Not Bad

A Risograph art book Taylor W. Rushing, designed and Risograph printed by BearBear.

"Not Bad" is chock full of original artworks and Polaroid photographs by Taylor Wright Rushing (of Not Bad Illustration) and reproduced in Risography’s signature vibrant, trippy, fuzzy print style. This is an art book for the ages: made entirely by hand and dripping with old school book craft.

• 60 pages
• ~ 8 in x 8in
• Smyth sewn by The Bindery.
• Risograph printed & designed by BearBear
• French Paper Co. interiors and covers
• Handcrafted in U.S.A.
• First edition, 500 copies. 2024.

This title has been acquired by the collections of University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and the School of Visual Arts Library in NYC.

Want to know more about the folks and equipment that contributed to it all?

This book has passed across just a handful of craftspeople's desks and workstations to get to you. It was handmade and automated-robot-free. Twelve hands may have touched it in its creation from page-to-book, tops.

Taylor Rushing was born in the South Puget Sound of Washington State. He graduated from the Evergreen State College with a degree in Arts and Crafts and received his MA and MFA at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia and opened Not Bad Illustration in 2019. He now doodles all day and grows dahlia flowers in his yard.

Risograph printing is a beloved retro medium. It sports a cozy aesthetic hallmarked by diffused gradients, specialty (neon or metallic) vegan inks and an old-timey vibe. Groovy stuff. The perfect way to showcase Taylor's illustrations in this format. Risography is a technology—originating in Japan— that found popularity in the United States for business use in the 1980s. 'Riso' enjoys a contemporary resurgence thanks to visual artists who use it to produce artful short-run zines, art books, alternative comix and prints. BearBear printed and produced this book as part of their publishing studio practice based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This book was also Smyth sewn on a New Model National Sewing Machine patented in 1905. The Smyth Manufacturing Company was founded in 1880 as the premier maker of book-specific sewing machines that mechanized and sped up book production during America’s Industrial Revolution. Today, Smyth sewing is still a desirable binding method for books that need to open completely flat. After sewing, each book in this limited run was glued and hand-finished by the tiny team of craftspeople at The Bindery. The spine is left uncovered to showcase the intricate work involved. The Bindery, also based in Milwaukee, restores and uses historic equipment to make high quality books for artisans and writers. This keeps bookbinding heritage alive in the creative sector—and literally in your hands.

Peace.