TOP OF THE HILL, Drew Ludwig, 2015 MFA Photo

The snow is falling and the road to the printing press is about to be closed for the season. YES YES YES it is true. I have found a spot, a roof, a ventilation system and a heating source to house this little offset press. A great success. Bad news, It sits at 10,565 feet and the only road to its door will soon become a ski run only to reopen to 4X4 traffic in May. Back to the good news; there is a free Gondola that takes me right there and they even give out woolen blankets for the cold ride. NO NEED FOR A ROAD! The home of the press, and the soul of our little publication, THE DUMBSAINT, is atop the U S of A’s only public Gondola and may be, and hopefully so, the highest press in the world. Probably not but I will refrain from googling in the off chance my assumption is right. Guilty until proven innocent.

For a little context/perspective here are a few floor plans, photos and other reference points for you to definitively know, without question, where THE DUMBSAINT shall be entombed between the towns of Telluride, CO and Mountain Village, CO. For those that demand more precision : (37degrees 55minutes and 51.8 seconds North by 107 degrees 49 minutes and 56.82 seconds West)

THIS IS A SKI MAP WITH BOOM HOT PINK STAR WHERE PRESS AWAITS

THIS IS A TOURIST BROCHURE WITH BOOM HOT PINK STAR WHERE PRESS AWAITS

THIS IS A PHOTO TAKEN FROM TELLURIDE LOOKING UP WITH BOOM HOT PINK STAR OVER PRESS PALACE

FLOOR PLAN OF PRESS PALACE WITH RAINBOW EXPLOSION COMING FROM EXACT POINT WHERE PRESS AWAITS

THIS I WHAT THE PRESS LOOKS LIKE IN THE ROOM WHERE RAINBOW EXPLOSIONS WILL Emanate (sticks and pipes and yard tools will be cleaned out after the first of the year):

THIS IS WHAT THE TRUCK LOOKED LIKE THAT WAS CARRYING THE PRESS FROM CALIFORNIA (rainbow explosion housed behind SAIA door):

AND HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE ASCENSION VIA THE GONDOLA. A path to the promised land free of charge and open to the public and even your pets can ride too.

So now you know the WHERE. Other good news. Picked up a huge paper cutter and a load of free oil based inks from a printing press in Denver (seven hour one way drive) that was going out of business, so now we have color and a way to trim the final product. Other good news … a lovely lovely lovely human being whom graduated from the RISD printmaking department is going to come out in January and put the pieces of the press back together. I had to pull a humpty dumpty to ship the beast out here and now I don’t know if I or the all the king’s men could put this thing back together. Luckily Julia is on the case and will be out here soon with all her knowledge and a snow board or two.

Other updates. We received a local grant for our first publication to come flying off the press in February. I have a collaborator in chief on the project, her name is Katie Klingsporn and she inspires me on many fronts (http://katieklingsporn.com). The town is sooo ready for a little print culture and there is anticipation for our first publication. I am still working with Telluride Arts, the local arts non-profit in Telluride, to establish a large art center in the core of town. Think RISD works or one of AS220’s communal workspaces. We are still in the planning stage of this and working with Artspace (artspace.org) a national nonprofit working towards developing space for the creative process on a community scale.

The Maharam Fellowship is coming to a close and none of this would be possible without the assisting funds contributed by Maharam and the mentorship of Kevin Jankowski over at the RISD career center. Seriously, if anyone is reading this drop what you are doing and go over and pay Kevin a visit right now and ask him just about anything and await a deeply felt response and sense of connection to the wonder in the world! I learned a great great great deal from him and am most grateful for his time and assistance through this process.

Come out to Telluride anytime and visit me, the press and THE DUMBSAINT. Either that or keep checking in with me so you can get on our mailing list to receive a copy of THE DUMBSAINT!!

thedrewludwig@gmail.com