AUXARCZEN
DESIGN
STUDIO
pronounced: OZARK ZEN
WHY WE EXIST
Auxarczen is an independent publishing and design studio where books, photographs, and visual identities are shaped with patience, place, and attention. We work with writers, artists, and small businesses to bring ideas into physical form. From first conversation to finished object, we believe in collaboration.
Photography teaches us where to look.
Design teaches us what to leave alone.
Publishing is how the work finds its way into someone else's hands.
WHAT WE DO
BOOK COVERS, PHOTOGRAPHY, PUBLISHING, AND VISUAL STORYTELLING ROOTED IN PLACE, VOICE, AND ATMOSPHERE
AUXARCZEN WORKS WITH CLIENTS AT EVERY BUDGET LEVEL
RECENT WORK FROM THE STUDIO
Click on any image below for more information
OUR MANIFESTO
We believe books should be objects that survive a power outage.
We believe in regional voices that refuse to shrink themselves for larger markets.
We believe photography can hold memory the way a spine holds pages.
We believe collaboration is a form of authorship.
We believe small presses are not small.
We believe landscapes speak through typography.
We believe that you can be rooted and still roam.
We believe that images can carry weather.
We reject neutrality in design.
We reject speed without meaning.
We reject the flattening of language into branding.
We reject covers that look like products instead of thresholds.
We stand with poets who write beyond markets.
We make books that behave like artifacts.
We make portraits that behave like witnesses.
We build slowly on purpose.
We design like the object matters because it does.
We choose paper, ink, and image as instruments of permanence.
We work with writers who are building something that will outlast them.
We work with artists who refuse to separate vision from craft.
Auxarczen exists for the work that does not belong anywhere else.
WHO WE WORK WITH
 Little Dave MerrimanMusician |  |
|---|---|
 Ceri OteroOlive Oil shop owner |  Lou ContrerasPoet |
 Ed WardPoet |  Olivia PierceStudent |
 Dave AshmorePoet - Artist |  Walks With WordsTraveling Poet |
 Matt McGowanAuthor |  Wayne ZadePoet |
 ZachActor |  MooseArtist |
 Donnie MichaelAuthor |
POETS
MUSICIANS
SHOP OWNERS
PLAYWRIGHTS
AUTHORS
REGIONAL VOICES
VISUAL STORYTELLERS
ACTORS
HOW PROJECTS WORK
Every project begins with a conversation.
We then move onto concept development.
We decide together on a visual direction.
We create the final artifact.
FEATURED PROJECTS
ALCHEMY OF HEADWINDS
September 30, 2025
This is the second title we have published for John Macker. John presented us with a completed manuscript in 2023. It is an incredibly strong volume of poetry and we read and reread it several times to let the vibe sink in and capture our imagination. He requested one of Jennifer's photographs as a front cover or a full wrap. We presented him with several options that spoke to us. We all agreed on a full wrap with a soaring turkey buzzard swirled up in the title.
Jennifer went to work on the layout, making sure that every poem presented as John wanted. After the first proof, he decided that the poems needed more room to breathe. He was correct and the results were beyond what any of us expected. Our collaborations with John are always exciting and never lacking for ideas.
Every author that we work with is unique and requires us to adapt to meet their needs. We love this part of the process, it allows us to become scientists of sorts, adjusting the experiment wherever it needs to go.
Alchemy of Headwinds is available in our poetry section.
SURF'S UP
Winter 2026
One of our current book projects is a reprint and will be offered as a second edition with a fresh cover and layout. We traveled to the sand dunes to get the effect that Jennifer visualized for the cover. It was a magical day, resulting in 120 plus photos that we both loved. As it often turns out, none of those were the picture that the author chose for the cover. But, rest assured, the perfect photo was chosen. Stay tuned to see that image on the cover of Desert Threnody available later this year.
Jennifer is a planner in all things. This doesn't limit itself to the mundane things such as menus or road trips. She likes to have her photoshoots planned in advance. She storyboards them in her mind before she ever gets to the location. Jennifer had planned five separate photos with the typewriter. Sometimes the universe gifts us with something we weren't expecting, that is how this image came about.
Michael had just placed the typewriter in the exact location that Jennifer had asked for and moved out of the way. At a glance, she noticed that he needed to be in frame, he added balance and perspective. The clouds also came to play that day, swelling into the perfect wave shape. Believe us, this one will be gracing our wall soon.
PRAIRIE WISE LOGO
SPRING 2025
This logo was designed for a print-on-demand business.
The name Prairie Wise immediately made me think of bison, the wisest and most resilient creature on the prairie. I've always loved the fact that they instinctively walk into storms, for that is the quickest way out.
The blue was chosen to represent the sky and the green letters to represent the tall grass. The lightning bolt was added to further emphasize what the blue represents.
ABOUT US
AUXARCZEN (pronounced: Ozark Zen)
Hey, we wanted to introduce ourselves. That's Michael typing at the computer right now, I am Jennifer and I am telling him what to type. This is how it works. We are the team that drives the Auxarczen bus.
We are in our late 50s (me) and early 60s (him).
Michael is a poet, graphic designer, music archivist, and retired singer. He can defeat anyone in a game of name that tune, as long as it is pre 2000s.
Jennifer is a photographer, director, playwright, actress, film connoisseur, and an amazing cook. She can break down a film scene while kneading dough for the dinner she will later serve on just the right dinnerware with the perfectly curated napkin. All while critiquing the blocking of said scene while stirring a roux with the other hand. (This section was written entirely by Michael with only a small, and I mean tiny bit of encouragement from Jennifer.)
Auxarczen began as a way of living. A belief that you can be rooted and still roam. That the work matters and so does the way you make it. We've built books, brands, and images from the ground up, learning what holds up in the real world: clarity, consistency, and a little bit of nerve.
Once Made in Missouri & now Made in Taos, New Mexico. Thanks for stopping by,
- Jennifer and Michael Cartright
AUXARCZEN IS A SMALL PRESS AND VISUAL STUDIO SHAPED BY LANDSCAPE, LITERATURE, AND COLLABORATION. WE CREATE BOOK COVERS, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND PUBLISHING PROJECTS THAT TREAT CREATIVE WORK AS SOMETHING TO BE REVERED.