AMANITA MUSCARIA AND CONIFER SPRIG - DIE-CUT STICKER

This card is a three-color Risograph print done by Risolve Studios and is printed on 80 lb. Starch White Speckletone cover stock from French Paper Co. Measures 4 1/2” x 6 1/8” (A6), includes an embossed envelope and comes in a protective sleeve. Blank inside.

First printing of 200 (2019), second printing of 200 (2021).

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This is my fourth year creating a card for the holiday season and this year’s card has a bit of a backstory. The Amanita muscaria mushroom has become a pop-culture symbol due to its psychoactive nature, though in the early 19th century, shamen from a secluded part of eastern Siberia also used them for their hallucinogenic properties. These mushrooms grow at the base of birch and conifer trees and it’s been theorized that the practice of leaving gifts wrapped in brightly colored paper beneath a conifer in one’s home was inspired by this. Coincidentally, this isolated Siberian civilization relied entirely on reindeer to survive. My choice to depict these on this year’s card is meant to be an encouragement to stray from the capitalistic tradition the holiday season has become, and to instead notice the natural world around us and the gifts that it has given us.

Five-color letterpress print done on white, 118# cover (318 gsm, 20 pt), flurry cotton paper from Boxcar Press. Hand-fed using a Chandler & Price platen jobbing press. Measures 4 1/2” x 6 1/8” (A6). Includes a Kraft-Tone, chipboard kraft, envelope (100% recycled) from French Paper Co. with a debossed flap. Comes in a protective sleeve. Edition of 300.