Saturday, October 25, 2008

33 views of Mt Fuji


Though I love them all like a good father should, here is the fanciest poster we have made this year. A 7 color reduction linocut and letterpress print to celebrate the world premiere of Trey Anastasio’s “Time Turns Elastic”. Very subtle colors which the web will not do justice. Very exciting stuff...if you happen to like prints.

Signed by the artist Bryce McCloud, Limited edition of 325
I watched most of them go away in two hours and the rest are going fast so get one before they are gone.

$50






Wednesday, October 1, 2008

There’s more than Klansmen in Indiana!

I don't know what you think of when you imagine southern Indiana, but I think of Evansville and then I think of Klan rallys and then I think about the West Side Nut Club’s annual fall-fest shindig (amazing) and lastly I think about pork tenderloin sandwiches. If I am unlucky, I think about brain sandwiches and tucked in sweatshirts and getting stuck in southern Indiana forever. What I don't think of ever is modern architecture, utopian societies, or golf carts riding around on city streets. BUT, I will now since I have been to New Harmony. Literally in the middle of nowhere, New Harmony started as all great endeavors do with a group of crazed German cult members. They say they just wanted some peace and quiet... I say when your crazy - all signs point to southern Indiana. At any rate they were convinced that the end of times was near at hand and that they would get busy living a simple life full of productive work, which did not include sex or procreation. Thus quickly ended the experiment of the Harmonist and after much lauded toil they moved to Pennsylvania.

And as a side note I really think that all members of fringe movements should give a hard look into the fine example of the harmonist life strategy and consider sparing your children the misery of having cult members for parents. After all isn't being exceptionally unique enough? Why go messing it all up by trying to raise children at the same time?

Luckily for the future of New Harmony fresh money arrived on the scene and bought the place up. Indiana strikes me as a bizarre place for a lot of reasons, but number one on the list is that there seem to be an inordinate amount of extremely wealthy people there. Or at least they spend their moneys there. I thought rich people went to Monaco or a Greek island...but apparently when they are not floating on the Mediterranean they are in Indiana? Money makes things happen and so when the $ came to town so did a lot of smart people. Making New Harmony very unlike any small town you or I have probably ever seen. Town opera hall? got one. Modern architecture? check! as many sculptures as town inhabitants? done!... All towns wax and wane but this little place keeps chugging along in a very peculiarly worldly manner. It is full of really neat architecture and draws folks to it in a non Hicksville usa sort of way. Yes New Harmony is a fantastic little place.

Schwinn bikes and golf carts seem to be the predominate way to get around town. Shhh don't tell any thieves but I bet they all leave their doors unlocked too.

If you get there try the pizza at the Mill Mart gas station...pretty good for $8 gas station cuisine (all toppings no extra charge) and make sure to support the coffee shop cause they are nice folks.
and personally I think we should all petition for the reopening of the bar Sass and Poss.

truth be told I bet there are far worse fates than getting marooned in a place like New Harmony. Just ask my buddies who live there

PS . Everyone in Indiana is in a secret society so mum’s the word on our little investigation of the delights of southern Indiana if you know what’s good for you.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Moto-heaven is heaven

I can tell you from honest experience that LOOKING at motorcycles is infinitely easier to do than actually OWNING motorcycles. In a similar vein, advertisers have long known that dull things look better with motorcycles hanging around. Where you and I fall along the continuum I’ll let you decide for yourself.

But one thing I can say for sure is that it is too late for us at Isle of Printing! We are obsessed with motorcycles!!!…looking, touching, riding and if the gods smile on us - making pictures all about motorcycles.

Which reminds me of a most usual and seldom told story about the origins of the shop from whence I type. Imagine with me if you will a hot afternoon some years ago. On this hot day a youngish Hiram Kneesch developed the most awful pain in his head, the likes of which he had never experienced. Delirious, he stumbled down to the chemist. Though all the usual suspects were bought and consumed, no respite did he receive. In immense pain and not knowing what to do next, he lay down in the street and determined to let fate take the reins. Predictably a few near misses with autos ensued. Less predictably a churlish little man appeared right above our protagonist. Shaded by the interloper, Hiram sat up and told the fellow his plight.

