Mastery and the Art of Starting Over

Over the course of 2018, I read books about mastery. Every book hammered home the same point: You cannot master anything that you don't feel passionate about. Learning a profession, any profession, requires hours of commitment to learning, failing, practice, and mentorship. 10,000 hours is the number the experts say is required to "master" a skill. But according to my study, the hours alone are not enough.

Rare Book School Course: History of Women Printers

Two weeks ago I took my annual California Rare Book School course up at UC Berkeley. I’m slowly working towards a Professional Certificate in Rare Books and Manuscripts. This year’s course was entitled "Printing at the Margins: The History of Women Printers" and taught by Kathleen Walkup, a Master Printer and Professor at the Mills College Book Art Program.