‘Feel curious and walk away with questions’
Grand artist-in-residence lives life by the book
McElin sets metal type by hand for covers and question cards in Cellar Press. Type for the series is set letter by letter. (Photo by Amy Zents)
Emery McElin poses in front of The Grand Center for Arts and Culture. McElin applied for the residency after seeing photos of the building. (Photo by Amy Zents)
McElin holds a small book from the "Intergalactic Caretaking" series. The books combine watercolor, letterpress and handmade paper and are meant to be held. (Photo by Amy Zents)
McElin sets metal type by hand for covers and question cards in Cellar Press. Type for the series is set letter by letter. (Photo by Amy Zents)
Emery McElin poses in front of The Grand Center for Arts and Culture. McElin applied for the residency after seeing photos of the building. (Photo by Amy Zents)
McElin holds a small book from the "Intergalactic Caretaking" series. The books combine watercolor, letterpress and handmade paper and are meant to be held. (Photo by Amy Zents)
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NEW ULM -- A Minneapolis illustrator is finishing a three-week residency in the basement of The Grand Center for Arts and Culture.
Emery McElin is working in Cellar Press, the letterpress and printmaking studio at The Grand. The residency runs Sept. 2-23.
McElin is one of eight artists in the Cellar Press Artist-in-Residence program this year. The program offers artists two to three weeks to work in letterpress, printmaking and bookbinding. The studio includes a 1938 Kluge press, Vandercook presses, a Takach etching press and cases of wood and metal type.
McElin is an illustrator, printmaker and bookmaker based in Minneapolis.
During the residency McElin is making a series called “Intergalactic Caretaking.”
McElin said books have become a way to process events.
“I’m using my books to look back and examine events in my life. I live with CPTSD, and it’s a way to safely process these events,” McElin said.
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder, or CPTSD, is a mental health condition that can develop after chronic or long-term trauma.
McElin said narrative provides distance when working with emotional material.
“It provides a buffer for me when talking about emotional content and having this kind of metaphor to go back and forth on,” McElin said.
The Grand describes McElin’s project as examining patterns of alienation experienced through parental relationships and uses the image of an astronaut to reflect disconnection.
McElin makes small books that are meant to be held.
“I really like how it encourages people to get close to the work,” McElin said. “I think it’s really important to pick up pieces.”
In the studio McElin showed pages with embossment. McElin said the texture relates to illustrations gathered of solar panels from the International Space Station.
The series examines family relationships through space flight.
McElin said the idea started with astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were described as stranded when their shuttle had problems a couple of years ago.
McElin said they were safe on the space station and the crew was stuck together.
“Something about it felt very family,” McElin said.
McElin said the series now imagines a younger version of themself in that position.
“This is a way for me to send a care package and to send tools and resources,” McElin said.
The books combine watercolor, letterpress, bookbinding and handmade paper.
Not all paper is handmade. McElin said some is Japanese paper that is thick and strong. Other sheets were made at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis, where McElin is a member.
McElin described ripping fibers to about an inch square and beating them in a machine that separates the fibers. The process takes hours.
“Three hours, four hours to beat the paper, and then more hours to make the sheets,” McElin said.
Watercolors are done by hand, layer by layer, from reference photos. One work shows a view of Earth from the space station. Type for covers and question cards is set by hand, letter by letter.
A typical day starts around noon and runs into the night.
“I like to have a slow morning and get to the studio around noon and work for about three hours, take a break and come back in the evening,” McElin said. “I am a night owl.”
McElin said they listen to music on a laptop while working, with instrumental jazz when setting type. The studio is isolating.
“It’s isolating here. You’re able to really sink into your work,” McElin said.
McElin applied for the residency after seeing photos of The Grand. The equipment was a factor. The studio was built with donations and volunteer work, including work by founder Anne Makepeace.
“I think preserving the skills of using these machines is really important,” McElin said.
McElin said they were surprised by the music scene in New Ulm. While working in the basement, McElin hears music from upstairs at The Grand.
McElin comes from a family of artists. McElin said their mother is a textile artist and their sibling is a printmaker. McElin cited book artist Karen Wirth as an influence.
McElin and their partner run a small press in Minneapolis called Venga Press. The press received a grant this summer for a public printing event.
As part of the residency, McElin will illustrate postcards of the presses at Cellar Press, screen print them in Minneapolis and send them back for The Grand to use as donor thank-you cards.
McElin said they want viewers who pick up the finished books to feel care and curiosity.
“I hope they feel a sense of care for the pieces and that they know that’s for the viewer,” McElin said. “I want them to feel curious and walk away with questions.”
McElin will photograph the work and share it online for feedback.
The work will return to New Ulm for the Artist Residency Gallery Show at Four Pillars Gallery next summer. The show will be open to the public.