Grow No Moss: Process, Prints, & a Shop!

I recently posted on Printeresting about my time in the Ox-Bow print shop, and there are lots more photos from Ox-Bow on Flickr here. I thought I'd share some of the process behind making the lithograph that was printed as the cover of Grow No Moss. 

Some shots of the book being printed at Spudnik Press are below as well. Everything is being trimmed and bound at Salsedo Press today! 

And! BREAKING NEWS! You can place actual online book orders (pre-sale until August 25th) and check out more prints for purchase on the snazzy new Grow No Moss website.

Original lithograph in black ink on Kitakata paper that serves as the cover artwork for the book.

Lithographic stone (pre-etching) at Ox-Bow. Lots of tusche. Playing around with stamping, painting, and dripping with moss. (Yes, actual moss. Little bits of dirt and moss and sand on the surface of the stone there).

Lithograph on two small sheets of Kitakata paper, about 5" x 7" each, featuring poems from the book. More moss-tusche action on the left.

Lithographic stone (pre-etching) with poetry written backwards, playing around with cover options. This stone was big enough that I was able to print multiple sheets of paper for one roll-up and vary the size of the print.

This is the printed state #2 for one of my original cover ideas. A lithograph in black ink on grey Stonehenge paper. Tusche, moss stamping, pencil. Lots of experimentation in the margins.

State #1 on the stone (pre-etched) of the print shown above.

 State #2 on the stone (pre-second-etch) of the print shown above. The tusche is still drying on the stone.

Offset press-master Aaron Smith at Spudnik Press in the middle of printing my book!

Sheets just offset-printed drying on the rack.

The ethereal offset plate, ready for registration and ink.