A first publication is meant to be an unforgettable experience and the creation of Bread & Ink was no different. Five months and many hours-long shifts of planning, designing, writing, and printing taught me much more than I expected. The experience taught me how to use silkscreen, how to publish a book, and (most importantly) the true meaning of collaboration.
A Bit About Bread & Ink:
Bread & Ink is a handmade chapbook written and designed by Bijal Prajapati and Angela Fedele and published by The inPrint Collective. The poetry was written by Bijal, except for the last piece by Angela, and collectively the poems delve into the complexities of diversity, language, and identity. All the accompanying images, save the last, were chosen by Angela not only complement the poetry but support the themes in its own regard. The works celebrate a mix of Canadian, Indian, and Italian cultures, bringing them together in unity. Each page in all 77 copies was carefully cut, designed, silkscreened, and bound together by hand. The title was chosen by Angela and the cover design was done by Bijal.
The First Meeting:
On July 1, 2019 in the Junction Triangle, Toronto, seven poets met their paired artists. Angela, the artist and now former inPrint Collective member, and I, the poet, started planning the general ideas of the chapbook the first day we met. We discussed our understanding and perspective of the term "diversity", which was the theme of the arts residency. We agreed to focus on language and identity as a base of our chapbook. This was also when the number “3” was brought into the conversation. Three represented several different aspects of the project: the poet, the artist, and the product; the heart, the brain, and the soul; being Indian, Italian, and Canadian. Three was our starting point.
The First Page:
Before the end of July, I finished writing the first poem which set the tone of the chapbook. The poem, titled "3", welcomes the reader into an alien world, setting them apart to navigate the book as an outsider. Upon completing the first poem, Angela found an image to go with it and quickly printed the first two pages of the chapbook. She was adamant about designing the book on her own and came up with a unique style not seen anywhere else. I was excited to have my hands in the printing process as well and helped out with cutting the Japanese washi paper that is used throughout the book. We used a cutting board and precision knife and cut out every single paper individually. Six hundred and sixteen pages were hand cut in preparation for printing.
Preparation work and printing in progress:
When I signed up for the residency, I was mostly looking forward to the workshops that were offered, which I hoped would help me improve my writing and teach me publishing techniques that I could take away for future projects. I did my best to be part of everything The inPrint Collective had to offer.
In July, during the silk screen workshop, I was taught how to print using all the equipment. I learned how to spread emulsion on a screen and expose an image on it in a dark room. Pulling the ink across the board with a squeegee wasn't as easy as it looked and aligning the paper meant holding your breath and accepting "happy little accidents." Using silkscreen was incredibly fun and since I wasn't able to do much printing with the chapbook, The inPrint Collective allowed me to complete an independent project: "an eternal dance."
In August, Andrea Thompson hosted a spoken-word poetry workshop. She provided tips on how to improve writing and pointers on expression during spoken-word poetry. Her talk about expression and the exercise, "what do people say I am too much of" helped me with writing the poems about identity, a theme Angela and I agreed on.
A poem I made with a prompt by Andrea called "Light":
Lights look like fairies dancing in clouds.
Lights smell sweet potions.
Lights taste like cotton candy just before the flavor settles on your tongue.
Lights feel like butterflies just before they land on your hand.
Lights sound like danger, run.
In September, there was a bookbinding and paper folding workshop hosted by Maureen Da Silva. During the workshop, we learned about folding techniques to make an accordion book (see image 1 below) as well as various stitching techniques, including Japanese stab binding (see image 2 below). I learned how to use a needle and thread, mull, and bone folder (see image 3 below).
Bookbinding images:
In October, guest-speaker Justine Abigail discussed what it was like to self-publish her magazine LIVING-HYPHEN. She spoke of uncertainty and persistence, of collaboration and reaching out, of focusing on what makes you, you and using it to propel your craft. Her workshop gave me the final push I needed to complete writing my final few poems.
The Writer-Artist Flip:
From the very first day, Angela and I agreed we would switch roles for one of our pages. I would get the opportunity to do art and print while she would get the opportunity to write a poem of her own. This switch gave me the first opportunity to print with silkscreen. I was excited to complete an art page of my own as art is a passion of mine as well.
My first silk screen page:
The Title:
In October, after the bulk of the works were completed and printed, it was time to put the pages together and finalize the chapbook. Angela and I had several back-and-forth discussions about the title. We agreed on the word "ink" to incorporate the production elements of the chapbook itself. I suggested the title "Inked Skin" as I believed the pages of the chapbook were like skin being inked and because most, if not all, my poetry alluded to diversity and mixed cultures. "Skin" also included the element of visible diversity between the creators of the book which kept inline with the theme of the residency. But the deadline was coming up and Angela had chosen the title "Bread & Ink" to symbolize companionship during the making of the book. She had expressed discomfort with the word "skin" as it gave off the impression of tattoos. In hopes to keep harmony, I agreed to title the book "Bread & Ink" and completed all elements of the chapbook, the cover, the ISBN code, and the thank you page.
The Binding and Finalizing:
Printing took multiple days and nights: a combined total of 1,696 print runs were made to complete all 77 copies. Binding was not any easier. A combined total of 116 hours were spent on binding. Angela, with her experience in art and binding, suggested we use a custom coptic binding technique. Since we were nearing the end of the residency and the book launch date was fast approaching, several sleepless nights were spent binding away. The experience was worth every second of hard work and love that went into each page of the chapbooks.
The Book Launch Party:
It’s November 16, 2019, the day of the book launching party arrived! I felt a sense of accomplishment seeing our book displayed with the other beautiful books created during the residency.
The Promoting Process:
The inPrint Collective did all the promotion and sales on the residences' behalf. They set up booths at Markets, including the Indie Literary Market at Trinity-St. Paul and Made By Feminists Market at OCAD University. I was curious as to how promoting worked and visited the latter mentioned market. The booth was beautifully set with the residency books placed in the middle of the table. Seeing customers checking out the works and sharing their feedback was heartwarming.
The residency was complete, and I left the studio proud of the experience and effort I put into every second of the project. I learned to listen, share, and create with an open mind. These lessons are the ones I will remember in all my future projects.
Interested in checking out Bread & Ink yourself? Check out The inPrint Collective's Etsy page here!
There are a limited copies of Bread & Ink. One copy will remain with the poet, the other with the artist, and the last remains at the studio where the books where made. No more copies will be printed.
Special thanks to the inPrint Collective for this opportunity as well as the sponsors Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, and Speedball.
Links:
*All images in this post were taken by Bijal or have permission from the photographer to use.