Getting back to work!

I am not quite done with my studio clean-out and re-set, but it is going well. I am finding materials, supplies, and tools I totally forgot I had!  I have distributed all my type sorts back into cases, sorted my printmaking tools and die cutting presses. Using the big presses (Challenge Gordon 8x12 and Vandrecook 01 Proof Press) will have to wait until I have company in the studio as the doctors do not want me running them without someone here with me. However, I am working on some designs for linocuts that I can print with my X-cut XPress and my small Etching press.  I am really enjoying going through all my studio things, remembering projects I had started before the breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year.  My creative verve is soaring each and every day!

One of the unique artist's book projects I began two years ago was "The Language of Prayer" book. I created the covers using pieces of roof slate from St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Cambridge, MA.  My husband served as their Rector for 6 years.

The pages of the book are made from my handmade paper, handmade marbled paper and leather pieces.  The text will be created with calligraphy and vintage typewriters.  I will include prayers in English, French, Latin, Hebrew, Spanish, Greek, and Arabic. I am selecting prayers that would traditionally be offered by women either in public worship or in private daily devotions.


I did not have a typewriter that could do Arabic or Greek characters, so I put out a request through facebook last year to a group I belong to asking to purchase these machines.  Most of the typers with Arabic or Greek characters are really expensive and hard to come by on the auction sites. A friend in Australia who collects Arabic typewriters
got in touch to tell me had one for me and would donate it to my book project!  

His name was Scott. It just so happened that my stepson Adam was finishing up his "big explore" trip to Australia, so Scott shipped this little beauty to him and Adam carried it home to me in Canada last year!

I have yet to do a thorough cleaning of the machine, but it works well. I have friends here in Deep River who speak Arabic and who have graciously offered to help me with the text when the time comes.  I am still on the hunt for a Greek typewriter, and I already have a Hebrew typewriter.


"The Language of Prayer" unique artist's book will be my first creative project after my journey through breast cancer and autoimmune encephalitis this year. During the past eight months dealing with the diagnosis, the treatments and the uncertainty of recovery, I have been supported by my own daily prayers and the loving support of the prayers of our family, friends, parishes we have served in and our current parish.  We have received confirmation from my last MRI of my skull that there is no brain cancer-but I still have swelling from the autoimmune encephalitis, although it is reduced significantly from the original MRI when I was in hospital in Ottawa in September.  I am walking and exercising daily and it feels wonderful to be alive! Working on this new project will be an affirmation for me of my firm belief in the tangible power of prayer in my own life and the lives of those I love.

This past year I have been spending time again with Dorothy Bass' wonderful book, Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time.  Since my illness this year and all that has transpired, each moment of every day has become more precious to me. I feel the presence of my loved ones who have died with me in the studio every day. I feel compelled to create and to share my creative verve with others as an expression of my deep faith in God and all that she brings to the world in every hour of every day. 

With each breath I make and each step I take, I know in my soul that all will be well, and all will be well, with the peace and grace of our mother God, all will be well.

AUSTRALIA--Upcoming Workshops with Dea Fischer!!!!

My dear friend Dea Fischer is headed to Australia in November to offer these workshops!!!

Dea is a gifted teacher with a brilliant creative sense.  Check out her website to learn more about her!

Don't miss this opportunity to take a class from one of the best!

Health update

Nancy while in hospital

Hello everyone. I have been away from my blog since March. I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. I had a successful lumpectomy March 6 in Pembroke. No cancer was found in the 3 lymph nodes removed nor in the margin material removed around the tumour. When I was healed from surgery I underwent a series of chemotherapy treatments, also in Pembroke.  I spent all of my Spring either receiving chemo, sleeping, or watching Netflix.

Our summer holidays at the cottage are a blur-do not remember much. My daughter Emily and her husband Eric came up from Iowa, with my brother-in-law Mike and Emily's good friend Rachel.  We had the 25th Anniversary party to celebrate the building of the cottage. I do not remember any of it.

While we were at the cottage I began experiencing memory lapses and extended periods of confusion. We just thought it was "chemo fog" We went home early and then transferred me to Ottawa to stay with friends while I underwent daily radiation treatments. I came home on the weekends. Towards the end of these treatments I experienced significant confusion and other issues, and ended up in the hospital. I do not remember much of the next little while. François was in Deep River and dear friends stayed with me at the hospital until he arrived.

At first the doctors believed I had brain cancer, but the MRI and CT scans did not present images consistent with that diagnosis, so they were stumped. I experienced two TMI strokes and two seizures.  At this point, out brilliant neurologist proposed that I had Autoimmune 

Encephalitis. The chemo drugs did their job well-kill the cancer-but my immune system confused the lining around my brain with the cancer and started to kill it. The neurologist-Dr. Briscoe-proposed that I be put on prednisone, asteroid, to counteract the directions being sent to my immune system.  If it worked, no brain cancer. If it did not, brain cancer.

Well it worked! I am home recovering. Still weak but I am improving daily. My hair is growing back, red!  François says I look like Tin-Tin! I am on 40mg of prednisone daily through the end of next week, then I step down to 30 mg.  I still can not attend church as my immune system is compromized. I am waiting to hear the results of my blood-work from this week which will tell us whether or not I can return to church.  Autoimmune disease is part of my family history-my sister had Myasthenia Gravis and my mother had Lupus.

When we were preparing to leave hospital, the doctors were talking about what I would be doing at home, care for me, etc.  When they heard about my letterpress equipment in the studio, they turned quickly to François and said, "We do not think it advisable for Nancy to operate this equipment in the near future."  

