Invitation for Submissions
We’re making a cookbook! And in the spirit of beloved vintage 1970s spiralbound volumes, we want to include recipes from you, our readers.
We’re making a cookbook!
And in the spirit of beloved vintage 1970s spiralbound volumes, we want to include recipes from you, our readers.
Imagine this: It’s Tuesday night and a multi-age group of hungry people are coming over to eat. It’s not a dinner party; it’s sharing the labor and pleasure of the end-of-day meal with friends, family, neighbors. What are your most trusted, reliable, go-to recipes for a group of 6 to 8 (or 10!)? Main dishes, sides, and desserts are all welcome on the table. We like simple, seasonal, and a little bit special.
If your recipe is selected, you will receive credit for your contribution, of course, as well as five copies of the cookbook.
Write to: PO Box 66, Colusa, CA 95932 or sarahemccoll@gmail.com
By July 31st, 2026
What Doing 🌻 Summer 2026
Second issue of PAPER CHOIR, In The County zine release and...
Dear Friends,
Sarah and I spent the last few days of May printing and binding the latest issue of Paper Choir and we are getting ready to mail it out to subscribers in time for the summer solstice. HEAVY CREAM, an essay by Nina Renata Aron on the consolations of women’s food writing, is this season’s strawberry-rhubarb shortcake——tart edge, tender crumb, and ultimately comforting: the deep, ineffable pleasures of the kitchen can still be the simplest ones.
“I discover over and over again that the food writing of yore offers a pleasing corrective to this bizarre moment we’re living in, this capitalist overabundance, this punishing gig economy. I crave a return to an easeful, funny, everyday, human-scale relationship to food. And over and over, I find it in 20th-century women’s food writing.”
Subscribe by June 30 and you’ll receive this excellent piece of writing as your first issue (and make special note of the invitation for submissions in the back—we’re making a cookbook!). If you missed the last issue (LOST ART, written by Sarah McColl), you can purchase a single copy here.
Also in May: I started working on a new body of work during a week-long residency in Petaluma, CA. Inspired by this upcoming summer issue of Paper Choir, the subject matter for these prints is pulled off the grocery store shelf. I made these monoprints by inking up, wiping off, and masking a sheet of plexiglass, then cranking it through an etching press with a sheet of mulberry paper on top. I’ll let you know where they’re going when I know, but until then here’s a peak:
Copies of the IN THE COUNTY zine are available at the Colusa County Arts Council!
This publication is an artifact of collective effort and positive community collaboration between many people in Colusa County an beyond (friends and neighbors, photographers, artists, land-owners, nonprofit organizers, etc.). It captures Colusa County through a uniquely creative lens and features text written by the program directors Daniel LoPilato and Eliza Gregory, as well as the teaching fellows: Brandon Flores, Jess Peña, Jordan Burkart, and Sofia Gladysh. For these reasons and more——and because it was printed on my humble Risograph——I am very proud of this project.
Pick up a copy at the Arts Council before August and you’ll see the accompanying exhibition of photographs made by the community participants during the IN THE COUNTY photography project (you can also order online).
In other news:
I’m hosting a few more Riso Office Hours coming up at Verge (June 11th and 18th 4:30-6:30pm). I’ll be there to support you in your projects, then more Verge workshops TBA in the Fall!
I’m teaching a Printmaking Camp at Vergein July, there may be a few spots left.
I already said this, but it bares repeating because I’m really excited about this next issue: Issue 2 of PAPER CHOIR — a quarterly publication collaboration with my friend Sarah McColl — will be mailed out in June 2026. Subscribe and get some beautiful printed matter in the mail every solstice/equinox. Thanks to everyone who has already subscribed!!!
And, as always, you can find prints, cards, zines, etc. for purchase on in my shop.
Very best,
May Riso Workshop
Get certified to print on the Risograph at Verge Center for the Arts...
Dear Friends,
Join me for an Intro to Risograph Basics workshop at Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento on MAY 22nd, 2026 and get certified to use their Risograph printer during open hours. This beginner-friendly printing process is great for artists, designers, illustrator, small-publishers, writers and hobbyists of all kinds. Take a workshop, meet new people, and dedicate your energy to creative pursuits. Register to reserve your spot today!
In other news:
Issue 2 of PAPER CHOIR — a quarterly publication collaboration with my friend Sarah McColl — will be mailed out in June 2026. Subscribe and get some beautiful printed matter in the mail every solstice/equinox.
Launch party/exhibition reception for IN THE COUNTY will happen at the Colusa County Arts Council on May 16th @ 6:00pm—if you’re local, check it out!
And, as always, you can find prints, cards, zines, etc. for purchase on in my shop.
(here are stacks of a few of the IN THE COUNTY pages ready for binding)
Very best,
What Doing 🌷 Spring 2026
First issue of PAPER CHOIR, new Riso workshops listed...
