Frequently Asked Questions
Why Poemas Eternos?
Spanish is my native language and the language in which I began writing creatively at the age of six. “Poemas eternos” means “eternal poems.” If one day the grid goes down, computers will be useless but typewriters will keep on typing, thus the "eternal" of this project's name.
Shouldn’t the “o” in “eternos” match the “a” in “poemas”?
People who know a little Spanish have asked this question. The word for poem, “poema,” though it ends in “a,” is masculine (from the Greek poēma). Therefore, the adjective that accompanies it (eternos) must be masculine as well.
Where do you draw inspiration for your pieces and what is your process like?
For the pieces with original poetry, I draw ideas from my observations of simple events of everyday life. I compose the words of the poem while I start thinking of objects and design ideas that would go well with those words. I also look for poems of writers I like and quote their work, combining it with my own design ideas. I sketch and layout my ideas on the page and then start executing them with the typewriter that best fits the style or concept of the piece. Each piece goes through many iterations before it finds itself at its best.
I make most of my prints in my home printer (matted prints and greeting cards). For some of my limited-edition greeting cards, I start by scanning the original piece and then use a software for color correcting, cleaning up some of the natural imperfections of the typewritten text and laying the piece out -- this last phase of the process is the only one that requires me to sit at my computer.
Why typewriters?
In this day and age, we are accustomed to high resolution interaction with digital imagery. It’s gotten to the point where the technology is so advanced that the line between what’s on the screen and on our minds gets blurred.
By making art with typewriters, I'm harkening back to a lost era of mechanical devices that operate in low resolution. It may be challenging for a contemporary audience to fully understand the technical skill required to produce artistic expressions with mechanical devices. I want people to embrace that challenge! You can’t undo errors, you can only start over and over again (and so many times I do), or you can incorporate the errors and let them become part of the tangible artwork. The little imperfections you see here aren’t flows, they are a testament to this process.
Why Poemas Eternos?
Spanish is my native language and the language in which I began writing creatively at the age of six. “Poemas eternos” means “eternal poems.” If one day the grid goes down, computers will be useless but typewriters will keep on typing, thus the "eternal" of this project's name.
Shouldn’t the “o” in “eternos” match the “a” in “poemas”?
People who know a little Spanish have asked this question. The word for poem, “poema,” though it ends in “a,” is masculine (from the Greek poēma). Therefore, the adjective that accompanies it (eternos) must be masculine as well.
Where do you draw inspiration for your pieces and what is your process like?
For the pieces with original poetry, I draw ideas from my observations of simple events of everyday life. I compose the words of the poem while I start thinking of objects and design ideas that would go well with those words. I also look for poems of writers I like and quote their work, combining it with my own design ideas. I sketch and layout my ideas on the page and then start executing them with the typewriter that best fits the style or concept of the piece. Each piece goes through many iterations before it finds itself at its best.
I make most of my prints in my home printer (matted prints and greeting cards). For some of my limited-edition greeting cards, I start by scanning the original piece and then use a software for color correcting, cleaning up some of the natural imperfections of the typewritten text and laying the piece out -- this last phase of the process is the only one that requires me to sit at my computer.
Why typewriters?
In this day and age, we are accustomed to high resolution interaction with digital imagery. It’s gotten to the point where the technology is so advanced that the line between what’s on the screen and on our minds gets blurred.
By making art with typewriters, I'm harkening back to a lost era of mechanical devices that operate in low resolution. It may be challenging for a contemporary audience to fully understand the technical skill required to produce artistic expressions with mechanical devices. I want people to embrace that challenge! You can’t undo errors, you can only start over and over again (and so many times I do), or you can incorporate the errors and let them become part of the tangible artwork. The little imperfections you see here aren’t flows, they are a testament to this process.
