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Perkolator Press is the imprint of Amy Pirkle, a book artist and letterpress printer born and raised in the deep South. Although Amy is a tried and true Georgia gal, Perkolator Press was established in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where she received her MFA in Book Arts degree in 2007. Amy currently prints in Gordo, Alabama, but still binds in her studio in Tuscaloosa. Relationships are the inspiration for books printed at Perkolator Press, and particularly relationships within families. Perkolator Press prints texts mostly by Southern writers who focus their work on these relationships. |
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As the proprietor of Perkolator Press, Amy is fascinated by the lengths that people will go for love, the struggle to make a failing relationship work, and especially the bonds between family members. All books are designed, letterpress printed, and bound by hand in limited editions.
News:
Amy will be the Master Printer in Residence for the Winter Residency in Letterpress at Penland School of Crafts, Asheville, NC for the months of January and February 2010. During that time, she will be working closely with artists and writers on projects of their choosing, teaching fundamental letterpress skills, and facilitating the creations of edition work. Please click on the Penland icon to the right for more information on this program.
Daily Bread and Byzantine Binding (Untitled) were selected to be included in 500 Handmade Books, Lark Books, a division of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., Asheville, NC. The book came out during 2008, and can be purchased via several online bookstores such as Barnes and Noble or Amazon.
Amy will be having a solo exhibition in Thomson, Georgia beginning September 4, 2009. The exhibit, titled Relativity: Artist’s Books by Amy Pirkle, will be held at the McDuffie Museum, 121 Main Street, Thomson, GA 30824, and will run through November 2009.
Amy received the First Place Award for Pressing South: A Juried Exhibition of Letterpress Printing from the Southeastern United States for her piece Fragments. This exhibit was held at the Cultural Arts Building Art Gallery (CABAG), University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC in early 2009.
Amy's work is represented by Vamp and Tramp Booksellers, LLC, out of Birmingham, Alabama. Thanks to Bill and Vicky Stewart, her work has been purchased by numerous universities and libraries for their permanent collections. Click here for an updated collections list.
Book and Clamshell Box for First Lady Laura Bush:
Amy Pirkle and Steve Miller, the director of the MFA in the Book Arts at The University of Alabama, were commissioned to create a one-of-a-kind genealogy book and presentation box for First Lady Laura Bush in May 2007. Miller designed the text and printed the book, while Amy designed and constructed the binding and clamshell box. The First Lady was presented with two copies of the handbound book and clamshell box, one for her and one for her mother, at the First Lady's Luncheon in Washington, D.C.
(Above: a photo of Amy working on the First Lady's genealogy book.
Below: Laura Bush receives the book and clamshell boxes at the First Lady's Luncheon in May 2007)click here for older news and an exhibition list
site updated December 2009
