Deconstructed Artichoke Press ~ California
(Nikki Thompson)

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By Nikki Thompson
California: Deconstructed Artichoke Press, 2007. Edition of 20.

5 x 4" closed; extends to 17". Handset In Centaur on Arches paper. Printed on a Vandercook SP15. Covers Gocco printed in Centaur Swash Capital. Based on a structure by Kumi Korf.

Nikki Thompson: "... yet another book about architecture and love gone bad. Five poems that describe failed relationships use metaphors from engineering and construction. Letterpress printed on Arches, using hand set type and pressure printing, with a little bit of Gocco printing for flair. Each poem is an individual book sewn to an accordion structure that allows the book to open dramatically. The sumptuous wine-red Shindanshi paper and dark red book cloth create a brooding mood of heartbreak."
$250

Pitbull on Trial
By Nikki Thompson
San Francisco, California: Deconstructed Artichoke Press, 2007. Edition of 50.

5.75 x 7" manila folder resembling a police report. Inkjet printed on an Epson Stylus Photo R200 on manila folders and newsprint. Typefaces: Minion, American Typewriter, and Impact. All pseudonyms are really Nikki Thompson. Photo and paw print kindly contributed by Billie Holiday Thompson, the artist’s pit-boxer mix.

Nikki Thompson: "I decided to write these satirical articles to make fun of the negative press that pitbulls get in the media and to advocate for what wonderful dogs they are. My pitbull rescue is a sweet, mellow dog who has been known to get chased by Chihuahuas and bully cats. Her favorite pastimes are cuddling and making new friends - human and canine. Pitbulls are not the vicious beasts the media portrays; the problem is irresponsible owners.

" ... All stories are sort of true."
$15

A Contemplation on the Obsessive Nature of Time:
A Perpetual Calendar
By Nicole Thompson
San Francisco: Deconstructed Artichoke Press, 2006. Edition of 20.

Twelve 1.9 x 4.1" oblong flipbooks. Perfect bound. Inkjet and photocopied on Wausau Gray Exact Index 110 lb. Covers Gocco printed on Canford Imperial paper. Typeset using various means: light table, Photoshop, InDesign.

Nikki Thompson: "Based on Julio Cortazar's pieces 'Preamble to the Instructions on How to Wind a Watch' and 'Instructions on How to Wind a Watch,' from Cronopios y Famas, published by New Directions in 1999 (originally 1962). Fabulous book: read it! The specific line, 'Think of this: When they present you with a watch they are gifting you with a tiny flowering hell...', inspired the drawing."
$50 (Last Copy)

CSET:
California Subject Examination for Teachers Subject Matter Competency in Red Tape Navigation, Demoralization, and Misplaced Servitude
By Nikki Thompson.
2005. Second Edition of 30.

1.25 x 5.5"; 20 pages; 3.4 x 6" laid-in insert. Pencil included. Typeset in Adobe InDesign using Minion and Gill Sans. Printed with an Epson Stylus Photo R200 on newsprint.

Nikki Thompson: "This book is based on actual experiences, either mine or classmates of mine, going through Mild/Moderate Special Education Credential Program at the University of San Francisco. Frighteningly enough, there was very little exaggeration or manipulation of facts in creating these questions. Although this book is meant to be humorous (and a rant on my part), this is a frightening state of affairs for teachers who are committed to the work they do, as well as and even more importantly, the students who attend these public schools in San Francisco and throughout California."
$15

Stray
By Nikki Thompson.
2005. Edition of 20.

6.25 x 7.5" with three pages plus title page. Letterpress printed. Full-cloth cover, inset with Gocco-printed illuminated manuscript image. Stained-glass window cutouts accompany the text. A poem by Nikki Thompson about a working class Jewish girl attending an upper-middle-class Catholic school. Full of Deconstructed Artichoke Press's quirky humor.

Still trying to make
a good impression on God,
I remained motionless
except to count, like minutes,
the Mass’s divisions
in my crinkled blue booklet —
Gospel, Eucharist, Lord’s Prayer
— measuring time until the end.

$100

Disconnected Constellations
By Nikki Thompson.
Edition of 100

4" x 4”. Inkjet and Gocco printed. This square blue book is essentially an origami with chapter headings: Subtractions, Luminosity, Mirroring (where the type is also backwards). When this book is completely opened and turned back on itself, you have a perfect star.

Despite the crowding of the sky on a clear, starry night, isolation is the overwhelming feeling when the distance from one star to the next is considered. “Disconnected Constellations” is a series of five prose poems that use metaphors of physics and astronomy to create a psychological landscape of isolation. The spare, typographic layout reflects the emotions portrayed in each poem. This origami fold book structure opens up into a star to reveal illustrated constellations on the outside of the book. Viewed in this manner, a distance is created between the artist and the viewer, further heightening the sense of isolation. Paradoxically, as a reading experience, the reader is brought inside the artist’s consciousness both visually and thematically through the physical and emotional structure of each page.
$40

Love Poems
By Nikki Thompson.
2002. Edition of 20

4.75" x 3.75”. Inkjet, laser, and Gocco printed.

Attraction is a mysterious thing, even more so when looked at in the metaphoric context of architecture. “Love Poems” is an ironic look at love through the funky black-framed glasses of a quirky architecture aficionado. Six prose poems are housed in an elaborately engineered structure that opens and closes progressively to reveal yet another layer to love and relationships. Each poem is an 8-fold book printed on vellum and sewn to steel wire, which is in turn sewn to an accordion structure. The text is accompanied by original illustrations, which are revealed to the reader through cut outs.

Original edition, out of print
Poetry in slipcase, open edition $25