Desert Rose Press

On each card in this collection of poems, songs, and prayers for the planet lies a mystical monoprint image of the earth (reproduced by offset lithography), and a selected text from such earth lovers as Walt Whitman, Robinson Jeffers, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Chief Seattle and Kahlil Gibran. Each box of eight cards contains eight different images. The unique text on each card is printed letterpress. For us, these cards are akin to prayer flags, and we hope they will touch the hearts and minds of all who receive them in a way that inspires love and healing for our planet.

Boxed set of eight different cards, 4 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches, with envelopes.

This card, measuring 5 x 25 inches in an accordion fold, is a prayer for peace. Wisdom from ancient and present sources is presented on each fold. The calligraphed peace sign becomes a circle, encompassing our connectedness, as we all become one in our desire for peace,

This poem by Rainer Maria Rilke reflects the author's ecstatic relationship with the earth and our universe. The poem is a source of deep contemplation of our place in the universe, the nature of order, and the governance of life activity, the meaning of our distant galaxies, and the ultimate quest for our true home. (What more is there?) The poem, handset in Goudy Thirty and printed letterpress, lies within a monoprint border reflecting the printer's interpretation of Rilke's "intensified sky" and silver birds.

Folded card, 5 x 7 inches, with envelope

Featuring the well-known quote by Margaret Meade about how a small group of committed citizens can change the world, this accordion fold card measuring 5 1/2 x 15 inches extols the power and hopefulness of working together for common dreams. Other quotes by ordinary and extraordinary citizens such as Granny D and Martin Luther King, Jr., are on the reverse. There is room for a short greeting as well. Envelope included.

The first edition of this card was created for Valentine's Day over 10 years ago. This second edition is our first project combining letterpress and inkjet printing techniquesâ€"a fun collaboration. The poems by Hildegard of Bingen, Teresa of Avila and Mirabai will enlighten and enliven your heart. May your every day be a Day of the Heart.

"I have often thought that just as the sun while in the sky has such strong rays, that, even though it doesn't move from there, the rays promptly reach the earth, so the soul & the spirit, which are one, could be like the sun & its rays."

The Sun and Its Rays is a reflection of St. Teresa of Avila, a 16th century contemplative, mystic and reformer of the Carmelite Order of Spain. The type is printed letterpress in Centaur and Arrighi typefaces, and the sun and its rays are handpainted in gouache

Created for our 2004 Solstice Greeting, this card will lift your spirits and reenforce your hope for, and commitment to creating a better world. The digital image on the front is by Virginia; the text on the left inside page by Unitarian minister, Victoria Safford, is taken from an excellent book entitled The Impossible Will Take a Little While, A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear, edited by Paul Rogat Loeb. The full text can be found on the link at the bottom of the page.

Folded Card, 5 1/2 x 8

This accordion-fold card of St. Francis of Assisi's famous poem is printed offset on text-weight paper. It contains nine images taken from original gouache paintings created for our letterpress book, Canticle of the Sun. The folded card measures 3 1/4" x 4 3/4." Envelope included.

The quote by Longfellow, If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each person's story enough suffering and sorrow there to disarm all hostilities. It expresses the essence of the one vital thing the world needs now. The photograph is taken during Occupy Wall Street, and the placard reads "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."

This quote by Longfellow, "If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each other's story enough suffering and sorrow there to disarm all hostilities," and the artwork by Virginia, expresses the essence of one vital thing the world needs now. (The border is for screen display only; the card is borderless.)

3.5" x 6" postcard, in a group of 4

Shared by word of mouth, quoted on the Internet, recited over radio, and read aloud at conferences and gatherings, Oriah Mountain Dreamer's prose-poem has been passed along and treasured by thousands who are moved by her unique message. Most remembered are the lines which begin I want to know…

Printed on handmade paper by inkjet printer. The cover is the image of my Boa's shed skin.

5.5" x 8.5 "