Dear Friends,
I hope spring is springing politely wherever you are. The first issue of PAPER CHOIR was mailed out in March with great excitement—thank you to everyone who has subscribed! The floral illustrations in this issue are some collagraph prints I made with oil-board, the words were written by my collaborator and friend Sarah McColl.
If you are not yet a subscriber, you can get a copy of the first issue here. Our next issue will be published in June 2026 and feature an essay by Nina Renata Aron, author of Good Morning, Destroyer of Men’s Souls, and many delicious pieces of food writing.
If you love printed matter and getting beautiful things in the mail, I would be delighted if you considered subscribing yourself, or gifting a subscription to a friend.
My little SF5130 Risograph will be taking up residence for a few weeks at the Colusa County Arts Council in April to produce a collaborative photography book with the participants of the IN THE COUNTYprogram, in collaboration with The [Placeholder] Project.
While it’s there, I will also be hosting a special edition of Intro to Risograph Basics on April 23rd. If you are local and interested in learning more about this unique printmaking process, sign up! It’s a great way to learn a new skill, meet new people and give your brain something new and positive to chew on.
In other news:
I’ll also be teaching Intro to Risograph Basics at Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento on May 22nd.
Sign-ups are open for July's Printmaking Camp at Verge
And, as always, you can find prints, cards, zines, etc. for purchase on in my shop.
Very best,
March Riso Workshop
Get certified to print on the Risograph at Verge Center for the Arts...
Dear Friends,
Do you intend to nurture your creativity with more fervor in this new year? Do you wish to amplify a message of hope, joy, and resistance in these times of fear and darkness? Join me for an Intro to Risograph Basics workshop at Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento on MARCH 20th, 2026 and get certified to use their Risograph printer during open hours. This beginner-friendly printing process is great for artists, designers, illustrator, small-publishers, writers and hobbyists of all kinds. Take a workshop, meet new people, and dedicate your energy to creative pursuits. Register to reserve your spot today!
In other news:
I’ll also be teaching a photography zine workshop at the Colusa County Arts Council in the spring, as part of a season-long photography project called In the County (sign up, learn more).
PAPER CHOIR—a quarterly publication collaboration with my friend Sarah McColl—will begin mailing in March 2026. Subscribe and get some beautiful printed matter in the mail every solstice/equinox.
And, as always, you can find prints, cards, zines, etc. for purchase on in my shop.
(hello from my studio)
Very best,
Solstice Blessings 2025
New collaboration publication project with Sarah McColl, and more…
Dear Friends,
Happy solstice! I am looking forward to the new year and want to share with you some new happenings in the studio:
In 2026, I am beginning a collaborative publishing project with writer and dear friend Sarah McColl (author of Joy Enough). In the fall of 2024, Sarah and I made a print edition of her essay Digging Deep, about the life and work of 1970s conceptual artist Agnes Denes—we loved doing it so much, we wanted to do more: thus Paper Choir.
Each Paper Choir subscription will include four quarterly mailings. In March, June, September and December of 2026, mailbox arrivals will include various risograph printed ephemera—zines, recipes, notecards, illustrated diaries, stickers, collaborative texts, posters, postcards, broadsides, etc.—featuring writing/illustrations from the two of us, and other voices we admire.
Our first publication is a personal essay about Lost Art—Sarah’s long running substack newsletter about the creative lives and works of (mostly) dead women. Subscribers will get this retrospective of some of the most interesting artists you may have never heard of. In many ways Paper Choir is an expansion of the Lost Art project.
If you love printed matter and getting beautiful things in the mail, I would be delighted if you considered subscribing yourself, or gifting a subscription to a friend.
In other news:
In January, I will be teaching an Intro to Risograph Basics workshop at Verge Center for the Contemporary Arts in Sacramento—if you’re local and want to get certified to use their Riso, sign up!
I’ll also be teaching a photography zine workshop at the Colusa County Arts Council in the spring, as part of a season-long photography project called In the County (sign up, learn more).
I am opening my books to new clients in the new year, so if you have any design or illustration needs, hit me up.
For those interested, I remodeled my portfolio website.
And, as always, you can find prints, cards, zines, etc. for purchase on in my shop.
Very best and happy holiday to you and yours!
WINTER SHOW at Salmon Bend
I’ll be showing some new work at Salmon Bend Art Studios in November.
Salmon Bend is an artist-run gallery space in an old prune drying barn in the Sacramento Valley managed by Gabe Babcock (wood/stone/ceramic), my mom Roberta James (fiber arts), and me.
Opening Reception:
November 3rd @ 5:30pm
On view
November 4th-5th & 11th-12th
12:00pm-4:00pm
If you’re near, I hope to see you there.
New Print: Some Jugs
I made the original artworks with paper cutouts — scanned and repositioned digitally — printed with black ink. I like how very much like birds or bodies the jugs are.
This variable edition comes on, Coffee, Parchment, Pink, Yellow, or Peach paper.
A limited edition risograph print featuring sixteen black jugs.
