations governing the mailing of books. You can order your own copy (only $18 US, plus mailing) from this page.

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In other book arts news:

Ornamental calligraphy has a long tradition in the Arab world, and the Tunisian calligrapher Nja Mahdaoui is a modern master. You can read more about him in this piece by Steven Heller.

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If you follow mymodernmet.com or get emails from Peter Verheyen, you probably have seen this. I don’t normally post things that have had a lot of previous exposure, but I didn’t want anyone to miss this: Artist Faithfully Recreates a Full-Scale Model of the Heidelberg Letterpress Out of Paper.

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It is past the prime gift giving season, but you never know when you might need a little box. Paula Beardell Krieg has kindly shared a couple of files so that you can make your own little cubes with curves. You will find the links in this post.

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I have included colouring pages in the Advent calendars for some years, but there were none this past December. Lin Tarczynski has kindly shared some masks to colour. You will find the page with masks here. Just click on the design of your choice and print it out.

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Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2023!