An Artist Resident
The Work Spaces
The artists from our visit
Lauren Goding
– an artist from Portland, OR- Installation, paper thread and natural dyes – See her work >
Read Macys full story in the latest edition of Pressing Matters or visit her website below
An Ode To The Trailing Edge
Made in Sonoma. Slow and meticulous. We set out to create the 2018 Rivertown Revival poster. Using our hands and tools from the past – wood, iron and imagination. What we found reinvigorated our design chops.
That being said, there’s something about the love of letterpress printing that’s indestructible. That it’s survived and returned to schools and studios around the world speaks to that. What is it? The clinking and soft whir of a Chandler and Price press that drowns out the humming and droning beeps of the technology that surrounds us? The feeling you get when you see a beautifully carved foot-wide wooden letter “G”? Hands are drawn to the power of meaningful words on paper so deeply impressed that you have to run your fingers over their surface. Perhaps it’s the way a delicate dingbat sits raised .981” on a chunk of lead. It’s consuming.
Letterpress printing has not just survived, it’s thriving; and with passion, some humor, and style.
Moon and Thistle press in Santa Rosa is a haven for this trailing edge of technology. We brought with us a small collection of wooden letters and an idea for Petaluma’s Rivertown Revival poster. Co-Proprietor, Katie Nealon led us on a printing journey with her Vandercook 219AB press that prints a maximum sheet of 19×26”. Translation: Built in 1949, this 10ft long, 2500lb machine with power driven ink distribution and two swing-out paper shelves under the feed board can crank out oversized posters you’d want to envelope yourself in – they are so full of depth and the smell of history. Katie’s Vandercook proudly sits central in her shop surrounded by over 200 drawers of type – living in California Cases. Her shelves are loaded with leading, spacers, Kelsey presses, a plethora of tools and gobs of wood furniture used to lock up the type on the press.
We arrived with a box of wood type and an idea and clearly left that afternoon with more than a printed poster. We are now infused with a deeper appreciation for an era passed. Thanks to Katie and her will to care and preserve. She’s an artist, a poet and her studio is a quiet nod that letterpress is here. Alive.
Workspace: Freestone Country Store
Located at 500 Bohemian Highway in the hamlet of Freestone, the Freestone Country Store provisions the visitor with every necessity for either road trip or essentials of life in West County. Walking up to the porch and through the screen door and presented with its litany of mostly very useful items that you haven’t thought of in a while, you will be blasted with a wave of nostalgia for some part of your past that you also haven’t thought of in a while. It’s worth stopping in to see what treasure you will be so glad to take home with you. It might be some local honey, but it also might be an interesting box of matches or a particularly functional dustpan. Eclectic and vintage wall decor, which is not for sale, adds to the visual richness of this place and reminds the visitor that this land has history that stretches long before organic bakeries and artisan cheeses.
From Thistle to Green
Step One: secure transportation for said errand running. We tapped our friendly neighbors at Yuba Bicycles.
Field: Hey Yuba. Can we borrow bikes to tool around downtown prepping for our pre-Green Music Center errands? We promise not to crash.
Yuba Bikes guys: No problem!
What picnic would be complete without meat and cheese? Really not a one. So, we proceeded directly to Thistle Meats where we knew we could successfully procure just the right array of savory local pig and cow cured deliciousness. We love Thistle for its dedication to locally sourced meats and support of small farms in Sonoma County. And, because everything in that place looks beautiful and tastes amazing. Oh, and don’t forget the rabbit terrine, which we did not. We were also able to throw in a round of Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk to provide a creamy foil to the salty meats. So far so good.
We sadly said goodbye to the bikes and returned them, unscathed, to Yuba. Then it was time to embark on our journey north in a mode of transportation with a little more horsepower. Beverages were top of mind for our next stop: Oliver’s Market in Cotati. The wine section there is well stocked with local vintages and the staff is incredibly helpful. We chose a Kunde Sauvignon Blanc and an Unti Vineyards Rose to complement our spread of meat, cheese and bread.
And a little fruit never hurt anyone. If you haven’t visited an Oliver’s Market, its time. Between the produce, meat department, wine and spirits section and ready to eat food bar…you can’t really find an improved situation for grocery shopping and eating. Locally owned, the vibe of Sonoma County is alive and well within the walls of each of its 3 locations.
Then we arrive at the lawn at the Green Music Center. Blanket laid, food arrayed, wine poured, and the party can start. And its a really good party — surrounded by other lawn revelers with picnic situations of their own. Everyone is friendly as the crowd grows and the lawn fills in with concert goers awaiting the music that is getting closer and closer to starting.
It’s a beautiful summer Sonoma County evening…time to put the wine and cheese down and stand up and enjoy the show, we did and look forward to next summer season when we will most certainly do this all again.
Field trip to Bolinas
A northern California version of the California surf town, Bolinas comes complete with a vegetarian deli, aging hippies and some seriously wetsuit-worthy chilly water. It has a good hippy history having been home to musicians with Grateful Dead, and many counter culture poets and artists which today run the unincorporated town with a rose in their fisted gloves.
Known for its reclusiveness, the locals are friendly so long as you respect their town and clean up after yourself on the beach. Not a lot of rules on Bolinas beach, so dogs off leash, bonfires, camping, weed-it’s part of the scene. There are no actual police in Bolinas, so unless something is truly egregious, most everything flies smoothly under the proverbial radar.
Bolinas is a popular surfing spot, perfect for beginners and those preferring not too big of a break. For a Bolinas surf report, go to the local surf shop’s site HERE.
At 2 Mile Surf Shop boards and wetsuits are available for rent or sale, and it’s a good place to get the lowdown on whatever is happening in the water that day. They also do lessons and run surf camps for kids in the summer. It’s namesake is the “Bolinas 2 Miles” sign off Hwy 1 that is never there because the locals continually take it down every time the county puts it back up.
So, if you can find it, have a great day in Bolinas.
Fremont Diner
Photography by Michael Woolsey & Paige Green
Coming up on The Fremont Diner, it’s like stepping into another time and place, at first. It feels a bit like a truck stop and that there should be a gas pump (maybe there was once?) and 18 wheelers parked along the side, a girl in a halter top lurking somewhere, a highway stretching in either direction. But, cue needle screeching on vinyl, there are sun-soaked vineyard covered rolling hills stretching in every direction, no trucks at all, and a very different type of diner than the one in that reverie.
In fact, you can’t get more Sonoma than The Fremont Diner. They serve locally sourced, seasonal Sonoma country cooking (you heard that here first): a true combination of homestyle cooking and seasonal ingredients. You must not go on in life until you try the chicken and waffles or the biscuits in any form.
Hot off the griddle tip: go during the week, or early on weekends. It’s a Sonoma County favorite also favored by much of the surrounding population. But even if you have to wait for a bit to get seated, we promise satisfaction once those biscuits arrive at your table.