This is variable edition, black ink printed on yellow, brown, and pink papers. Please select your preference before adding to cart.
This print measures 11x14" and is signed and numbered. ***Unframed***
SOME JUGS, edition of 15
UPDATE: Parchment, Pink, and Peach have sold out! If you are interested in being the first to know when the next print drops in the shop, sign up for my newsletter (link below in the footer).
Blue Valentines
New Cards for Valentine’s Day (or any day), printed with Scarlet and Blue Risograph inks on recycled paper. Comes with a matching blue envelope.
New Cards for Valentine’s Day (or any day), printed with Scarlet and Blue Risograph inks on recycled paper. Comes with a matching blue envelope.
Shipping News
Shipping news for December 2022
Hi! I’ll be away for the holidays. The shop will remain open, but shipments will be paused between December 24th - January 3rd.
If you order anything within that window, enjoy free shipping. And Happy Holidays!!!
EASY BAY PRINT SALE
Find some of my Art Print this year at the East Bay Print Sale. Happening December 9th-11th, 2022 at 116 Pardee St. in Berkeley, CA.
Find some of my Art Prints this year at the East Bay Print Sale. Happening December 9th-11th, 2022 at 116 Pardee St. in Berkeley, CA. Special thanks to Max’s Garage Press for including my work in this event. More details here…
WINTER SHOW at Salmon Bend
My mom is also an artist (textile/fiber arts/quilting). Last year, she and I, and our friend Gabe Babcock (ceramic/stone/wood) put on a show out at the end of Brown Road (out in the sticks) in an old prune processing barn that Gabe built-out into this beautiful gallery space. I installed some of my drawings and prints. We had a big party and opened the gallery for a few weekends in December. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun.
We’re doing it again this year, the first two weekends of December. I hope you can make it!
I will be exhibiting new artwork and some new GOODS at the Salmon Bend Art Studios’ Winter Show next month.
Happening the first two weekends in December (3-4th & 10-11th), open Noon-4:00pm.
If you’re local to Colusa, CA come out for the opening reception on Saturday
December 3rd, 2022 • 4:00-6:00pm
Featured artist:
Gabe Babcock
Roberta James
LK James
HELLO LADIES
New Tea Towel in the shop: HELLO LADIES
I love creating new surface designs for textiles put to functional, every-day use.
This HELLO LADIES tea towel is a 100% premium cotton flour sack tea towel, with a corner loop for convenient storage or hang drying. Featuring an illustrated cast of mysterious women.
It is the latest addition to the Home Goods line.
100% premium cotton tea towel, corner loop for convenient storage or hang drying.
Featuring an illustrated cast of mysterious women.
Wash cold, hang dry for best results. Iron on the reverse.
EASY CAKES Bundle
About the Easy Cakes recipe zine & tea towel. And how to get the bundle for cheap.
Get $5.00 off when you purchase the EASY CAKES bundle, now through 12/25/22, using the promo code EASYCAKES at checkout. The bundle includes the EASY CAKES for Hard Times recipe zine and matching tea towel.
The illustrated recipes…
are designed for the average kitchen, for everyone, for every day, to share with other people or happily enjoy alone. Little kitchen incantations written so that we might conjure and commune with one another in times of distance or difficulty.
Some of the Easy Cakes included: Chocolate Birthday Depression Cake, Banana Blueberry Breakfast Cake, Carrot Ginger Bread (cake).
The tea towel…
is 100% premium cotton, with a corner loop for convenient storage or hang drying.
Featuring the blue and white baking motif from EASY CAKES FOR HARD TIMES.
Wash cold, hang dry for best results. Iron on the reverse.
Let me know how your baking adventures go! I love seeing these cakes in action.
Welcome to GOODS
Welcome to GOODS by LK James (plus 20% off for your first order)
NEW WEBSITE & SHOP!
Hi, LK, here. Writing to you from a sunny Friday morning in California to welcome you to this new adventure: GOODS by LK James (at the end of this post, you’ll find a code for 20% off for your first order).
New featured products:
Among some old favorites that have been available on my other site, this new shop features an expanding line of illustrated home goods (e.g. the Moth’ring Tea Towel — which features a surface design inspired by my first few years of mothering/motherhood).
Housekeeping:
My portfolio website (lkjames.com) will still showcase my artwork, book design, and other professional projects, but the shop link will now take you to this home page here.
You can follow GOODS on instagram @goodbylkjames, where I’ll announce new shop items, offer deals and discounts, and share process adventures/misadventures.
Finally, here’s that discount code:
Enjoy 20% Off with code GOODGOODS
Valid until November 13
If you’re interested in shop updates like these, subscribe to the newsletter through the form below, and stay tuned for more little freebees like these.
As always, I’d love to hear from you. For any questions, feedback, hellos or wholesale inquires, email or DM me on Instagram.
Farewell, happy autumn!
LK James
Here I am, standing next to my studio desk, watching my 1yo scribble with crayons on the cement floor. : )