About The Author
Cuban-born Carmen Gutiérrez Bolger is a visual artist and former Operations Manager in charge of Prepress at Bolger. Carmen’s 20-year graphic arts career includes her role as a Board of Director in the National Composition Association (NCA), Typographers International Association (TIA), the International Digital Imaging Association (IDIA) and Women Venture. Additionally, she was Board Chair of IDIA and most recently the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA). Carmen works in her studio in the Casket Arts Building in Northeast Minneapolis.
CONCEPT
I’ve always wanted to create a collaborative piece to show the artistic side of Bolger and the 2021 Holiday card felt like the right project.
Work started in the beginning of September 2021 with a call for employees and their families to submit a poem with the theme of Winter. A total of 10 employees and one family member submitted. Five were chosen by our juror, poet Jim Lenfestey, the winner of the 2020 Kay Sexton Award for significant contributions to the Minnesota literary community and a friend and client.
Once we had selected the poems, our approach was to contrast the traditional, hand-fed letterpress printing process with the highest quality digital print technology on the 7 color, Indigo 15000.
”Our hope is that recipients of this holiday greeting will enjoy seeing the art and interacting with the pieces. It is a small gift from all of us at Bolger.
PROJECT AND TEAM
When thinking about design and production, I assembled a group of artists that coincidentally all work in the same arts building where my studio is located: The Casket Arts Building, in N.E. Minneapolis. The synergy was apparent.
Amanda Degener of Cave Paper Editions and renowned in her field, hand-made the paper for the poems according to our specs. The off-white paper is imported Belgium flax fiber. The white paper is Cotton Rag. Both fibers were beaten in a Hollander beater for over two hours. 380 sheets were made on an 18” x 22” mould, pressed, then loft dried. Amanda also is a friend and client.
Kerri (Mulcare) Sandve, an interdisciplinary artist and writer, printed the edition of 750 at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts on a Vandercook #4 Press. Kerri had worked on a project with Amanda in the past and introduced me to her studio mate, Franny.
Franny Fuller, a designer and illustrator, also works with exhibition identity design and motion work. Franny came up with the idea to make part of the package into postcards that clients and friends will be able to mail out — reusable print.
Suzanne Skon is a visual artist and my studio mate for the past 15 years. While working on a series of eight winter oil and collage paintings, she agreed to let us reproduce her work. “The series,” she says, “entitled ‘Excursions: Snow, Sunlight, and Shadow,’ incorporates photos taken in January 2021, when the world was very quiet.”
And me, Carmen Gutiérrez Bolger. I work in oil, collage, and create site-specific installations. My inspiration comes from my Latina culture, my love of the graphic arts and the enjoyment I get from collaborating with other artists.
FINAL PIECE
Poets:
Rick Kline, Vice President Compliance
Mike Baermann, CSR/Estimating/Planning
Anna Sveiven: daughter of Denise Sveiven, Prepress Operator
Megan Forslund, Administrative Assistant