After a moment of consideration, the old boy said well I’ve got the answer but your going to have to trust me. As oft is the case with folks these days, Hiram was willing to take a few liberties in the safety department with the hopes of a quick remedied. So when the gent pulled out a small ax and made intimations to take a whack at Hiram’s pate…well Hiram remained sanguine. And wouldn’t you know it
The street surgeon did just that. Whack! One fine chop and the stranger split open Hiram’s skull! And rather than being worse off than before or dead Hiram felt great.

Honestly!
But here is the interesting part for today

As fate would have it when Hiram’s head was cracked open to relieve his ache both a British motorcycle and a printing press sprang forth. Not the first British motorcycle in the world, nor the first press but 2 very nice examples of both items. And as you can guess Hiram was destined to love both equally for all time.

And eventually be slave to them both

So you can imagine how superb it is for us that every year Isle of Printing is asked to make a poster for the Nashville TonUp club, a club specializing in the love of British motorcycles.

Witness below the fifth in a continuing series of prints to celebrate loving to look at and ride the motorcycle. For all of its flaws and all of it favors. Dullards you can make your life look 10000 times better than it is and bike lovers help us afford our continuing addiction



At the moment extremely limited supplies of the gem (less than 20) and the second part of the run to be completed at some future date

$40 for the first run and no back talk when you waited too long and you get the second batch 6 years from now.







Thursday, May 29, 2008

Tee for Tennessee

Dolly Parton…
Did you know she was the inspiration for creating a program to make sure all children in Tennessee have access to books so that they might cultivate a love of reading? And I think she knows Burton Reynolds. Why wouldn’t she be your hero?

You could buy a shirt. Don’t make us ask, Tennessee is the volunteer state.




Available in Pretty Prim Plum (ladies S,M, and L)
and
Mountain Man Teal (S,M,and L)
On your favorite Appalachian apparel shirts
Price $20 plus shipping
please include size, Men's/Women's and color preference






Friday, May 9, 2008

Speed dial this for trouble!




Leave us alone already! After much outcry and public haranguing we at Isle of Printing have bent to popular will and have made available for the first time ever a public safety tool par excellence. Not to be taken lightly, this device’s power is inversely proportionate to its size (and it is a wee small thing). Wear it with both pride and a grave sense of civic responsibility because after all Honey bear IS watching and I THINK he is our friend but I am not absolutely certain.

Unleash its power at your own peril and definitely to the mortal danger of those who are riding on the bad track.

Honey bear is Watching official Deputy Pin Badges


Only one dollar plus shipping!…Why? Because safety should bear no higher bar.





Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Unsavory terrorism plot discovered in plain sight!



Stop the presses it turns out the Neo-cons were right all along!

Saddam Hussein did indeed have weapons of mass destruction, not in Iraq...but IN OUR OWN COUNTRY! Weapons cleverly disguised as good ole’ American truck stop pizza pie! More over with duplicitous use of marketing and graphic design, he has apparently been feeding WMD’s to us for years. Lured in with tales of "all toppings no extra charge”…millions of Americans have been consuming the treacherous former dictator’s poisonous concoction of artery clogging cheese and reaganomic servings of “vegetables” with a smile on their faces! One look into Saddam’s glib continence as he tosses another wheel of death into our innocent gaping mouths and you know this war on terror must be won and soon!

Proud to be an American my ass! That isn’t Lugi and that ain’t no American pie.

True it is probable that the administration has kept these facts secret until now to protect methods and means of the brave patriots collecting intelligence on our behalf in pizzerias the world over. But we at Electrosports Monthly would be poor stewards of liberty if we let you be fooled for one minute more.

Rest assured with very little sacrifice or disruption to our daily lives, one day America’s enemies will be cut into warring slices, and be tossed like a discarded pizza box into the trash bin of history. That is assuming we don’t die from the various complications of obesity first.

