Last week I was invited by Anne, a fellow artist, to visit the International School of the Peninsula in Palo Alto, CA to share my artists’ books with two second grade classes.
It was very fun to see the children’s book projects. One class is making pop-up books of monuments from around the world. Another class is making moveable picture show books in shoeboxes with dowels to turn the scrolls.
It was much less challenging to explain, “What is an artist book?” to second graders than it is to adults. From their perspective it was art and a book. Period. Since we were in their library, we looked at how some of my books look just like a library book and can sit on a shelf, while others hardly look like “books” at all. I enjoyed sharing in their excitement in looking at the books I’d brought and I was impressed with the care they showed in handling them.
One of their favorites was a collaborative alphabet book that I made with other artists in the Bay Area Book Artists called Alphabeastiary (each artist made enough prints of their letter for everyone, and then we bound them in our own choice of binding. My binding includes a set of alphabeastiary blocks that I made by scanning the prints and then gluing them to wooden blocks.) The kids had a great time guessing each animal and seemed to really like that every artist has such a different style. Here is a slide show of the book followed by the artist’s information:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Title by Deborah Kogan
Edition Variable: 30 Sunprints
Image based on a medieval bestiary page in the St. John’s College Oxford Library depicting a dragon (symbolizing the devil) killing an elephant; Van Dyke Brown and cyanotype contact sunprints, digital negative on Pictorico transparency; background – stenciled onto the print, stencil brush, gold stamp pad
Introduction by Deborah Kogan
Edition: 30 Screen Prints
Print Gocco ink; “Papyrus” font; Print Gocco screen printing machine
Alligator by Kit Davey
Edition: 30 Stencils
Paper stencils; spray paint, card stock
Blue-Footed Booby by Ginnie Mickelson
Edition: 30 Relief Prints
Linoleum block, oil-based Daniel Smith relief ink, Somerset paper; hand printed with a baren; blue feet – stenciled onto the print, stencil brush
Cow by David Trujillo
Edition: 30 Relief Prints, 8 Artist’s Proofs
Based on an image from the Internet; Nasco “Safety-Kut” block, hand carved; Graphic Chemical oil-based inks, Rives BFK paper; Sturges etching press
Dragon by Karen Chew
Edition: 51 Screen Prints (additional prints will be sent as mail art)
Image hand-drawn in ink based on a photograph of a Japanese dragon statue; Riso inks, Rives BFK paper; Print Gocco screen printing machine
Elephant by Nanette Wylde
Edition: 30 Relief Prints
Image of the elephant deity Ganesha, patron of arts and sciences, deva of intellect and wisdom, from an unsigned appropriated source (copied, altered, laser-etched), carved into linoleum; oil-based inks, Rives BFK paper; etching press
Frog With Fleas by Nancy Welch
Edition: 30 Embossed Handmade Paper
Base paper made from plant fibers, “frog” paper made from rags; rolling pin press.
