Comments on: new: 2010 letterpress calendar from beverly hsu

By: helen

helen — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 07:11:30 +0000

Wow, just hand-setting that type would take ages!

I love both the concept and the execution — wonderful work Beverly, and so gracious of you to take the various comments in your stride.

This is art that I’d be reluctant to write on, truly! (Although marking in the events would add a neat ‘artifact’ quality to this art 10 or 20 years down the road!)

By: Katy

Katy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:56:25 +0000

I think letterpress is beautiful and something that I, and I suspect many others, will probably never have access to or learn to use ourselves. I feel thankful that others are keeping the tradition alive, and by being a customer, I’m supporting the process.
I’m on a budget (aren’t we all ?) but I can see this as a better investment than
say, a couple of lipsticks.

I love the clean visual appeal, and the
promise of all those new fresh days to
enjoy. A framed print would look perfect in the nursery of a 2010 baby.

By: shirley lei

shirley lei — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:47:36 +0000

I think that sometimes we forget that what WE don’t value in something doesn’t mean IT has no value. We make choices in how we spend our money and, like many other things, our choices will differ. And that’s okay. Some can appreciate this calendar as an abstract piece, a social commentary about humans and our views about time. And then some can’t because they don’t want a calendar that’s an art piece. That’s fine too. And I’ll even bet that some folks (maybe just a few) are scared of what’s different, what’s incomprehensible to them. And that’s fine too. There is nothing wrong with any of this. However, it is wrong to assume that what you value (or, in this case, don’t value, is the same for everyone else). If you want a functional calendar, that’s fine. But don’t belittle this one because the artist decided to do something different. Quite frankly, this wasn’t meant to be functional and you can’t hate something (it not being functional) if it never was. And, finally, to those who say they can do it themselves or do it in an easier way, you have to ask yourself: did you come up with the idea? As a self-professed DIY-er who enjoys replicating things I can’t always afford, I can make some things myself because I put my mind to it and I work hard on it. But really, I can only replicate the things I have some knowledge of and, if the artist never came up with the idea in the first place, I probably would not have thought of it myself. So, in the end, mine is only a copy. While that is satisfying on a personal level, it doesn’t contribute to anything else but for myself.

By: Rachael, Pistachio Press

Rachael, Pistachio Press — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:32:26 +0000

Wow, what a discussion! I love the idea of this calendar for exactly the reasons Red Prairie Press stated, it’s meditative and quite. I love that letterpress and simplicity go hand-in-hand here, and the size is great!

I’m grateful to see that so many people try to understand and support artists whose work may be a bit different from the mainstream. This calendar may not be for everyone and we each value things differently. Just because you don’t value it personally doesn’t mean this it’s not worth $30 to someone else.

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:46:55 +0000

Let’s start by saying, as many others have, that this is a beautiful piece of work, both in concept and execution.

And thank you, Grace, for your comments supporting independent artists, and for trying to get people to understand that work does take time. We did not even consider the time it took Beverly to develop the concept, test it and figure out all of the other details.

Comments posted here that indicate that this piece is pretentious, useless or “I can do this myself” are short sighted and, as Grace pointed out, disrespectful.

I, myself, own a small design business and in order to truly understand our profit/loss for any product, we have to understand the fine details, down to the average amount of electricity it takes to make each piece. Most consumers, especially those who do not make anything to sell, do not understand any of this.

I truly appreciate your comments, and all of this discussion, and I look forward to seeing many more items on your site that inspire, and educate, everyone who visits.

By: grace

grace — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:24:35 +0000

sara

i just don’t understand comments like this. this isn’t something that can be reproduced at the same quality with word or stamps- to suggest so is, to me, pretty disrespectful of the types of artists we cover on a daily basis.

i’ve been really disappointed lately in the number of people who seem to think that they can easily reproduce things they see on our site and other people’s. i think it’s all too easy to say something that amounts to “oh, i could do that”. if you can, by all means you should be selling your work online.

grace