Book By Its Cover » Handmade

Noun

julia — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:57:52 +0000

Book artist and printmaker Yuka Petz created this fun book of mix and match words. By flipping the each side of the book, you can create a new nouns with crazy new meanings. Yuka started with 27 real English words and their definitions but then divided into two parts. Each time one side of the book is flipped, the word and definition changes. There are so many variations and many of them seem like they might be real words. Some funny examples are: muffin + tyrant = muffrant: A quick bread made of batter unrestrained by law or constitution, or whisper + umbrella = whisbrella: A low sibilant utterance for sheltering one from rain and sun. Learn more about Yuka’s work from her site here.

Prism Index

julia — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:56:04 +0000

I think this art compilation may have been the first Kickstarter project I funded. It’s a handmade mixed-media book called Prism Index and this is the second issue. There are only 500 hand numbered copies made and each has silkscreened cover on handmade paper, has a hand-sewn binding and includes a cd of music. Some of the artists included are Chris Johanson, Mel Kadel, Matt Furie… but see the long list of artists, writers, poets involved right here. This book is a real treasure and I hope this project continues to get funding and gets made. See more about it here and get a copy here.

Floral Decorations for Bananas

julia — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:09:58 +0000

In this very lovely silkscreened zine Edie Fake illustrated a poem by Wallace Stevens called Floral Decorations for Bananas. Each page has a line from the poem with a different floral centerpiece image. From afar these centerpieces look like they could be made of beautiful flowers and fruits but when you take a closer look, you’ll find legs, penises, dead fish, nipples, ladies licking and more! How can you not love Edie’s work? Too fun. This book isn’t available yet but if you wish it was, write Edie and tell him and make sure you have his other stuff.

Health & Science and Love City

julia — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:20:47 +0000

Recently I took a visit over to the Pencil Factory in Greenpoint, Brooklyn to do a little studio visit with some of my favorite illustrators. Ted Mc Grath often creates zines and was kind enough to give me a couple to take home with me after our chat. If you haven’t seen Ted’s work, make sure to check out his website where he has loads of amazing stuff made for top clients. I love his loose mixed media pieces best. There’s so much energy in them and so many beautiful textural details. Ted’s sketchbook was a stand-out in Drawn In and I was happy to take another peek at it when I was there. Thanks Ted!

Atlas Mons

julia — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:36:09 +0000

I have begun to sort through all the books that have accumulated this summer so I can start sharing again. I received three gorgeous handmade artist books from a printmaking studio in Cape Town, South Africa called Warren Editions. They are part of a series of wordless picture books. I’ll share the other two later this week but today I wanted to focus on this beauty by artist Jean de Wet. His intricate drawings are about: (from Warren Edition’s website) “Atlas Mons’ sees the Birdman, ‘upon a mysterious perch, witness to the demise of another refugee and, the uncompromising brutality of the Forgotten Forests.” The images are all silkscreened and the book is sewn together. It’s quite a special object aside from Jean’s awesome drawings. You can learn more about Warren Editions and pick up a copy here.

The Garden

julia — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:28:12 +0000

This sweet, tiny, handmade book is a collaboration of illustrator Katriona Chapman and her boyfriend Sergio Galaviz. Each page on this hardbound concertina book is a different floating, organism-like drawing in ink, filled with bright shades of color. The book is a limited edition of only 50. You can get a copy here. Find out more here.

I like Cats

julia — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 01:53:47 +0000

My whole childhood I was a cat person. I grew up with cats as pets and loved having one snuggle in my lap. I often would stop in the street to pet a neighborhood cats. Now that we have Rudy, my love, I’ve switched over completely to being obsessed with dogs. Matt, my husband, calls me the “dog laugher” (like the dog whisperer) because I smile and talk to every dog we pass on the street. He’s sometimes gets embarrassed when I drift away mid-conversation to talk in a high voice to a passing dog. The owners understand– I tell him. Anyway, I do still have a soft spot for cats too, which is why I am quite fond of this book. It’s a book of feline art by tribal and folk artists of India. Like many of Tara Publishing’s books (they can do no wrong!), this book is all hand silk-screened and is part of a small edition. Pick up a copy for the cat lover in you right here.

Levels and Degrees of Light

Chad Kouri — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:20:37 +0000

The third installment of Alex Fuller and Gabe Usadel’s 5×7 Books is another beauty. At first glance this book didn’t really strike me as deeply as the first two but once I got it in my hands the book grabbed me by the eyelids and drug me deep into a forest of obscure compositions and hairline strokes. A majority of my time looking through this book was spent less than 2 inches away from the page. The gold foil stamped cover, rich green interior and milky paper stock really makes for some warm sensations both mentally and physically which flipping through. With much looser compositions than there previous releases, looking more like the silhouette of stacked cut paper than gridded out geometry, and what seems to me an experiment in negative space as positive shapes, Levels and Degrees of Light is a delightfully unexpected new release from the Chicago experimental design duo. All I’m waiting for is a little collab with these dudes and some obscure experimental music duo. Talk about a mind blow. The book is on sale until Friday right here.

Pebbles, Strange Attractor, Quits, Legend and other small books

julia — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:42:34 +0000

It’s so fun to get mail, especially when it comes in a pretty envelope and is full of tiny handmade books. Artist Brooke Appler sent me a small handful of accordion books she’s made and they are quite sweet and fun. They all are palm sized or smaller and fold out to reveal lots of detailed and patterned pen drawings. I especially like the tiniest two books. Quilts has a different quilt on each page with the fictional quilt creator’s name underneath. Legend shows the tiny patterns inspired by a Parisian road atlas. Brooke seems to constantly be making more and more tiny books and you can follow the process on her blog here. You can buy them from her shop here.

Love is about timing

julia — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:59:43 +0000

I got to briefly meet illustrator Caroline Hwang at the Brooklyn Comics Festival last month where I bought this little zine from her. The beautiful little handmade book opens like a matchbook and the pages are sewn in. It’s a sad love story about trying to make a relationship work. I’ve always liked Caroline’s work especially when she mixes her mediums adding fabric and embroidery into her illustrations. If you haven’t checked out her work yet be sure to stop by her illustration site and shop to pick up a copy of this book for only $5.