JessePrints is owned and operated by me, Jesse Larsen, and Olga Yakimyuk, my wonderful assistant and studio mate. Gracie, my very good dog, keeps me grounded.

I draw and carve rubber block prints of objects and beings I love, including words. Because I find working with words easier than drawing, every one of my prints is a labor of love and each one has a story.

In 1992 when I was 50 years old, I graduated with a BA in Writing and Literature from Antioch College in Seattle, sold my first book (500 Great Books by Women, A Reader's Guide. Viking Penguin 1994, a book I initated, and co-edited/authored with Erica Bauermeister and Holly Smith), bought a new car, quit my Seattle Center office job, and moved to Vermont to attend Goddard College for my MFA in Writing and Literature.

My work in Vermont included reading/annotating 300+ books for my book and my studies and writing a novel for my MFA while I worked part time in the library. My longed-for dream-life of my work being reading and writing had finally come true, but my hands had a mind of their own. In the midst of all my word-work deadlines, I became completely obsessed with teaching myself to draw, carve, and print rubber block prints. This body of work is the result.

From the very beginning and to my amazed delight, people liked my prints and wanted to buy them. Since carving and printing supplies were relatively cheap and the work was not too physically difficult, I recognized quickly that this artwork was something I could afford to do until I was very old, even with my arthritic hands. Making this discovery taught me to listen to my inner-self, to be grateful for my artistic obsessions, and to make sure that the rest my life nurtured and supported them. Now, twenty five years later, I understand that making prints of objects and beings I love has been another way for me to see and tell my life story, and through this process, to come to know and share my artist self.

I returned to the west coast in 2000 and now live and work in Bellingham, Washington, about 90 miles north of Seattle. I've always looked to words and nature - trees, dogs, parks, long walks - for strength. I'm a single, self-supporting, mostly self-educated working-class woman so I've been learning how to stay strong for a long time and I know from experience how much the right words help.

I have always especially loved Maya Angelou's words about the importance of courage - "Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency." Now, the fact that science can prove that courage can be cultivated has helped me understand what has been my goal all along: to add good-humored, courage-building inspiration to all of our lives.

Olga and I work in a tiny little 1+ room studio on the second floor of the Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth (BAAY) downtown, where we are surrounded by youthful creative energy. The studio's + room is a small alcove with two windows. About two weeks before I found this studio, I had a dream in which I saw the view of the Salish Sea from the alcove windows. It was so vivid, it woke me up, so later, when I found the studio with the view I'd seen in my dream, I knew I had to do whatever it took to work there.

Three+ years later, it is still a magical place. Now the alcove is Olga's art space and the views from the alcove windows are the backs of two new condo buildings offering front views of the Salish Sea. This reminds me to be grateful for listening to myself and finding our beloved studio before the view from my dream disappeared.

JessePrints is in the front studio. This is where we hand-print my block prints using Sumi water-based ink onto pages carefully removed from old dictionaries, encyclopedias, music scores, and bibles. Once the print is dry, we mount it onto acid-free matboard; and wrap it in a clear archival quality sleeve, ready to frame..

I also digitally reproduce my prints, pair them with pithy quotes from my lifelong collection, and print them electronically onto quality cards, magnets, posters, perpetual calendars, and sometimes books. We do all of our own printing, cutting, mounting, folding, binding, packaging, and shipping.

If you’re local, on most Saturdays from 12-4 you’ll find me and my Little Red Art Cart at my studio upstairs at BAAY (Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth, 250 E. Maple) one half block up from the Farmers' market in Downtown Bellingham. If you see my sign, you're welcome to come on up.