Gargoyle by Wren Clark
Edition: 30 Relief Prints, 10 Artist’s Proofs
Hand-drawn image; linoleum block, oil-based ink, Rives BFK paper; Line-o-Scribe letterpress
Horse by Cindy Hill
Edition: 30 Screen Prints, 6 Artist’s Proofs
Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Ink, Canford 70 lb. paper (Snow White)
‘I’iwi (Hawaiian finch) by Jone Small Manoogian
Edition: 30 Screen Prints, 8 Artist’s Proofs
Twelve hand-mixed colors, ten hand-cut film stencils, six subsequent block-outs; Speedball Water Soluble Screen Printing Ink, Rising Stonehenge paper (Antique White); artist-made wooden screen, 16-inch by 13-inch frame,13-inch by 10-inch screen opening,16-inch by 16-inch Formica covered plywood bed, 4-inch wide vinyl squeegee
Jellyfish by Ginger R. Burrell
Edition: 30 Relief Prints, 10 Artist’s Proofs
Linoleum block, Speedball printing ink, Rives BFK paper
Koi by Karen Koshgarian
Edition: 30 Relief Prints, 6 Artist’s Proofs
Hand-cut Speedball Speedy Carve block; Speedball Water Soluble Block Printing Ink, Rives BFK paper (cream); brayer, printed by hand
Llama by Becky Barber
Edition: 30 Screen Prints, 10 Artist’s Proofs
Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Ink, Rives BFK paper
Manatee by Astrid Smith
Edition: 38 Relief Prints
Two-plate linocut, linoleum; Rives Lightweight paper; Vandercook letterpress
Narwhal by Kimball Hamilton, Two Left Hands Press
Edition 30 Relief Prints
Photopolymer relief plates; rubber-based inks; Chandler & Price Pilot platen letterpress
Octopus by Elise Guidoux
Edition: 30 Relief Prints, 4 Artist’s Proofs
Foam cut out and surface distressed, Speedball Water Soluble Block Printing Ink, Rives BFK paper (cream); brayer, printed by hand
Pig by Dottie Cichon
Edition: 32 Relief Prints, 2 Artist’s Proofs
Hand-carved; soft linoleum block, Speedball Water Soluble Block Printing Ink, Rives BFK paper; Jack Richeson & Company press
Quail by Karen Cutter
Edition: 30 Relief Prints, 10 Artist’s Proofs
Image created with handset wood and metal type; oil-based ink, Rives BFK paper; Line-o-Scribe letterpress
Rooster by Rae Trujillo
Edition: 30 Relief Prints
Free-hand drawing based on a photograph; two-plate collograph, card stock, varnish; Graphic Chemical oil-based inks, Stonehenge paper; Rembrandt etching press
Snake by Linda Stinchfield
Edition: 30 Relief Prints
Photopolymer relief plates; Precision Graphics Perfect Palette ink
Turtle Dreams by Jeanne Schreiber
Edition: 30 Screen Prints
Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Ink, Canford 70 lb. Paper (Snow White)
Urchin by Karin A. Schulz
Edition: 30 Relief Prints with Blind Debossing
Original design; plate – layered, heavy manila paper and 1/8-inch linoleum; color added to selected areas of the plate with a roller; Open Acrylic paint, Arches Cover paper (white); etching press.
Vulture by Pati Bristow
Edition: 30 Relief Prints, 3 Artist’s Proofs
(Artist intends to further carve the block and print an edition of 50 postcards)
Altered public domain image – “1894 Laughable Lyrics: A Fourth Book of Nonsense Poems, Songs, Botany, Music, etc. by Edward Lear;” hand-carved plate, linoleum; Graphic Chemical oil-base ink (Bismark Brown), Rives BFK paper; Line-o-Scribe letterpress
Walrus by Pat McEwin Smith
Edition: 30 Screen Prints, 8 Artist’s Proofs
Image inspired by a public domain image (redrawn, resized and digitally printed on a transparency), photo-emulsion screen; Water-Based Yudu ink, Lenox printmaking paper; Yudu Screen Printer
Xantus’s Murrelet by Cindy Lee
Edition: 50 Relief Prints, 1 Artist’s Proof
Original drawing; single-plate, hand-carved, Speedball E-Z Cut block; Speedball Water Soluble Block Printing Ink, Rives BFK paper; brayer, paint brush (dabbed red); Line-o-Scribe letterpress
Yapok (aquatic marsupial) by Raven Erebus
Edition: 30 Relief Prints
Two print runs: First – linocut using a blend of blue and gold ink, Second – metal type (Gillies font set) using a blend of green and gold ink; Rives BFK Heavyweight paper; Old Reliable platen letterpress
Zebra, By Sally Cole
Edition: 40 Screen Prints, 2 Artist’s Proofs
Image photo-transferred onto photo-emulsion screen; Water-Based Yudu ink (fuchsia), Lenox printmaking paper; Yudu Screen Printer
~Ginger
www.gingerburrell.com