emily larned
thinking what we are doing #1
Sewing Books by Hand
A reflective essay on the observations, thoughts, and feelings that arise in the process of this patient and meditative labor.
hand-mind
one mark one thousand times
Computer Cross-stitch
paper
Opuscule
An ongoing series (2021–) of works on paper: bookmaking actions (folding, sewing, tearing, cutting, punching holes), riso printed studio scraps, and 5x8 black paper.
alder & frankia efemmera reissue series #6
Feminist Powers
Concepts by Charlene Eldridge Wheeler & Peggy Chinn from their 1984 book Peace & Power: A Handbook of Feminist Process, designed in a new rotational poster to be put to use in collaborative work settings.
who governs?
Police Others As You Would Have Others Police You
A print installation made from the archives of artist-activist and New Haven Police educator K.D. Codish at Artspace New Haven, as part of the Who Governs? exhibition of commissioned projects, curated by Frank Mitchell, fall 2020. The publication created for the installation (see below) is currently being expanded into a book.
alder & frankia efemmera reissue series #4
Police Others As You Would Have Others Police You
The amazing true story of the "non-traditional" New Haven Police Academy (1992–2008), which was transformed from a militaristic boot camp into a feminist, academically rigorous, socially engaged, artistic school by local activist and artist K.D. Codish. This publication includes a reprint of Codish's out-of-print 1996 article The New Haven Police Academy: Putting One Sacred Cow Out to Pasture, along with a new 2021 interview with Codish. This publication is currently being expanded into a book.
40 years of bloodroot
Our daily lives have to be a satisfaction in themselves
Described as "a small, perfect book" and selected as Best Book of 2017 by the Endless Bookshelf, Our daily lives have to be a satisfaction in themselves documents 40 years of Bloodroot, the feminist vegetarian restaurant, bookstore, & radical lesbian work collective in Bridgeport, CT. Comprising personal-political essays by Selma Miriam & Noel Furie & many previously unpublished photographs by Noel, the original handmade edition of the book was awarded design honors from AIGA (50 Boooks | 50 Covers), the Type Directors Club (TDC) (World's Best Typography), and the Connecticut Art Directors Club (CADC) (Gold Award in Book Design, Spirit of Creativity Award). New in 2020: offset printed, perfect bound edition, wholesale pricing available upon request.
alder & frankia efemmera reissue series #5
A Witch Recipe for Grievers
A short essay by Selma Miriam of Bloodroot, designed into a lovely contemplative pamphlet intended to be given to a friend in need.
alder & frankia efemmera reissue series #7
Radical Feminist Nursing
A visually reinterpreted reissue of the first newsletter by Cassandra Radical Feminist Nurses Network, founded in 1982, with an introduction by one of the co-founders, Peggy Chinn.
alder & frankia efemmera reissue series #3
Saving Seeds
Originally published in 1987, Saving Seeds: Metaphors of Lesbian Growth, a special issue of Maize: A Lesbian Country Magazine, was created by artist and writer Jenna Weston as a tribute to "magical female-oriented gardens." This 2020 handmade reissue reimagines the black and white original in a range of lush earth tones.
alder & frankia efemmera reissue series #1
Wellbeing is our Birthright
An enlarged reissue of a ~1989/90 leaflet from the New York Black Women's Health Project, along with new print interpretations of its text.
Opuscule
An ongoing series (2022–) of works on paper, using bookmaking processes in experimental ways: here, letterpress printing, wood type, and folded paper to create sculptural monoprints.
a reversible poster for ilssa
Satisfied / Alienated Workers
Satisfied workers experience belongingness, autonomy, and the opportunity to develop new skills. Alienated workers experience centralized control, little community, and no recognition or opportunity for advancement. Rotate this poster to best suit your own working conditions. Handset wood and metal types, printed letterpress, for Impractical Labor.
thinking what we are doing #2
Manifesting the Making
In 2015, ILSSA published an open call for member manifestos. The project, involving 10 collaborating artists and 9 years, is documented in this reflective contextual essay.
surveying the art-going public for their
Opinions on Art
Letterpress printed surveys answered by attendees at guest lectures, open studios, and visiting artist gigs, 2015. Now in a private collection.
head in the clouds lp
Headroom
Computer cross-stitch record cover for the one and only Kryssi Battalene, out on Trouble in Mind Records.
ps contact sheet typesetting
Automated Hand-setting
essential tools for living
ILSSA Implement
ILSSA Implement: Essential Tools for Living explores and expands the potential of the toolkit, inviting individuals to consider and share what they deem to be essential tools for living. Installed at Hunt Gallery, Webster University, St. Louis, MO, November 16, 2018–January 5, 2019.
marxian letterpress broadsides pegged to the dow
The Stock Project
a chronobiology self-test for ilssa
Making Time Quarterly
Are you always +2 at 11am? The summer 2016 ILSSA Quarterly included Making Time, a chronobiological self-test to determine your own personal time cycle, made in collaboration with John Labovitz and Bridget Elmer.
one mark one thousand times
Computer Cross-stitch
old-new
album cover: games of skill & chance
Record cover for the amazing TABLES, out on Safety Meeting Records.
surveying the 2nd state of the
ILSSA Union
In the March 2020 News Bulletin, ILSSA asks impractical laborers to report their experiences with COVID-19 for an upcoming publication A Trying Time: An ILSSA Quaranzine for Working Together, Alone and to assess their working conditions as impractical laborers, borrowing a rubric from sociology: Do you experience autonomy? How well are you challenged? Do you experience belongingness? How well are you recognized? Do you experience opportunities to develop new skills? Do you experience freedom from pressure toward economic growth? Are you committed to your impractical labor because it is compatible with your personal goals, needs, and values? Survey answers will be compiled in the forthcoming 2nd State of the ILSSA Union and shared with all members.
experiments in paper typography
A Woven Alphabet
make the most
towards a colllective framework
ILSSA Frameworks
ILSSA Frameworks is ILSSA’s latest call & response, asking impractical laborers What frameworks are essential supporting structures for your practice? Read a review of the September 2019 show at Unrequited Leisure (Nashville, TN) over at Number:Inc Magazine.
alder & frankia efemmera reissue series #2
The Reaction of Women to the Inferior Status of Women
An enlarged reissue and new letterpress print of 1973 lecture notes by Dr. Dorothy Tennov for her class "Female Psychology," the first Women's Studies course at the University of Bridgeport, widely circulated by a leading feminist distributor, KNOW, INC.