Satisfying Day

Last Thursday was a very satisfying day — on Wednesday I finished letterpress printing my calendar pages for 2011, and Thursday morning I got them all trimmed. That’s the result above. There’s more to do — there are 2 more months to print, using japanese paper marbling, then the pages have to be collated, put in the jewel cases, and finally I can photograph everything.
As I printed the calendar, I couldn’t help but think back on the year since printing my last one, and even more so as I finished in a week where the new chill in the air signals the oncoming Fall. Thursday was also Zozobra here in Santa Fe. That’s the day they burn “Old Man Gloom” (a 50 ft articulated puppet — that’s him to the right) to chase away the hardships and travails of the past year. You can write down your troubles on paper, and they’ll be burned up with him. It was quite a sight watching him go up in flames — it’s a 4 or 5 hour event with bands, singing, and a spectacular fireworks display — I felt quite uplifted afterward.