Biobay Crankie by Jessica White
This piece is featured in the February 2025 issue of The Fore Edge, a quarterly newsletter from MCBA that highlights new artist’s books and zines for collections, universities, and libraries. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, there is a sign up available here. Past featured pieces can be viewed here.
“This is a hand-printed scroll housed in a wooden box with a hand-cranking mechanism, all individually made.
This crankie is about kayaking through Biobay in Puerto Rico, where bioluminescent bacteria glow as you make your way through the mangrove forest into the open bay. They speckled as small dots and made me feel like I could hold the stars.
Linoleum cut printed on Japanese Kozo paper, printed in an edition of 30. The text is letterpress printed from metal type.” - Jessica White
7” x 9” x 3” - The printed scroll is 6’ long.
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
This piece is featured in the February 2025 issue of The Fore Edge, a quarterly newsletter from MCBA that highlights new artist’s books and zines for collections, universities, and libraries. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, there is a sign up available here. Past featured pieces can be viewed here.
“This is a hand-printed scroll housed in a wooden box with a hand-cranking mechanism, all individually made.
This crankie is about kayaking through Biobay in Puerto Rico, where bioluminescent bacteria glow as you make your way through the mangrove forest into the open bay. They speckled as small dots and made me feel like I could hold the stars.
Linoleum cut printed on Japanese Kozo paper, printed in an edition of 30. The text is letterpress printed from metal type.” - Jessica White
7” x 9” x 3” - The printed scroll is 6’ long.
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
This piece is featured in the February 2025 issue of The Fore Edge, a quarterly newsletter from MCBA that highlights new artist’s books and zines for collections, universities, and libraries. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, there is a sign up available here. Past featured pieces can be viewed here.
“This is a hand-printed scroll housed in a wooden box with a hand-cranking mechanism, all individually made.
This crankie is about kayaking through Biobay in Puerto Rico, where bioluminescent bacteria glow as you make your way through the mangrove forest into the open bay. They speckled as small dots and made me feel like I could hold the stars.
Linoleum cut printed on Japanese Kozo paper, printed in an edition of 30. The text is letterpress printed from metal type.” - Jessica White
7” x 9” x 3” - The printed scroll is 6’ long.
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
Jessica C. White (she/her) spent her childhood transported by storybooks and fairytales while growing up in Taiwan. Following a career in academics as the Professor of Printmaking and Chair of the Art Department at Warren Wilson College, she is now a studio artist in Asheville, NC, where she makes prints, books, and crankies. Her work has been exhibited internationally and can be found in many artist books collections including Yale University, Stanford University, Lingnan University Hong Kong, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Her publications include Letterpress Now: A DIY Guide to New & Old Printing Methods, published by Lark Crafts, and Ladies of Letterpress: A Gallery of Prints with 80 Removable Posters, published by Princeton Architectural Press. She is the co-founder of Ladies of Letterpress, an international trade organization of women printers, is a member of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild and is currently the President of the Wood Engravers’ Network. Fancy degrees she holds include a BFA in sculpture from East Carolina University, an MA and MFA in Printmaking from the University of Iowa, and a Graduate Certificate in Book Arts from the UIowa Center for the Book. When she's not getting inky in the studio, you can find her catching a breeze in her sailboat Cassiopeia.
JessicaCWhite.com | Instagram: @JessicaCWhite
