Here’s some exciting news – I’m publishing my first board book in November!
I have to admit, before becoming a parent I paid little to no attention to children’s books, especially those aimed at under-fives. Today however I have read my fair share of board books and have spent huge amounts of time wondering about the messages we’re sending to our children.
So, I decided to make my own and it’s no ordinary board book, I like to think of it as an artwork I’m sharing with the world ;-) The entire 18 page book is made from my handmade paper! Each and every page was created using beautiful, hand made, hand-dyed paper. The amazing illustrations were created by Dawn M. Cardona, an extremely talented illustrator who works primarily with paper and who also happens to be a full time mother and artist. The text was laser cut by my wonderful husband and then each and every letter was hand glued by moi-même! Once everything was complete, the pages were scanned, some magic done on a computer or two (not by me as I’m computer illiterate for the most part), files sent to Sachsendruck, a German printing company specialising in high quality children’s books and voilà, I am now awaiting to see the final results in person.
Always be You will be released on November 5th 2019 – exactly 9 months after first being conceived. It is currently available for pre-order directly from my U.K. distributor Central Books, my North American distributor Itasca Books,Amazon, The Book Depository (which has free international shipping) and most other places books are sold.
For me, motherhood has been an enlightening experience, the beginning of a complex and colourful journey deep into my Self.
The A-Z of Motherhood documents this journey. Within the pages of the book are 26 words that map the first two years of my new adventure. Each page of handmade paper is dyed with the colour that corresponds to its specific word, amplifying the energy of the emotions.
Segments of my ultrasound scans are engraved into the custom wood type, stamped into the surface of the handmade paper, symbolic of the fingerprints of a newborn baby recorded at birth. Titanium rods representing the internal mental and physical strength of a mother hold the binding together, forming not only the crown of the child, but also the soul of the mother. The sterling silver beads symbolize the cord both physical and spiritual that links us eternally to our child. The book is protected by a hand stitched blanket cover made from Faribault Woolen Mills fabric containing the narrative of this journey that began in Minnesota.
I would like to thank Bridget O’Malley for assisting me with the paper-making, Gundrun Zapf Von Hesse for her typeface Colombine, Hedi Kyle for her wonderful piano hinge binding and Lilian Verner Bonds for her deep knowledge and understanding of colour.
I am very grateful to the Jerome Foundation for their generous support that enabled me to make this edition of 8 books. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in further information.
As a self-employed artist, I often apply for different grants and opportunities in the hope that financial support will come my way. 2015 was a pleasant year as I had the good fortune to receive a grant from the Jerome Foundation to make an artist book. This included one year of 24-hour access to the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, a mentor, and a series of introductory workshops to learn the basics of paper making, letterpress printing, and book binding. The intention of this particular program is to offer artists the resources to create a book, fusing together newly acquired skills with aspects of their own artistic practice.
I must admit that before embarking upon this adventure, I knew very little about the book arts genre. For me, a book was an object, with pages, that contained printed information. I soon found out that the term for such a book is a codex, but that there are many other ways in which a book can manifest itself: a scroll, a box, a print, a sculpture, a t-shirt… the definition of a book for those in this field is merely a “contained narrative”. This gave me a lot to think about over the next few months and after many hours of contemplation, I decided to focus on the element of surprise that books offer us along with the experience they provide.
In the last few years I have become more and more interested in Eastern philosophies, numerology and the spiritual qualities of colour. I have also been experimenting with form and structure, often with paper, which has resulted in numerous origami creations (and a couple of authored books along the way.) So, my goal for this project was to combine all of these elements along with traditional bookmaking skills to create a visually stimulating book that would produce positive energy in the hands of the reader. There was so much to do and very little time!
Nous sommes is a physical manifestation of the spiritual nature of our souls, illustrated through the use of colour, structure, and form. It is a contemplation of life, the game we play; and the universe, the puzzle we all fit into. Just like life itself, my work consists of many layers, each offering an opportunity to participate, to pause, and to ponder.
This work will remain on show until February 19th at The Minnesota Center for Book Arts. I have produced a limited edition of nine books, please feel free to contact me for further information.
Here are some images from the year-long book creation process.
