One Morning at Claire's

Claire Kessler-Bradner has treasured this poem by Reed Bye since childhood. After collecting children’s books about art for her classroom, Claire wanted to make her own contribution to the genre, and found Reed’s poem to be a perfect text about children creating, talking and thinking about art. With Reed’s consent, she created this book in 2007 using her original prints.

Kay Bradner, Claire’s mother, was the Master Printer on this project. Ambrose, Miles and Claire can thank Kay for always making art accessible to them as children. Kay still lives in San Francisco where she works as a painter and printmaker.

This book was designed and printed by Claire Kessler-Bradner at Katherine Lincoln Press in San Francisco, CA, November, 2007. The illustrations are woodcuts and the font used is Newport Classic printed inkjet on Kitakata paper.

Claire kessler-Bradner

Claire is a second-generation San Francisco printmaker. Growing up in the culture of the print shop, she developed a love of process and problem-solving, seductive materials, equipment and tools, and the camaraderie of making art together. These early interests have translated into three interrelated branches of her practice: a socially engaged inquiry into human connections in shared space, a studio practice where printmaking, bookmaking, drawing and sculptural techniques meet this narrative social content, and a teaching practice designed to engage a new generation in the materiality and the diverse visual languages of art. Claire has a masters degree from the California College of the Arts.