Hints that help: A group exhibition and print exchange inspired by typography pioneer Corita Kent showcases her famous ‘Ten Rules’ 

In the late 1960s, Corita Kent—an artist, activist and Catholic nun, also known as Sister Mary Corita—created the Immaculate Heart College Art Department Rules, often called the “Ten Rules,” with her students. Among them: “General duties of a teacher: pull everything out of your students.” 

“Don’t try to crexate and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.” 

These rules have been a guiding light and source of inspiration tacked to the walls of studios, classrooms, offices and homes for generations. (The rules are often credited to the experimental composer John Cage, who helped popularize them widely, but it was Kent who wrote them.) 

The rules were the impetus for the Black Rock Press’ most recent body of work, Helpful Hints. The project began in 2023 as a single poster design. University of Nevada, Reno, Art Department chair Kelly Chorpening asked the Black Rock Press to prepare something for Washoe County School District teachers to print during a visit, so that they could experience the press in action. The team looked through some books for inspiration, and someone pulled out a book on Kent. 

“We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun if we printed one of the rules?’” said Meg Pohlod, interim manager of the Black Rock Press. Student worker Tanya Gutierrez designed the poster’s layout, using vibrant colors and striking graphics in the style of Kent’s work. 

Phoebe Todd-Parrish, an artist from Canada, illustrated Rule # 1. Photo/Melissa Whipple

Pohlod decided to expand the project by inviting 10 artists to each interpret one of Kent’s rules in a letterpress print, and then swap prints with each other. She and Kelsey Raiman, former interim manager of the press, invited mentors, colleagues and students (Gutierrez among them) to participate.  

“Meg invited people who I never would have been brave enough to ask to be in the exchange—like Jessica Spring, who I have known about since I started in letterpress 10 years ago,” Raiman said. “She’s kind of a hero of mine, and it was really exciting that she wanted to do a project with us.”  

Spring is a prominent letterpress printer and book artist, and the owner of Springtide Press in Tacoma, Wash., which she founded in 1999. The list of participants also includes book artist Thea Sizemore, who operates Kavamore Press in Berkeley, Calif.; Josh Dannin, who runs a letterpress, printmaking studio and artist residency in New Hampshire; and Zach Clark, from Oakland, Calif. 

Each artist had the freedom to creatively interpret their chosen rule, with minimal restrictions on size and orientation.  

“Some of the rules feel kind of simple or straightforward, but when you’re printing them, you obviously challenge yourself to think about how you are adhering to the rule or taking the advice of the spirit of the rule,” Raiman said. “Obviously, some of the rules are tongue in cheek, too; they are not meant to be interpreted as laws, but more so as suggestions”—which left ample room for the artists to be innovative and curious in their approach to their designs. 

Kelsy Raiman illustrated Rule #10. Photo/Melissa Whipple

Some of the printmakers emulated Kent’s usage of pop culture, religious iconography, social critiques and even pleas for action on important social-justice issues. Some pushed creative boundaries. For example, AB Gorham, known for her meticulous work in books and prints, embraced the unpredictable nature of hand-marbling to align with her chosen rule, “Consider everything an experiment.” 

The Lilley Museum of Art at UNR actually has several of Kent’s prints in its special collection. The Black Rock Press crew visited the Lilley to check them out last week. Pohlod said the bright colors and intricate details of Kent’s work made an impact that reproductions don’t capture.  

“Being able to immerse myself in her artistic vision inspired me and gave me a deeper appreciation of her contributions to art,” she said. 

Helpful Hints is on view in the McNamara Gallery, in the hallway of the Church Fine Arts building at the University of Nevada, Reno, through Friday, Oct. 11. Copies of Corita Kent’s rules are available there for viewers to take. Meg Pohold, Lee Carney and Tanya Gutierrez will teach a free letterpress workshop from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 12, at Lake Mansion, 250 Court St., in Reno, as part of the Nevada Humanities Lit Crawl. Learn more at www.nevadahumanities.org/literarycrawl. 

This article was originally produced by Double Scoop, Nevada’s visual arts journal.