FAQs

Answers to Your Questions

Art Prints

  • Each print is a giclée, a fine art printing method that uses archival pigment inks for exceptional color accuracy and detail. The paper is Somerset Velvet, an acid-free cotton rag sheet at 255gsm, with the soft, textured surface of traditional watercolor paper. The inks are rated to last 150 years or more.

  • Yes. Each print is part of a limited edition of 25. Cynthia signs each one by hand and writes its edition number in the bottom border, below the image. Once an edition sells out, it will not be reprinted.

  • No. Each print is produced at a single size, chosen to suit the piece. Across the collection there are two: 11 × 14 and 16 × 20. The size and orientation of each print is listed on its product page.

  • No. Prints ship unframed, ready to frame. Both sizes are standard, so frames are easy to find at a frame shop or online without custom work.

    Two things worth telling your framer: don't trim the paper, since Cynthia's signature and the edition number sit in the bottom border and should stay visible; and ask for a mat or spacer so the print never rests directly against the glass.

  • The print arrives rolled around a cardboard tube, inside a clear archival sleeve. Unroll it slowly, leaving it inside the sleeve, and set the tube aside. Keep the sleeve on: the print needs to sit out for several days, and the sleeve keeps dust and fingerprints off the artwork while it settles.

    Lay the print face up on a clean, dry table, out of direct sunlight. Take the next part slowly, since this is the step where a print is easiest to crease.

    Use large, flat books rather than small heavy objects, which press all their weight into one spot. Set each book down gently instead of sliding it across the paper. Begin where the sheet already sits flat and work outward toward the edges that are still lifting, adding one book at a time until the whole sheet is covered and held against the table. If a section still lifts, don't press it down by hand; add another book and let it ease flat on its own. Give it about three days to relax completely.

    Once the paper lies flat on its own, lift the books off. Leave the print in its sleeve until you're ready to frame it, so it stays clean and protected in the meantime.

    Caution: don't try to speed things up with heat. A hairdryer, an iron, or a warm radiator can damage the ink and buckle the paper.

  • Keep the print out of direct sunlight, which fades any pigment over time. UV-protective glass or acrylic gives the best long-term protection. Handle the print by its edges with clean, dry hands, since oils from skin can mark cotton rag paper. Avoid hanging it in damp rooms such as bathrooms.

Books

  • Yes. Bittersweet: The Certainty of Change is available in hardcover and paperback. Both editions contain the same poems and the same original illustrations and photographs.

  • Cynthia signs and dedicates copies by hand before they ship. When you order a signed copy, you'll be asked how to address the dedication: the name or names it should be written to, and anything specific you'd like her to include. If you'd prefer a general inscription without a name, write "general inscription" and she'll take care of the rest.

    Cynthia writes each dedication by hand and can't change it afterward, so it's worth double-checking names and spelling before you order.

    Signed copies ship on the same timeline as any other order.

  • Bittersweet is carried by a few local bookstores, though it isn't widely distributed. If you'd like to see it in your local store, ask a staff member to request it. Cynthia would be glad to have the book carried more widely, and any bookseller interested in stocking it can get in touch through the contact page.

Orders & Returns

  • Please get in touch through the contact page as soon as you can. Before an order ships, most changes are easy, and once it has shipped they aren't possible. The exception is a dedication, which can't be changed once Cynthia has written it, even if the order hasn't gone out yet.

  • As soon as your order is on its way, you’ll receive an email letting you know it has shipped. Art prints ship with USPS tracking, and the number will be in that email. Books ship by standard USPS ground service without tracking.

    If you order a book and a print together, they are handled as two separate orders: you'll receive a confirmation for each, and they ship in separate packages that may arrive on different days.

  • Books in their original packaging and condition can be returned within 30 days of delivery. Write to Cynthia first. Return postage is the buyer’s to cover, and a refund goes to your original payment method once the book arrives.

    Signed books, books carrying a dedication, and art prints can’t be returned.

    If something Cynthia has stated about a print turns out to be inaccurate, write to her within 30 days of delivery. She will refund the purchase price when the print comes back in the condition it arrived in, and she covers the return postage.

Shipping

  • Orders ship within five business days, signed copies included. Art prints go by USPS Priority Mail and usually arrive one to three business days after that. Books ship by standard USPS ground service and usually arrive within two to five business days.

  • Art prints ship free anywhere in the United States. Books ship for a flat $5 per order, however many books are in it. Orders ship within the United States only.

  • It depends on the size. The 11 × 14 prints ship flat: sealed in an archival sleeve, held between two sheets of cardboard, and slid into a rigid side-loading box. The 16 × 20 prints ship rolled: sleeved in archival mylar, rolled around a wide tube so the paper can't crease, sleeved again to hold the roll steady, and shipped in a rigid tube box.

    Rolled prints settle flat within a few days of arriving. See "My print arrived rolled" for how-to steps.

  • Not through this shop. Orders can be shipped within the United States. If you're outside the US and interested in a book or a print, get in touch through the contact page and Cynthia will see what's possible.

  • Orders are packed carefully, but transit damage happens occasionally. Get in touch through the contact page within 30 days of delivery with your order number and photographs of the item and of the packaging it arrived in. Please keep both until the claim is settled.

    A damaged print is replaced where one remains in the edition, and refunded where the edition has sold out. A damaged book is replaced.

    Occasionally Cynthia may ask for an item to be sent back. She covers the postage when she does.