Zeichen Press

Author: Fran Shea

  • Youth Is Wasted

    When my daughter was small (until she became a giant),lucy new closershe wrestled daily with Jungian archetypes… She was fascinated by the Actor/Storyteller… and the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf was a favorite.

    Oh, that Boy!! She was disgusted and fascinated!youth is wasted

  • Don’t Look Away!

    Ahh, there is nothing like a Midsummer Night’s Homebirth!

    Oh, and here’s a card. I’VE BEEN BUSY, OKAY??booty call

  • Marinate & Ruminate & Distill & Purge

    Don’t you hate looking at photographs when you’re not in them?

    Me too!

    Oh, and I made this for my gals.

    just remember.new ladies.2

  • Deja Vu

    We bought our house on the Cape in 1982…mom 1982 29 freezer road

    this was the same year that The Go-Go’s penned their masterpiece.

    Coincidence?? I THINK NOT.

    Summers on the Cape were filled with so much adventure! There were trees to climb, sea-creatures to discover, rocks to paint (it’s complicated), and cans to return for 5¢ — imagine returning an ENTIRE BAG of cans. Your very own money to spend on candy at the Barnstable News. I dragged a garbage bag of empty cans up Millway, past the dead bodiescemetery sideto claim my prize. I did not anticipate this being such a great windfall… The Adult behind the counter counted all of my (mostly beer) cans (thanks Uncle Gary!) and the total staggered me.

    “Two dollars and thirty-five cents.”

    I gasped.

    I walked past the wall of candy, right to the freezer full of ice cream treats. One box of six ice cream sandwiches, all for me. ALL FOR ME!!ice cream sandwichI was a girl on a mission: Eat all six, share with no one, and never breathe a word of this to any of my siblings. nat em zak fran andy 2815 west 28thI held the package to my (boyish) chest, and ran until I was sure I was alone. Across the street from the cemetery, and next to an abandoned house, I ripped open the box and started eating. 1…2…3… still going strong… 4… slowing down… 5… Five! Only FIVE! What a failure! 

    I staggered home, and benevolently offered the final sandwich to my little brother. (What a fool he was for not even questioning my backstory!)

    Present day: Southwest Airline’s Boeing 737: 40,000 feet.southwest airplane windowI made these:look at meTHANKTH

  • July: Barnstable County

    Would a plate-smashing scene make this trip more authentic? Maybe. Oh, but here we are bored out of our minds…kids jumping off sandwich boardwalk bridgeIt’s tiresome, really! Just ocean, ocean, ocean… day in and day out.kids in wavesAnd nobody even documents my joie de vivre! Sadly, I must document myself.fran medusa hair selfie cape codJen sent me her selfie all the way from Zeichen Press Headquarters:generous regurgitation

  • When I was down beside the sea

    A wooden spade they gave to me

    To dig the sandy shore.

    My holes were empty like a cup.

    In every hole the sea came up,

    Till it could come no more.

    ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

    Back on the Cape again…

    Aren’t the kids so sweet? They have so much fun… Wait… WHAT?! How did I miss that??Shark eats seal with kids

  • Mystery Solved!

    With the warm weather comes mating animals and flies covering the shop windows.flies on shop windowAnd nothing else. NOTHING ELSE.

    One might ask, “I wonder why that window is so filthy?” And another might respond, “Shhh, just close your eyes while I slowly and firmly place this pillow over your face…”

    There.

    Now, onto the flies. I did all the research and learned that these are no ordinary flies. The internet told me that they are called Cluster Flies, so I vacuumed them up and made this card:Life is too short

  • Deadbeat Cat

    I think Tib The Cat is pregnant. I could have (should have?) put a stop to the coitus, but who am I to stand in the way of true love? WHO AM I? Wait, was that really true love??tib and billy zoom outHmm… Zoom… Enhance…tib and billyGOOD LORD.

    Speaking of Father’s Day…listen up old manOh, and did this Father’s Day card ever make it on the blog? (Winky-face.)thanks for fertilizingPS: Apparently my SEO success could be better if I mention letterpress-related words IN my blog posts. Words like: tactile, vintage press, printing, ink, paper, mangled hand.

  • Sleeping?

    Sometimes (oftentimes) I wake in the middle of the night and tap messages to myself on my iPhone.

    For example (and I quote): 

    “I just want to eat gobstoppers and take rearview mirror selfies… William Shatner in gladiator costume on 40′ stilts… A young Ben Franklin with a head full of dreams and a heart full of hate… Bromeo & Juliet… You Are Here –>brain…”

    Upon thoroughly waking, my task is to decode this nocturnal rambling.

    Sometimes I am successful.YOU ARE HERE

  • Treading Water

    In the Spring of 1990, I packed up a carton of cigarettes, a skillet, 4 forks, a sketch pad, and some Mexican jumping beans. Graduating high school means moving into a dormitory on the campus of the college of your dreams. OR moving into an apartment above a pizza place.

    EITHER WAY, this card seems appropriate:and good riddanceSPEAKING OF APPROPRIATE, is gluten-intolerance funny?gluten free