Recently we worked with husband & wife team Mary Ann and Jesse Watkins from Rabbit Wife Pen and Ink on a Sufjan Stevens inspired letterpress art print. Letterpress printed in crisp black ink on 60 pt chipboard, the art prints are 6″ squares with playful hand lettering. Mary Ann shared the backstory on the prints – take a look.
I love words. This is one of those phrases that becomes anthemic for a season. The song, “The Dress Looks Nice on You,” will forever take me back to my college boyfriend’s car almost ten years ago. Now he’s my husband, Jesse, and our lives are messy and ragged and achingly beautiful, strewn with life and light. There are days when I am emptied and tattered. But I see my boys with their Papa, riding their bikes down hills in a graveyard near our house in the amber of the day, bathed in sunlight, marching through mountains of leaves. These images are stitched together in my mind like a home-spun slide show. I can see a lot of life in them; a lot of bright in them.
This design is the first thing I sent to print. It was invigorating and life-giving to work on. I would close my eyes at night and see the letters fitting together, like Tetris pieces. I sent it off to Boxcar and shortly after, one hundred letterpress prints sat on my doorstep. I’m thrilled with how they turned out. The thickness of the chipboard is perfect and exactly what I had in mind. And the tactile experience of the letterpress indentions is dreamy.
The art prints are available for purchase on Rabbit Wife’s Etsy shop! Many thanks to Mary Ann and Jesse for collaborating with us on this new venture.