Acts of Kindness and of Love

Acts of Kindness and of Love

Text by John Metcalf
Prints by Tony Calzetta

This Limited Edition 'livre d'artiste' consists of Fifty Regular Copies, Twelve Special Copies, Five Artist's Proofs and Three Handling Copies.

The Story

Acts of Kindness and of Love was originally commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and broadcast in a series called 'A Sense of Place.' I had decided to use the techniques of fiction to write a hybrid creation which was part memoir, part essay, and part meditation on the stone farmhouse in Delta we lived in, on the surrounding countryside, and on the enchanted nature of the world children inhabit; I might well have titled the piece: 'A Prayer for My Daughter.'

John Metcalf

The Prints

When visiting Delta, Ontario, the setting which inspired Acts of Kindness and of Love, I was struck by the coarse beauty of the natural setting, in particular the Scotch thistle which was growing in wild abundance. It was the thistle with its contrasting attributes, beautiful colour and form and threatening spiny prickliness, that seemed to best capture the mood of the story. This is the visual inspiration I took back to my studio and to PRESSWERK EDITIONS and which I used to create the hand-coloured woodcuts that accompany the text.

Tony Calzetta

The text was printed on BFK Rives paper (250 gsm), linotronically set in Baskerville and printed from Polymer plates at Lunar Caustic Press, Toronto, Canada.

Bound into all copies are three hand-coloured woodcuts created by Tony Calzetta. These woodcuts were hand printed by Dieter Grund and the artist at PRESSWERK EDITIONS.

All copies are bound in hard cover with Kurotani Silk and Purple Silk endpapers by Felton Book Binding Limited, Georgetown, Canada.

There are fifty Regular Copies presented in cloth covered slip cases.

In addition to the three prints bound into the book, the artist created twelve different woodcuts. Each of these woodcuts was printed in a limited edition of eighteen on 8.5" x 11" black Arches paper and hand coloured by the artist. The image size is 6" x 8" (see images below).

Besides the Regular Edition of fifty copies another twelve livres d'artiste were bound to create a Special Edition. Each of the Special Edition copies are housed in boxes designed and assembled by the artist from woods of purple heart and pau-amerello. Laminated to the cover of each box is one of the cancelled woodblocks from the twelve additional prints. Each Special Edition copy includes the first print pulled from the woodblock on the cover of its box as well as a sheet of the author's handwritten manuscript.

The Special Edition is sold out. A limited number of The Fifty Regular Copies of the book are still for sale. Sets or individual copies of the twelve prints can also be purchased. For further details please send email to calzetta at idirect dot com

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