Artwork copyright Jessica Spring. Photo courtesy of the artist, 2024.

Everybody Counts (blue), 2024

Jessica Spring
(American, born 1964)

Location: Evergreen Middle School, Kent, Kent

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Everybody Counts by Jessica Spring is a letterpress print made during the 2020 census, also the first year of COVID. The census counts people living in the United States, but only based on who participates. Spring shared this print on social media with the comment: "Have you filled out the census yet? About 4 out of 10 households have not yet been counted, and they are overwhelmingly people of color, immigrants, and traditionally undercounted groups. Do it today, everybody counts."

This artwork is part of a curated collection by Asia Tail in April 2024 for three Federal Way Public Schools in South King County. Asia chose graphic works that are as bold and diverse as the students, by artists with ties to South Puget Sound. Images of language, people, and the natural world create a poem for this place where students live and learn. She notes, "School is a place where we can connect with new families. And families are always strongest when working together."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Federal Way Public Schools.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Springtide Press was founded by Jessica Spring in 1999 and has been located in Tacoma’s North End since 2004. Springtide Press designs, prints and binds artist books, broadside posters, and ephemera that explore historical topics, popular culture, and typography using letterpress printing and handmade paper. The shop motto, “where we always print damp” recognizes the Pacific Northwest as a fine place to print, where the damp climate helps make a good impression. Jessica Spring co-authored "Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color" (with Chandler O'Leary) and teaches workshops around the United States.