It’s been six months to the day since our last blog post. Let’s get caught up, shall we?

Hot off the letterpress. We’re pleased to announce our latest title, Two Rilke Poems, a translation collaboration between the late poet Leslie Norris and Alan Keele, gorgeously illustrated by Rob Buchert. You’ll definitely enjoy reading about this project and looking though our slideshow of photos. Stop by the Two Rilke Poems page for information and links.

Goin’ public. Since February’s award-winning excitement over The Allegory of the Olive Tree, Tryst Press has been plenty busy with exhibitions and lectures:

Harris Fine Arts Center Faculty Show, BYU. Instructors in the Visual Arts department at BYU are currently displaying their work on the main floor of the HFAC, filling the central gallery as well as Gallery 303. Look for our new book, Two Rilke Poems, encased along the westernmost wall.

5th International Book & Paper Arts Triennial Exhibition. The most recent Tryst Press publication, Two Rilke Poems, is presently on exhibition at the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book & Paper Arts, alongside the diverse offerings of nearly four dozen artists from around the world. The closing reception for the show will be on September 12th, from 5:30 till 7:30 p.m. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, stop by and enjoy viewing this unique collection.

L. Tom Perry Special Collections Gallery, Lee Library, BYU. From mid-June through the first part of August, a broad selection of Tryst Press books, ephemera, bookmaking and papermaking tools, as well as our 2008 Hertzog Award were on exhibition in our second solo show. Thanks to Curator Larry Draper and Cataloger Robert Maxwell for their meticulous care in presenting our work.

A. Dean Larsen Book Collecting Conference, BYU. For the second year in a row, Tryst Press was commissioned to design and print a keepsake for conference attendees.  Rob reproduced a beautiful early 20th Century Yellowstone pamphlet cover as a companion piece to Dr. Susan Rugh’s historical and highly entertaining presentation on tourism in Yellowstone National Park. Anyone who received this keepsake who would enjoy reading Rob’s notes on the piece are encouraged to email us and we will be pleased to forward those to you.

Paper Mill Workshop (and a short film). Our papermaking intensive this spring was a terrific experience. Originally scheduled to take place at the Scrub Oak Bindery in Salt Lake, the workshop became an in-house project, and what a joy it was! Our studio was filled for days with fun, intelligent people who were excited (and quick) to learn and to cooperate. We attribute the success of the workshop to the quality of these participants, even more so than to our own preparation. To see photos, read more about the workshop, and to view our first-ever Tryst Press documentary(!) visit the Tryst Press Paper Mill page.

We will likely schedule another of these papermaking intensives sometime during the next year. If you are interested in signing up, are simply curious about the particulars, or would like to hire us to give a workshop elsewhere, please contact us with your queries.

And here’s a note to our Paper Mill pioneers: If any of you would like to share feedback or testimonials about the workshop, we welcome your thoughts. Thanks again for your company and spirit. (So sorry to have forgotten the soup recipes. You’ll just have to join us for another pot luck sometime and we’ll start afresh!)

Tryst Press goes YouTube. Now that we’ve gotten a taste of the fun to be had in creating short films, our heads are filling up with ideas related to our work and beyond. Our first documentary is now posted on YouTube for the whole world to see, and we invite you to keep an eye on our channel, maybe even subscribe. It’s only a matter of time before Tryst Press projects a few more moving pictures.

Rendezvous with UVU. On the final scheduled day of our show at the BYU Lee Library Special Collections Gallery, a squad of talented Marketing & Communications folks from Utah Valley University invited Rob to be the “appetizer” for a design forum lunch. The group met at the library and toured our exhibit, then honored Rob with their attention and questions as he made his presentation there in the gallery. Bonuses for us were hearing Jory Dayne’s interesting report on the recent Icon5 Illustration Conference in NYC, and enjoying the company of these creative minds at a local Indian buffet.

Tryst Press hits the glossies. We are told that we will be written up in the Fall 2008 issue of BYU Magazine, A small article will focus on our recent title, The Allegory of the Olive Tree, and winning the 2008 J. Carl Hertzog Award for Excellence in Book Design. Thanks, BYU!