Little Ezukvuk

Danny Pierce.
Little Ezukvuk, A Tale of a Baby Walrus Written in the Old Tradition. [Kent, Wash.: Red Door Studio, 1965].

This was the third limited edition book produced at the Red Door Studio.

"This is my third exploration into the art of book making. It was inspired by my association with the King Island Eskimos in Nome, Alaska. The last summer in Alaska I was teaching a drawing class in Nome under a grant from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I spent my off time in the King Island Eskimo village on the edge of town observing and listening to their tales in the community hall.

"Back in the studio in Kent, Washington I began working on the blocks. I drew directly on the blocks in a soft pencil as a rule without making preliminary sketches on paper. I may put down many lines and erase often until I feel the drawing is right. Even at that I may change lines in cutting the block. I keep the work in a state of flux, nothing cut and dry until the woodcut is completed. I find this helps avoid the feeling of a reproduction. I feel drawing on paper, making color cartoons, etc., before cutting the wood takes all the creativeness out of the finished product. This is a carry over from my painting, and works the best for me.

"It was while printing Little Ezukvuk that the studio caught fire. Gabor Peterdi, my friend and mentor, called and asked if I was interested in teaching printmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for a semester. I accepted the offer. I spent many long hours to finish the book. The binding was done by a bindery in Tacoma. This time I printed on folded sheets in order to have signatures that were sewn not stitched or stapled as in Little No Name and The Bear that Woke too Soon.

"It was around this time the curator of Fine Books at the University of Washington suggested constructing the boxes to hold loose pages—a method I have followed since. I was fortunate to share an office with Ms. Roslyn Meyers, a hand book binder, who taught me the craft of box construction and portfolios."