Remember this


Who knew one pizza box could say so much about modern life?

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

If it happens…and there is electricity - you can feel it now, even though it is later



When the world is your oyster and people pay their good money to hear you sing your songs…what do you suppose you might chose to wear on stage? Well if you are a smart lady like Kathleen Edwards you would pick out something that makes a city proud to be what it is. From the photos we received recently, I reckon Ms. Edwards thinks Nashville is one hot chicken!

We at Isle of Printing are proud of our city too. A big slice of our pride radiates from the good things, which make Nashville unlike any other place in this world. Hot Chicken is a unique local something we can get behind. Go hot chicken go! Go local business Go!

Maybe it isn’t the same sort of joy that comes from watching little kids sweep the floor when they still think sweeping is fun, but when a Canadian gal goes to a local store and buys a local piece of art and wears it with pride – we do a little jig...and maybe an angel gets their wings.

But of course most importantly, we are all finding out that the eyes and ears of our ever-vigilant Isle of Printing Committee for the Advancement of Electrosports Communiqués are there to document most everything - so that you can enjoy it here, later.


Thanks Kathleen Edwards for being cool!
Thanks Mr. Williams for doing your civic duty!

electrosports is a 24 hour a day mission

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Johnny Cash Memorial Blvd.


My right hand man Bryce is from just down the road in Hendersonville, Tenn. Johnny Cash wasn’t born there, but he made it is his home and eventually left this world from that same soil.

We here at Isle of Printing think Ole JC was a pretty good ambassador for our neck of the woods. Like a lot of folks, he grew up a little rough around the edges, made mistakes, but kept at it. Through his persistence and faith in purer things, he gave us all a little glimpse at wisdom in the shape of simplicity.

Even though the record biz seems to do a pretty good job at supplying the world with a never-ending supply of Johnny Cash ephemera. We thought we would try for a hometown tribute to a hometown hero.

The second in our series of 52 Pennants celebrating things we feel are worthy to make pennant about.

IN LOVING MEMORY JOHNNY CASH








$30 plus shipping

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Fancy threads for the Forward Thinking Fellas and Fellettes of this world



Who wears t-shirt anymore? Oh wait everyone does! Well the summer is fast approaching me buckoos. And if I may be so bold to suggest…soon decisions will be made with or without you. Before you know it your chest-of-drawers will once again be filled to capacity with this year’s round of “I know Jack Schitt” and “Big Dog” novel-tees. No doubt you will again find yourself in the unenviable position of being forced to wear your hasty decisions like last night's hangover ALL SUMMER LONG. Shocking? No! Preventable? ABSOLUTLEY!

Take the bull by the horns folks and chose Original Art shirts that almost NOBODY else in the world has. Help us by helping yourself. Say no to Property of Old Navy and yes to the fashion future! Make washday fun and every ride on the bus a memorable one for those around you. My friends don’t let your chest be a billboard… make it a global tool for change.


Here are 3 ideas, which we at Isle of Printing have found are not getting the play we think they definitely deserve.



Try Democracy or Else

We are offering these classy shirts about Modern democracy here at our shop until the Department of Defense tools up to distribute these to our friends (and future allies) all around the world.

Available in white with blue accents double sided



The Scientific Method It’s for Me

The fact that I can type on a computer and post these words on something other than the Town log makes me a proud supporter of the scientific method and what it has to offer us now and in the future. Go rational thought!

Lad's sold out | Women's only for now green in style shown



Art Rocks!

If you like modern art …odds are you really like football too! And if you are like me, you are really tired of having to switch in and out of you opera gown and team jersey and/or even worse forgetting which outfit goes with which event! We say fix that mess and fix it fast! Support the two most important secular event in your life at once with this simple expression of the way you feel.

Did I drop my art on your sports event? Or did your sports event drop into my art? Now you don’t even have to care Go ART Rah rah rah!

