In 2004 Pati Scobey began an on-going project titled “A Chronicle of Images”. Using a letterpress, she has been making a series of prints which combine linoleum cuts, collagraphs and sometimes typographical elements. Rich and varied in color and design, the prints involve multiple runs through the press. Produced in a rural section of Michigan, where Pati has lived for many years, they are inspired by her ongoing observations, connections and readings, stemming from an active commitment to ideas and impressions that are energizing yet quietly felt.
In Pati’s words:
I can feel the first part of my life rub against the last part. Both, however, meld in my work as a visual artist. Being raised in an Air Force family, my early environment continually shifted and allowed me glimpses of other cultures and landscapes. In contrast, for the past 17 years I have been tied to one piece of land in Michigan and have developed a deep connection to place. Approaching my work in printmaking and bookmaking with an attitude of exploration and experimentation, I balance discovery with planning and I work through ideas in a spirit as akin to drawing as to printing. My printing process is comprised of combining plates depicting narratives and patterns in nature with stencils which are a vocabulary of shapes and characters. Through the manipulation of these elements, I produce layers and levels of form and color on the page or in the book which evoke a sense of movement, geography, and journeys. I view the work as an attempt to answer questions I ask myself.
The prints are distributed to Pati’s subscribers (those who sign up in advance to receive the years’ prints when they are published for a reduced price).
The idea of subscription prints is not unique to Pati, but most of the subscriptions series I’m aware of involve letterpress printing. Shereen LaPlantz conducted an ambitious series of subscription how to books in the late 1990’s. Long out of print, some of those titles are still available here.
Pati’s subscription prints are printed in edition sizes ranging from 125 − 150 depending on the number of subscribers and are published twice annually. Abecedarian is pleased to offer single prints from the series for those who have missed a print from the series, or want specific prints without subscribing. Click here to see current inventory.
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