A typical Trelex project

I just wanted to add a quick note about a recent event at Trelex that was really very very special to me. Early last week, I a book arrived from Holland and landed on my kitchen table. This would in and of itself have been celebrated with a long cup of coffee and some hours of reading in a hammock but this was a very very special book. It had been conceived by Michiel Shepers at the other Trelex Residency, deep in the Peruvian Amazon, around notes, sketches and watercolours made there while on a month long residency and then been finished with a lot of consideration in Leiden over the following 7-8 months.

As if that wasn't enough, when I contacted Michiel Schepers to thank him and to suggest that he come to Trelex and work on turning the book into an artist book edition, he announced he would swing by for a night a few days later as he was on his way to a trip round the alps.

So I had an opportunity to put to good use all I had learnt last summer on the Trelex Book Art Summer retreat as I passed on knowledge I have been given by other residents to Michiel and taught him so basic Adobe Indesign. We worked hard for a good 24 hours together (Michiel far longer hours than me!), discussed every detail of the text, font, layout, line spacing, captions, dedication, cover design, image/text arrangement, title, exchanged a ton of ideas (some completely tangential to the actual book) and got the book into pdf format to be enjoyed online for now:

Secil Erel and Gizem Ünlü - presently residents at Trelex - joined in the discussion and helped resolve points Michiel and I were in disagreement over. It was a real treat to be at the centre of so much given and received and feeling the international network of artists continue to grow around the residencies.

The next step will be to find a printer who can turn this book and some of the book projects that have taken shape here in Trelex into printed volumes in small runs (100-200 volumes) without compromising on quality or breaking the bank. Does anyone know such a printer in Switzerland or in the UK?

Hopefully this will inspire other to take a chance on an Artist without any application forms (the creative equivalent of putting the cart in front of the horses). More often than not this produces something of value that surprises both the host and the artist in equal measure - something that couldn't have been planned for without considerable anxiety on both sides of the equation.