Opening Display at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts.
Nous Sommes on display at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts 2015.
Detail of finished slipcases fitting together to create a perfect square.
Initial prototypes of various book structures.
Initial prototypes of various book structures.
Cutting out elements for the slipcase construction.
Handmade slipcases that have been lined with paper that matches the colour of the bookcloth that will cover them.
A few lined and covered slipcases.
The finished slipcases in a trial fitting.
Cutting the linen fabric into tiny pieces so it can be beaten.
The Reina beater at Cave Paper in Minneapolis, processing all the linen fibers.
A fresh sheet of linen and abaca paper waiting to be couched.
Linen and abaca paper being couched.
The linen and abaca paper after couching.
Restraint drying sheets of handmade paper.
Handmade sheets of paper drying after the colouring process.
Handmade sheets of paper drying after the colouring process.
A prototype of one of the hand folded structures.
The final version of the gold structure, on display at MCBA.
Letterpress printing using polymer plates.
Letterpress printing on paper that matches the bookcloth of the box, with ink that has been made to be one tone darker than the paper.
Letterpress printed colophon before it is cut to size and attached to the finished box
Detail of letterpress printed colophon.
Detail of letterpress printed images of finished structures.
Embedding magnets in the flaps of the box to keep it all together.
Detail of embedded magnet.
All 17 magnets firmly embedded in the box.
Finished box, covered in Verona book cloth.
All of the nine paper structures unfolded and on display.
And as you can see I am rather chuffed with the result!
Here’s a glimpse of the inside showing a lovely little bird designed by Viviane Berty alongside the very traditional pigeon.
The Origami Garden – Ioana Stoian
For those of you in the UK, you’ll be able to get your own copy on August 14th 2015 (only 18 days from now!). However those in the US will have to wait until the 5th of January.
A video tutorial is in the pipeline as is a giveaway and even a book launch! So much to look forward to!
I was so happy to be in the right place at the right time when my friend Sipho Mabona had an ambitious idea to fold a life size elephant out of a single sheet of paper. His sculpture called for a piece of paper 15m x 15m (50ft x 50ft) large; the papermakers able to help him were Amanda Degener and Bridget O’Malley from Cave Paper in Minneapolis along with a handful of helpers, including myself.
Making handmade paper the size of a small house is a rather rare occurence. It involves a huge space to work, a lot of fibre and of course heaps of stamina. Using their connections, Amanda and Bridget managed to recruit enthusiastic helpers and took over The Grain Belt Brewery Complex, a former brewery which has been turned into artist studios. I had so much fun being a part of the team and participating in Sipho’s gorgeous elephant that I’ve decided to share the process with you.
18 sheets of paper measuring 5m(17ft) x 2.5m(8.5ft) were individually made and assembled into 6 strips. The strips were then sent to Switzerland where Sipho joined them in-situ into one very large square measuring 15m(50ft)x15m.
To make each 5m x 2.5m piece of paper, a nylon mesh was laid out directly on the floor. Flax paper pulp was then poured on to the mesh. This is enough to create paper, but Sipho needed a thick, uniform sheet so we applied sheets of handmade paper 50cm x 70cm onto the wet pulp and poured another layer of pulp over the top. That’s right, we created a very large, soggy, paper sandwich using around 115kg (250lbs) of paper!
Here are some images:
For those of you who are interested in the actual creation of the life-size elephant, Shiso Productions have made an excellent 6 part documentary series.
I love the way the internet facilitates communication and enables us to meet like-minded, interesting people. I’m almost always up for a challenge and thoroughly enjoy collaborations with other artists – adapting my skills and techniques is great mental stimulation!
Earlier this year I was contacted by Ornella Gallo di Fortuna, an Italian fashion designer based in London. She needed a touch of origami inspiration for her 2013 millinery collection origami romance, and I was available to help. I folded the different pieces out of my hand-made paper first and then out of a variety of different fabrics that had been prepared with a stiffening agent. To keep the creases nice and crisp I found that the best solution was to iron each and every fold.
This was a fun project and I am very honoured to have contributed to some of these beautiful compositions. Here are a few of my favourite images, but many more are visible on the links above.
