I love printing on antique letterpress!

Ms. Starry, printing What Would Bigfoot Do? at the IPRC, Thanksgiving, '08. Read the full account of this fun project on my blog.

Ms. Starry with The
Book of Love at The
Love Show, Launch Pad Gallery, Portland, Oregon, February '07.

About Ms. Starry Art

I create unique handprinted cards, books, and other art for people who value tradition with a sense of humor. I am inspired by the natural landscape, folk art, local legends, history, and cycling and love sharing my interests with others.

In this hyper-digital age, sending a handprinted card with a personal note to someone is a gift in itself. I love promoting the timeless art of handwritten correspondence, and it makes me happy when people use my art to connect with their friends and family.

I enjoy using 100-year-old letterpress equipment, knowing I am carrying on the history and tradition of printing. And I am committed to using recycled materials and to promoting creative reuse through art.

Debbie West Bio

I was raised in a crafting household and played along while my Mom tried just about every art form there is. Over the years I have worked in media including printmaking, collage, photography, and writing. Now I spend most of my time printmaking - creating letterpress cards featuring original linoleum block and woodcut designs. I also enjoy writing and making zines and handprinted books. I am currently working on a zine about the cross country trip I took while moving to the East Coast.

Exhibits

Jackie the Alligator Woman Postcard in P.S. Postcard Show group show at Em Space Book Arts Center, Sept. - Oct. 2009, Portland, OR

4 Prints in the Northwest Creatures Series - Sasquatch, Jake the Alligator Man, Cadborosaurus, and Aliens - (Linoleum block prints) in The New Year Show, Pony Club Gallery, January 2008, Portland, OR

Data Storage 1 (Assemblage with Recycled Materials) in Reuse 2, April 2007, Portland, OR

The Book of Love (Collage Book) in The Love Show, Launch Pad Gallery, Feb-March, 2007, Portland, OR

S.T.O.P. (Photograph) in Disoriented, And You And You Gallery, December, 2006, Portland OR

Route 8, Texas (Photograph) in America, Launch Pad Gallery, July 2006, Portland, OR

The Beauty in Loneliness (Linoleum Block Print) in Alien and Sedition, Mark Woolley Gallery, June 2006, Portland, OR

The Book of Love: A Work in Progress (Collage Book) in The Art of Surprise, Alberta Art Hop, May, 2006, Portland, OR

Granny’s Bathtub and Aunt Ruth’s Bathroom (Marker Drawings) in The Bathtub Art Museum Art Show, The Know, September 2003, Portland, OR 

Other Artistic Accomplishments

Singer/Songwriter Paula Sinclair set two of my poems to music and they are included on her cd The Good Horse, which is a whole cd of works by Oregon poets that she set to music. It's amazing and I was really honored!

One of my poems, Twists and Turns, is included in a poetry anthology/Portland bridge tour book, Walking Bridges Using Poetry as a Compass, by Sharon Wood Wortman. I was so honored to be included!

The Book of Love combines poetry and images I wrote and created from 1981 to today. I created this book in 2006 as a way of honoring my past relationships and looking toward the future.

Skeletons on Belmont, July 2004, Performance Works Northwest, Portland, OR. In this 45-minute original solo performance piece, I used visual art, spoken word text, and improvisational dance (with a life-sized skeleton) to explore divorce thorough the larger themes of the cycle of life, death and transformation.

The Book of Shadows, July 2005, Portland, OR. This original collage book furthers the themes in Skeletons on Belmont and pays homage to Stan, the fabulous dancing skeleton.