About

Out of Step Press creates limited edition books and prints using handmade paper. Employing traditional centuries-old book arts techniques, we make the paper from military uniforms, rags, and other fibres Our focus is war and militarism. We are unafraid to work with dissidents: whistleblowers, war resisters, shitbirds, perennial privates, and other heroes of the U.S military. We are a part of a much larger emerging Veterans Art Movement.

Paper is made from cellulose. Long before paper was made from the cellulose of trees it was made from the cellulose fibers of clothing rags. Rag paper is the term we use to describe paper made from clothing. The paper made at Out of Step Press is rag paper. This includes but is not limited to military uniforms, old clothes, bedsheets, tablecloths, curtains and burlap. The rags are processed into pulp and formed into individual sheets by hand. All of the rags used in this process (including military uniforms) have been donated for the explicit purpose of making them into paper.

Nathan Lewis is a U.S Army veteran and served in Iraq in 2003. He is an artist, writer, activist and arborist living near Ithaca, New York. He has facilitated writing and papermaking workshops for veterans since 2009. His artwork has been shown in many galleries across the country, including the Brooklyn Museum. Nathan has books and prints in many rare book collections and institutions, including the Library of Congress. He appeared in the film The Green Zone (2010).

Collaborators

Kevin Basl is a writer, musician and anti-war activist living near Ithaca, NY. He has taught many writing and papermaking workshops across the U.S., with Frontline Arts and Warrior Writers. He holds an MFA in fiction from Temple University, where he has also taught writing. He spent five years in the U.S. Army and is a veteran of the Iraq War. He provides editorial assistance for Out of Step Press. To read his writing and hear his music, visit www.kevinbasl.com.

Laura Rowley established Illuminated Press in 2014 to craft books that provide readers with new information, give voice to a wide range of perspectives, and explore the complexities of our social/political/economic fabric. To bring light amid darkness and uncertainty. Laura assists Out of Step Press with design and craft elements. Please visit illuminatedpress.org to learn more.

Eli Wright brings graphic design, screen-printing, and papermaking expertise to Out of Step Press. He enlisted as a combat medic in the US Army shortly after September 11th, 2001. Upon returning home from Iraq in 2004, he began organizing with other veterans to speak out about their military experiences through activism and the arts. Since 2007, Eli has practiced the craft of making handmade paper from military uniforms with fellow veterans in communities across the country. Eli is a co-founder and workshop instructor at Frontline Paper in Branchburg, NJ. More information can be found at www.eliwright.com