Join the Book Arts Program on March 3rd in the Gould Auditorium at the J. Willard Marriott Library with author Terry Tempest Williams and artist Gaylord Schanilec for the release of Oracle Bones, the latest publication from the Red Butte Press.
Oracle Bones Release Event Virtual and In-Person
In-person Release: Gould Auditorium
Sunday, March 3rd, 1:00 - 3:00 PM
J. Willard Marriott Library, Level 1
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Free and open to the public—parking is free on Sundays.
Live stream, Virtual Release: https://youtube.com/live/S9OAq_rBQTM
No need to register—just use this link at the time of the event to join us!
The Book Arts Program is thrilled to release Oracle Bones in February 2024 at the CODEX International Book Fair in Oakland, California. A local release takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah on Sunday, March 3rd from 1:00–3:00 pm in the Gould Auditorium at the J. Willard Marriott Library. Join us for a reading by Terry Tempest Williams and a panel discussion with the creative team, including Gaylord Schanilec. Discounted sales of Oracle Bones are available at the event; light refreshments served.
Oracle Bones is a fine press artists’ book published by the University of Utah's Red Butte Press. The book contains text by Terry Tempest Williams and prints from woodblocks by Gaylord Schanilec, both produced for this edition and not previously published elsewhere.
In the fall of 2015, Gaylord Schanilec and Terry Tempest Williams ventured into south Utah’s desert and returned to the studio with juniper and sandstone artifacts from the author's land. Gaylord built and proofed printing blocks from the found elements; around and through these images, Terry shaped her text. The Red Butte Press designed and crafted an artist’s book out of a vision shared with author and artist.
In the summer of 2019, the press team made cover paper from cotton, abaca, and locally-sourced yucca. Sage leaves were added to the sheets used for the paper spines. which were then dyed with prickly pear and Ephedra (Mormon Tea). Wood and stone blocks were printed on a Vandercook SP20 on Goyu. Text—handset in Bell cast at the Bixler Type Foundry—was printed on a Columbian handpress on Magnani Pescia. Single sheets were hinged then sewn with a pamphlet stitch through a folded spine piece with attached covers. Red Butte Press contributors were Crane Giamo, lead printer and papermaker Marnie Powers-Torrey, master printer and production manager; Amy Thompson, designer; and Emily Tipps, lead binder and papermaker. Imogen Atwood, Ruby Barrett, Erika Bishop, Annie Boyer, Jazmin Gallegos, Annie Hillam, Sara Luz Jensen, and Jonathan Sandberg provided studio assistance at various stages of production. Much appreciation is due to Associate Deans Greg Thompson and Todd Samuelson for their ongoing support.
Oracle Bones is 12" x 10" x 1/4". The edition size is 146 with 20 deluxe, 100 standard, and 26 hors commerce copies. A clamshell box houses each deluxe copy along with a vial of red sand collected by Terry from the land on which she resides. Each is signed by both the writer and artist.
The deluxe is priced at $650 and the standard at $350. To place an order, visit redbuttepress.org. Inquiries can be sent to redbuttepress@utah.edu. Please contact us for international orders.
Terry Tempest Williams is a current writer-in-residence at the Harvard Divinity School. She is the author of numerous books, including the environmental literature classic, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Her most recent books are Erosion—Essays of Undoing and The Moon is Behind Us with Fazal Shaikh. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, Orion Magazine, and numerous anthologies worldwide as a crucial voice for ecological consciousness and social change. She is a recipient of Guggenheim and Lannan Literary Fellowships as well as a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters.
Gaylord Schanilec received a BS from the University of North Dakota in 1977. Noted for his color wood engravings, he established his own press, Midnight Paper Sales, in 1980. He has published more than twenty-five books under this imprint and has accepted numerous commissions, including work for the Greynog Press in Wales and the Grolier Club of New York. Schanilec is the recipient of numerous awards for his books including the Carl Hertzog Award for Excellence in book design and the Greynog Prize. He recently received a McKnight Fellowship in Printmaking, is an Honorary Member of the Double Crown Club, and is an active member of both the Ampersand Club and Fine Press Book Association. His work is represented in most major book arts collections in the United States and in the United Kingdom, and the archive of his working materials is held at the University of Minnesota.
Text from Marriott Library website and email.
