roaming 06: FLOWER TO THE MIND

Roaming: a column | somewhere between observation and critique | art and sound and movement by David Bernabo

Please forgive my absence—February was busy. So was the beginning of March. And that busyness kept me from thinking or writing much for Roaming. Somehow it seemed easier to make a new documentary for this column. So, now, please forgive my self-indulgence—here is a documentary about part of my art practice.

The documentary film Flower to the Mind: In the Studio with David Bernabo is a self-portrait, exploring printmaking through a series of letterpress prints that I created and Haylee Ebersole at Meshwork Press printed.

Framed around the creation of five letterpress prints, the film shows a behind-the-scenes view of both the design process and the printing process. A voice-over describes the process to produce gradients on the 1929 Chandler and Price platen press, inspirations for certain prints, and how this video resulted from building an artist’s archive. The resulting artworks are seen in multiple forms, from the original Adobe Illustrator files to test prints to finished artworks.

Flower to the Mind is directed by artist and musician David Bernabo. Music was composed by Bernabo and the band Watererer. Filming began in January 2023 and wrapped a few days ago in March 2024. The film is produced by Pittsburgh record label Ongoing Box and Bright Archives.

Thanks for watching!