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pearl press logo
pearl press, cover image, cowboy kees, sabine rovers

Three Sisters: Ellie Musgrave

ISSUE NO. 2: COWBOYS

November 2020

 

This issue of Pearl Press features work from:

Sabine Rovers
Kristen Bartley
Sam Light
Loren Toney
Melissa Efrus
Abbi Newfeld
Remington Smith

Julia Dunham

Luke Pardy

John O’Toole
Carolina Colantuoni
David Miller
Olivia Noss
Ellie Musgrave

Vanessa Vargas

Cover image: Sabine Rovers

Curated by: Delilah Twersky

Download the PDF below.

Sabine Rovers_5.jpg
horse, cowboy, woman, found image, kristen bartley

Untitled: Kristen Bartley

Untitled: Sabine Rovers

Sabine Rovers_5.jpg
women, horse, found image, cowboys, kristen bartley

Untitled: Kristen Bartley

sam light, black and white, train, zoom, crop
sam light, black and white, train, crop, zoom

Train: Zoom/Crop: Sam Light

sam light, black and white, train, zoom, crop
sam light, black and white, train, zoom, crop
Loren Toney_01.jpg

Dad and Chief: Loren Toney

IN THE MORNING,

Jesse’s neighbor takes a scissor to the overgrowth reaching from his yard into theirs 
In the morning, a small animal tiptoeing beneath Jesse’s bedroom window sounds a lot like his neighbor trimming the plants 
In the morning, a sun’s yolk begins to drip slowly into day 
In the morning, I encourage the shell to crack 
In the morning, a puzzle of language flipped over piece by piece 
In the morning, we arrange the border 
In the morning, we begin to decipher the image 
In the morning, Jesse’s neighbor tosses the overgrowth back into his yard 
In the morning, we sit in a circle and join hands 
In the morning, the glow and shadow of ferns projects onto our skin 
In the morning, we ask 
In the morning, we wonder 
In the morning, I pour last night’s light thru a funnel into a jar for later today 
In the morning, we value what we have 
In the morning, we value recycling 
In the morning, there is a pearl in your mouth 
In the morning, we take the grain and follow it with our tongues 
In the morning, I tie a knot thru a gap in the moon 
In the morning, I lead myself on a leash 
In the morning, I am glad 
In the morning, I do not speak 
In the morning, you let a ribbon spiral out of you and you follow it as it blows in the wind 

Melissa Efrus

moonlight, abbi newfeld, portrait

Visible Man: Abbi Newfeld

Remington Smith_02.jpg

Untitled: Remington Smith

sabine rovers, cowboy kees, car, cowboy hats, plaid, partners

Untitled: Sabine Rovers

Julia Dunham_01.jpg

Back of Billboard: Julia Dunham

footprints, luke pardy, landscape, black and white

Footprints: Luke Pardy

black and white, trespassing, sign, john o'toole

Welcome: John O'Toole

Sabine Rovers_9.jpg
cowboy kees, portrait, sabine rovers

Untitled: Sabine Rovers

Untitled: Sabine Rovers

carolina colantuoni, cowboy, illustration, rancher, sketch

Rancher: Carolina Colantuoni

I WOULDN'T SMUGGLE CIGARS FROM MONTREAL IF YOU ASKED ME TO, BUT IF SOMEONE ELSE ASKED ME, I MIGHT 

In the canyon I crossed a con man 
He asked me can I really call him a con man 
Just because he brokers real estate 
I said yes, but that’s not all 
We laughed then 
We sang showtunes in big voices 
Oklahoma! and The Music Man  
Told cowpoke stories ‘round my lamplight 
I have no cups to fill or empty 
Or I told him that  

David Miller

olivia noss, cousins, sisters, denim, outdoor, portrait
denim, portrait, leaves, grass, olivia noss

Untitled Series: Olivia Noss

SUMMER'S COUSIN

The evening sweeps across the bare plane of earth, the last of the day glinting at the corner of his eye. In the distance, clouds pool at the edge of the sky, where tomorrow’s crystal-blue daybreak will shatter into a storm. Pale waves of moon ripple through the dark grass, its sheen hissing along with the rumbling night sky. Lightning sets the expanse in a flash of purple-white haze, and all is black again. Then she is with him in the shrouded spot with tiled walls where the faucet runs ragged down her skin, and her brown hair runs deep spider-veins around her neck, her cheeks. As her jaw falls open, her dull brown-black eyes blink up at him. Afterward, he would watch her squint underneath a white towel and hear her muffled laugh. For a long time, he had nightmares of desert storms, of waking up in an unfamiliar sandscape with nothing to guide him, not even the moon. He sat at the edge of the bed, night after night, and shook his head until the floor stopped sinking beneath his toes, and he traced empty circles on her stomach from behind until he fell asleep again. She hadn’t understood it at all, which made it easier for him to step out one night and not think of coming back to their apartment again. Tonight, his fingers sift through the grass as he walks. The air is cool with the breath of summer’s cousin, and as the last of the stars peek out over the trees, their leaves bottom-up, the storm winds reverberate through the forest, swirling before wrapping around the trunks. He shuts his eyes. He is home. 

Ellie Musgrave

vanessa vargas, grandmother, portrait, pink, strong

Untitled: Vanessa Vargas

harsh home, carolina colantuoni, illustration, sketch, moon, mountains

Harsh Home: Carolina Colantuoni

sabine rovers, cowboy kees, portrait, duck, farm, outdoor

Untitled: Sabine Rovers

Thank you for reading.

For more updates check @pearl.press on Instagram.

www.pearl-press.com

Delilah Twersky

Pearl Press

©2020

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