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I am Chad Pastotnik, proprietor of Deep Wood Press which I established in 1992 when I purchased my little piece of paradise and built my first studio on the property. Nestled in the forest along the banks of the Cedar River in Northern Michigan's Antrim County, Deep Wood Press has continued a centuries old tradition of hand-made books, bindings and other printed matter. With a foundation in fine art and a careful attention to craftsmanship and detail the end result is, hopefully, more than a vehicle for information. It is very important to me to maintain the traditional practices of printmaking, letterpress and book binding. The fine press world is somewhat moving away from analog composition but, admittedly, it is very difficult to set up a traditional print shop in the 21st century. Most of the type and specialized equipment is now long gone and the means to make more is lost now in this continent so having put together a collection of very functional "vintage" equipment and desirable typefaces the best way to maintain it – is to use it. The books are printed via letterpress on fine papers and are illustrated with art work from original wood engravings, lino cuts and intaglio prints from the plates/blocks created by the artist, often my own. The text is from metal type cast here on a Linotype composition caster or hand set from the type cases. These sheets are then bound by hand in traditional and contemporary book structures using fine leathers, book cloth and papers often with a slipcase or drop spine box to hold them. All this is done here in one place. Each aspect of a book conceived, created and finished in these two buildings. Maybe not quickly but I find it quite satisfactory work and often have the help of past apprentices when needed. Most of my inspiration comes from a deep admiration of what was done by fine printers from the 16th though early 20th century – a classical sensibility. Admittedly I have little taste for more "modern" styles, even shying away from sans types for the most part though having a healthy collection of type of that sort. I was fortunate to have been given a gift of a fellow printers library in the early 90's. Though I never knew the man I came to know his friends quite well by their inscriptions to him in the books they gave to him: Morris, Jones, Grabhorn, Rogers, Updike, Cleland, Dwiggins – these are the men I mostly learned my craft from and they led me back further to the printers past that they in turn held in awe. Since then I've been fortunate enough to manhandle a few Gutenberg bibles, Copernicus's note-book, Sanskrit fragments on papyrus and illuminated manuscripts from the hand of Irish monks. I know by all these things that I have oh so far to go. I'll keep trying. Oh yes, and then there's the trout stream 30 feet out the back door! 
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Pastotnik chad@deepwoodpress.com Deep Wood Press P.O. Box 726 - USPS mail 121 Doerr Rd. - FedX/UPS shipping Mancelona, MI 49659 231-587-0506 ** Visits by appointment only. Contact Chad for a PDF map with directions to get here. Do not trust your GPS or phone! It is not accurate in the north woods and will put you on "roads" your car was never meant to see. |
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Wood Press is via either:
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 the bindery & printing studio building |
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 the river |
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Institutions that collect my work:
Miscellaneous: Board Position, Louis Jou Foundation, Grand rue, 13520 Les Baux-de-Provence, France, 2023 • Louis Jou (1881-1968) was a wood engraver, typographer and printer who designed his own typefaces and created 167 books in his lifetime.The Foundation, created in 2017, continues to occupy Jou’s studio spaces and home in historic Les Baux where Jou relocated from Paris in 1939. My role is printer, assessment and repair of Jou’s equipment and studio and program coordinator. Instructor - Typography workshop using Louis Jou's type family. Louis Jou Foundation, Les Baux-de-Provence. 10/23 Lecture - The Nature of the Book, LowellArts, Lowell, MI 10/21 CODEX Foundation Special Project - WORDS on the Edge: Broadside Portfolio. The portfolio, consisting of twenty-six poems and lyrical texts addressing themes of nature and its irresponsible destruction, is a part of an international artist's intervention�EXTRACTION: Art on the Edge of the Abyss. Twenty-six notable poets, artists, and writers have been paired with an equal number of highly regarded letterpress printers from four countries; each has been invited to produce an editioned broadside/print especially for this portfolio. 3/19 Mad Parrot Press - A new press mark founded with old partner James Dissette, formerly Chester River Press. 2019- A new press mark founded with old partner James Dissette, formerly Chester River Press. 2019 Lecture - Bear River Writer's Conference. Camp Michigania, Walloon Lake, MI. 6/16 Sonnets 2016 - Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford, UK. 2016 Grant Award -
Chad Pastotnik has been awarded one of the 2016 Michigan Traditional
Arts Apprenticeship Award. The grant was given as acknowledgment for
the 15+ years of training apprentices and students. Blackbird Book Arts & Press -
Deep Wood Press joined forces with Blackbird Arts in Traverse City,
Michigan to create a new book arts center in Northern Michigan. The
space included facilities for letterpress, intaglio, silk screen and
workspace for bindery activities. 2016-18 Lectures and Workshop, Seattle Book Arts Guild, Seattle, WA. Lectures, "23 Years of Deep Wood Press" held at the University of Washington Allen Library and Pacific Lutheran University (Takoma) with the workshop, Multi Color Linoleum & Reduction Printing, which was hosted at Pacific Lutheran's letterpress and printmaking departments. 3/15 PBS television feature - PBS television series A Craftsman's Legacy season 1, episode 11 - The Book Maker. Feature Article
in The Flyfish Journal.
Written by James Spica Jr., fall/winter 2015 Commissioned work,
Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles "Michaelmas Term card", Oxford,
England. 10/12 Exhibition "Put it on Paper" Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing, MI. 8/13 Commissioned work,
Michigan State Archives. Reproducing historic Michigan iconography and
maps from imagery and sometimes original plates via letterpress and
intaglio for Archives use and sale items on the web at their Seeking
Michigan
website. Working with the state archivist and doing consulting,
demonstrations and digital reconstruction of images. 2011 - present Interlochen Public Radio,
(2006) News
feature. - Radio interview, contrasting the modern with traditional
publishing practices and the paperless society. Feature Article in Traverse magazine Jan. 2003 Published, Collaborative print illustration with Glenn Wolff in the book The Moon Pulled Up an Acre of Bass by Peter Kaminsky. Hyperion Press, 2001 National Public Radio, (1996)
All Things Considered (The Great Lakes Radio Consortium) - Radio
interview, highlight on the book arts and the history of print.
Michelle Corum, Interlochen Public Radio. Printers Row Book Fair - Exhibitor Feature Article in Chicago magazine Jan. 1995 Video Documentary - Deep Wood Studio & PressVHS tape for education purposes and university archives. Direct Encounter with the Arts, Professor Terry Nihart, Western Michigan University. 8/94  Selected Exhibitions: National Print Museum, Affiliations:
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