I have recovered almost all of my memory now, I can translate Latin and can also program the various websites I am responsible for as part of my routine. I am walking around he block and cooking meals. I am working in the studio daily-tidying and organizing. I walk by my presses daily and look longingly at them, but I know better than to attempt anything at this point!

This has been an incredible experience, and I will write more next week. When I started on the prednisone I lost my memory, thought the nurses had kidnapped me, and that I lived in Mt. Carroll, Il. I wanted to put up this post as I have received many emails from people wondering where I was.

Thank you for your concern, your prayers and support.  I feel healed from the breast cancer and am on my way to a full recovery. I am very thankful for all the support from our parish here in Deep River, and also former parishes in Fitzroy Harbour and Cambridge. The power of prayer is an amazing thing, to be sure. 

I definitely feel healed by the power of God-no mistake about it.

This past year I have been spending time again with Dorothy Bass' wonderful book, Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time.  Since my illness this year and all that has transpired, each moment of every day has become more precious to me. I feel the presence of my loved ones who have died with me in the studio every day. I feel compelled to create and to share my creative verve with others as an expression of my deep faith in God and all that she brings to the world in every hour of every day. 

With each breath I make and each step I take, I know in my soul that all will be well, and all will be well, with the peace and grace of our mother God, all will be well.

Making Miniature Leather Books!

James Spyker demonstrating placing the cover boards.

James Spyker came from Toronto to lead a two-day "Making Miniature Leather Books" workshop for the CBBAG-Ottawa Valley Chapter. I was so thankful to take part in this workshop.  

James gave clear instructions and provided a wonderful handout for all of us, all the materials we could want! Each of us also had careful one-on-one instruction when needed.

This course was open to students who had not yet worked with leather. Basics of leather work was covered. Beginning information about paring leather was discussed with demonstrations of using a skiving machine and also a leather paring knife was presented. More detailed information about paring is covered in Bookbinding III, which is part of the CBBAG core course curriculum. These courses are offered through in person sessions in the Ottawa area and also through the CBBAG Home Study Program.

Each student worked on two miniatures-the first having an unadorned cover and containing blank pages. The structure allows the pages to be removed and replaced as each signature is sewn individually into a portion of the spine of the book.  The second contained pre-printed text blocks that were supplied.  I chose to complete a second blank book to practice the book form and brought my text block pages home to complete in my studio.

Our first model book was made with card-stock and 100% cotton paper that is normally sold for printing resumés or business correspondence. We learned how to measure the spine for punching holes in a pattern into the spine that does not cause perforation.  The second book, made with leather, allowed for decoration on the leather cover. We learned how to use punches for making shapes and how to apply them to the cover. I did not finish mine in this way as I made two blank books to learn the form. The first blank book is not shown in this photo.

Model book for learning, final blank book with leather cover.

It was so wonderful to be part of a workshop again with creative and inspiring people!  Our group was diverse, not all CBBAG members, and each person brought their own creative verve to the entire process. I love this mini-book form with the hidden sewing that allows for removal and replacement of a signature should the artisan desire!  James said the form works well in books up to 5" x 7", so I think I will be using it for one of my ABECEDARIUM editions this coming year.

The CBBAG-OV Chapter's next workshop is February 10 is "Sewing Text Blocks" with Spike Minogue as the instructor. You need not be a CBBAG member to take the course. I am really looking forward to learning proper sewing methods from a master bookbinder!  

Off to Boston and Cambridge next week to help my dear friend John Kristensen of Firefly Press with some of the work he needs done before he moves Firefly to its new location in Maine. I am so looking forward to travelling with my friend Spike to the Boston area again. We will be helping John for 2.5 days and spending one day split between John Barrett at Letterpress Things and The Museum of Printing in Haverhill, MA. We also have a tour of North Bennett Street School's bookbinding department with Jeff Altepeter.

I am teaching a workshop on Saturday for ArtsQuest 2018, a local women's art retreat that has been going for many years. My contribution is making a handbound creativity journal with blind-embossed and letterpressed covers. 

The binding form is Japanese Stab Binding. I am using my dye cutting tabletop machines and the Lifestyle Letterpress platform which allows the use of polymer plates for printing letterpress inspired images with coloured ink.  I only have four hours for the workshop, so I have spent the past couple of days putting together a workshop kit with cut pages, needles and binding threads along with coloured and decorated paper stocks for them to use. 

Each participant will have the opportunity to select the colour of their book covers, create either a blind embossed or letterpress printed image on the cover, add coloured stamped images to each page, and to bind the journal. It is my hope that they will use this creativity journal through the reset of their ArtsQuest weekend and into the Spring.



It has been several months since I taught a workshop and I find I am quite excited about leading the women of ArtsQuest 2018 on their bookbinding journey. As I look into my plans for 2018, my creative verve soars with the hope that I will have more concentrated studio time again during the late winter. I find my dreams filled with book designs that involve letterpress text and linoblock images. My heart soars like a hawk when I think of being with dear friends in the Boston area, but I am also longing to be home, in my grotto studio, with music on and the noises of the Challenge Gordon filling the space as I print the books of my dreams. 

This past year I have been spending time again with Dorothy Bass' wonderful book, Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time. Each moment of every day has become more precious to me. I feel the presence of my loved ones who have died with me in the studio every day. I feel compelled to create and to share my creative verve with others as an expression of my deep faith in God and all that she brings to the world in every hour of every day. With each breath I make and each step I take, I know in my soul that all will be well, and all will be well, with the peace and grace of our mother God, all will be well.