Mens:Blue
Ladies: Blue capped sleeves L, M in all sizes except Small (white,yellow and blue)


Because these shirts are in such hot demand sizing is semi sporadic at this point. We’ll do our best to find your size but don’t throw a brick through our window if you missed the gravy train already. Don’t wait around or they will be gone…possibly forever. Printed with love on those trendy American apparel and Alternative apparel shirts all the kids love. Super soft and not cut like a feed sack. Size up if you're unsure.

Price $20 plus shipping
please include size, Men's/Women's and color preference (if available)






Friday, April 18, 2008

The bear facts of security

There’s a new bear in town! Look out you ne’re-do-wells of south Nashville, there is a new breed of street vigilante loping down your streets. I don’t know where exactly he came from but one thing’s for sure…don’t cross Honey Bear. Sweet to those who do good and sour towards those who don’t, Honey Bear is making his list and checking it twice…and then mauling the ones that don’t make the grade. Sometimes I let him ride in my sidecar. Don’t make him mad! Mostly he hates prostitution and petty drug dealing, but I’m pretty sure he gets pissed about littering and folks who don’t take driving their 10 ton gas guzzling SUV’s seriously.

Did I mention his claws are sharp? Also his intuition and his eyes are as keen as an eagle’s (unlike most bears I have heard of).

Sometimes he comes by our shop and hands out free treats to good boys and girls. What a bear!


Look out for this sign if you plan on causing Mischief. And then consider taking your mischief elsewhere.

Don’t blame us. We warned you that a big, golden yellow, honey bear might maul or hit you with a heavy, gnarled stick if he sees you causing trouble (that is if the police aren’t around to handle things…always let the authorities handle the situation if you can kids). Or he might give you some treats if you are doing something nice.

You know your own heart and Honey bear is watching just in case you are a scoundrel.

When else has $30 bought you so much peace of mind?





Analogue Mice for the Digital Age



Mystical ways for the modern mouse – Well after all that bally-hoo about the web is now, you can’t stop the blog-o-tron, blah blah blah - the line went dead on you…whoops. But fear not, spring has sprung and the mices have been busy. Look out world! Sooner than you might like, you’ll be able to stroll through our fine establishment and gawk and gape at the rare fineries we have on display. Until that day, consider this your magic portal into our tiny lands. One eye closed, both fingers crossed.

Believe it or not – as we unpacked into our new space, an amazing discovery was made. Behind tall stacks of print detritus and mounds of boxam and jetsam, a whole new civilization had sprung into being. A veritable Mice-ean age had begun. Not your average vermin, these mice seem to have developed a civil society that in all aspects (save size) resembles that of our own.

A keen student of observation – Hiram quickly had us pick up pencil and paper to document this world in the hopes that we may learn from it…

Those wacky little fellows sure are busy! Some how watching those little guys do all the same things we do makes me crack up. Ha!

Please help us continue this valuable research by purchasing a set of field drawings, which were later committed to our favored medium of linocut and letterpress type.
Available in limited supplies: 4 views of mices and the things they do. Priced at $20 plus shipping (unless you amble over to the shop that is). Email us to make an order.

More news at 11











Thursday, January 3, 2008

Ride the Electric Warhorse

Whoa Friends...the night guard must have been sleeping?!

Somehow I fell on board the post-able webcontent bandwagon without even a whimper from the grammar police.
Well, they'll rue the day.

Any rate I would like to welcome you to the most modern and most recently updated part of the little hovel I like to call my website (WWW.isleofprinting.com). Seems like making my website anew is akin to creating a mountain out of bouncy balls. Luckily folks smarter than me have made things such as this web-blog possible. So until I get smarter or someone feels compelled to make it better for me, I will use this fine medium as my semi-web-update stand in. News, events, late nite ramblings...expect only the best here on my island of joy.

Actually I am really happy to be doing this... sure it is no jumbotron in times square, but I am truly amazed that these words will instantly be available in most corners of the world. As such I will try not to misuse my new found powers. Wish us all luck as we bravely step into this new year order.