When I work with another creative, which is often, we each bring our various skills to the table to try and make something more than the sum of our parts. You can click here to read about some of my awesome collaborators, and here if you think you might want to make a thing together in the future!
Penrose Press is about comfort.
The world is a mess, and a lot of us are feeling that deeply. It can be overwhelming and disheartening to live in the biggness and badness of global events. Books, poetry, and art are here for us to hang onto. Penrose is here to affirm your escapist reading practices, and help you remember the comfort a story can bring. Spend some time in this safety and reassurance, and when you come back to yourself you will be more able to tackle your role in reality.
Try to remember to put on your own oxygen mask before helping those around you.
Hi, I'm Brianna Tosswill
Penrose Press is my bookarts practice. That means I sometimes make books, and I sometimes make art objects that give you the reading-feeling without bearing a strong resemblance to the codex format. A book by my definition could be any number of things including a scroll, a bit of folded paper, a table (that's an idea for the future), a weaving, or a memory.
If that's too much to process, just know I make prints via letterpress and linocut. I collaborate with storytellers. I give you something to hold onto while your mind is far away.
You can read more on the Penrose Press Blog:
Linocut Bibliophile
Since 2019 I've been choosing to embrace my nose-in-book tendencies and as a result, I've made a few really cool reduction linocuts featuring readers. Beyond subject matter, each print aims to capture the specific feelings associated with reading, like
-the mythology of having a whole day to read, sans interruption, without guilt.
-the way reading can become and out-of-body experience
-what would a perfect place to read look like?
Penrose Press Collaborations
Penrose Press started life as an aspiring indie publisher but now it's the umbrella that shelters all of my collaborative efforts. Recently, I've worked with Evelyn Elgie on a book of poetry that has some assembly required (How to Wash and Fold Conversations with the Ocean) and with Kim McCollum on a subscription package to celebrate handwoven samples (A Tactile Notion). I've got 4 poetic works coming in 2021, and I recommend signing up for these sweet emails so you don't miss any of them!
