Autumn color for the Artists

Last week we traveled from New Haven, CT to Kalamazoo, MI. Our schedule was full with all the driving and with visits to Penn State, The Morgan Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Art, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Elderly Instruments, and Michigan State University in East Lansing.  As the weeks have passed and we moved further north and later into the season we have found ourselves regaled with the vibrant fall colors of the trees with their bright leaves falling all around us. Being Wandering Book Artists from the west coast, the autumn colors here in the east have amazed us, and we have been left completely surprised when folks out here have told us that this year has not been as vibrant as in years past!

Fort Custer State Park. A beautiful place for fall wandering.

Hardwoods turning golden.

We visited Fort Custer State Park with our friends, the artists Ladislav Hanka and Jana Hanka, near Kalamazoo. Along with gleaning apples from an abandoned orchard, we swam in Lake Michigan, foraged mushrooms (puffballs, cooked and eaten at three meals) and hiked in the woods. Above is some milkweed with bugs we found there.

We stayed with wood engraver Jim Horton and his partner Rowena who live down this leafy drive near Ann Arbor. The drive ended in a circle that was just a bit too tight for the truck and trailer and we had a heck of a time getting back out, but stuff like that happens when you travel in a Tiny Home. Jim is a letterpress printer, an antique collector with the worlds largest collection of pencil sharpeners, and he grows his own popcorn! Take a class with Jim at the John C. Campbell folk school when you can. He is an excellent teacher and we are always impressed with the quality of work his students produce at JCC.

We passed Amish farmers harvesting their fields in rural Pennsylvania. A nice sight: seeing these horses pulling old harvesting equipment down the road in the morning light. There was a young man driving the wagon, standing tall, the picture of health, head held high,  floppy hat flapping in the wind.

Peter demonstrated papermaking to the students at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, shaded by the leaves on a sunny fall day. We pulled right into the center of north campus, gave tours, talked to three art classes, and surprised many engineering majors who happened to wander by. 

Donna showing her books "Stories in the Rocks" and "Hetch Hetchy Flora" to the students in Ann Arbor. The class, titled Florilegium: A Plant Compendium taught by Cathy Berry focused on botanical illustration and the final project will require each student to make an accordion book. Peter had been talking, had played a song on his ukulele, and the students were all sitting at their seats listening studiously, but when Donna opened her book all hell broke loose and the students flew out of their seats to crowd around her and look. Her book was exactly what they were supposed to make and a complete and total inspiration. It was quite a moment and I tried my best to catch it in a photo.

Eric Alstrom of the Conservation Department and Peter stand beside the one of the displays of our books in the Michigan State University Library. This library has a good number of our works in their special collections, and this show is part of our celebration of 40 years of making books!

The books on display in East Lansing, MI.

Peter gave a talk about our 40 years of work. He has given 100s of talks and is hardly ever thrown off his stride, but when the tech person turned off the powerpoint and filled the screen with a huge detail of the book Peter was showing he couldn't stop looking over his shoulder to see who was behind him. He is showing "Sometimes I Pretend", a scrolling book with a poem by Naomi Shihab Nye. Find it on our website: Sometimes I Pretend.

Now we are in Indiana, at Hook Paper and Pottery. Andrea Peterson and Jon Hook are having their fall sale next weekend. If you are anywhere near stop by. They will have homemade treats and libation to induce you to buy their ceramics, hot sauce, body balm, candles and more. It has rained all day. LaPorte got several inches of rain yesterday and over 10 inches since last week. But we are nice and dry in the caravan. Even though it is tiny, it is cozy and comfortable.

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