Artist Books
Artist books are crafted by hand and are small book objects. They often have high quality paper, binding, and/or printing. Their construction takes much time and development, as a concept is woven into words and a physical experience.
For example, they can include printing with letterpress or wood blocks, interactive pulleys or tabs, embossed text, handmade papers, envelopes filled with feathers—you name it!
When reading an artist poetry book, it's a three-dimensional experience. The books are tactile and engage your senses to fully immerse your body in the content. They allow you to feel soft or rough textures, smell an earthy tone, see hidden text suddenly revealed through an overlay, or hear the sound handmade papers make when turning them.
Artist books invite the reader to slow down. They provide a quiet and often delightful experience to cherish which allows for meditative contemplation. In our consumable culture, it's a way to bring a little part of the peace and wonder of an art museum into your life.
Each fold and stitch has been rendered with thought and care. These books ask the reader to also interact with delicate, deliberate joy. Because the work is done by hand, there are variations in paper choice, materials, and meaning, which make each experience unique.
If you'd like to buy any of the following books, please contact me.
Burlesque Interludes is a handmade artist poetry book celebrating and ruminating on burlesque dancers, the body, and mysteries of the self. Interior paper colors and textures remind readers of various skin, hair, and clothing, as well as passion and vulnerability. The flashy, bright, shimmery covers are available in blue/green/purple, blue/green/purple with a dragon or mermaid-like texture, or orange/pink/red. The book also includes beautiful hand cut paper wings from artist Lea Zalinskis in a velvety black paper, which hint at what is seen and hidden. Burlesque Interludes invites interactivity and reflection.
$30 plus shipping (may ship in a clear vellum envelope), limited edition, first printing
Seaweed is an artist poetry book created with a soft, welcoming cover and interior mulberry papers handcrafted in Thailand or Japan. The range of earthy green- or brown-toned papers, often textured with leaves or other organic materials, puts the reader in touch with the flow of seaweed in water. This book brings seaweed closer, and encourages you to float with the water all around you.
$20 plus shipping (may ship in a clear vellum envelope), limited edition, third printing only with the most popular dark green cover
Crushed Flowers Bare Their Hearts is a handmade artist poetry book speaking to the teenager in all of us. What is it about this tumultuous and tender and strange part of our existence as we struggle to mature? And which parts of that experience do we still hold dear or fight against, even after entering adulthood? In a CD booklet size, with glossy printing that harkens back to CD inserts, these poems contemplate adolescence. Flower graphics speak to each tanka poem, entwined with Nirvana song titles and content inspired from the songs in the album "Nevermind."
$10 plus shipping (may ship in a plastic CD case), first printing