Book By Its Cover » My Michigan

8.5.08

Gwen Frostic

While visiting San Francisco I had to check out all of the adorable shops in the Mission. One of my favorites was The Curiosity Shoppe which had so many unique products I have never seen anywhere else (wooden bricks, apple sweaters, talking paintings) One of the owners of the store is also an editor at Readymade magazine. Here’s some pictures from the shop. They also have a small selection of interesting books. That’s where I got this one. Originally published in 1957, this book is illustrated with Gwen Frostic’s gorgeous woodblock prints in multiple colors. The paper they are printed on is thick and rough giving the flat color areas of her prints a lot of texture. Also the paper edges have been left rough making this book feel even more like a little handmade treasure. The text that the illustrations accompany is a poem all about the greatness that Michigan has to offer- it’s flowers, bridges, factories, churches, trees. Gwen has produced a number of books like this one and her work is sold as prints and on a number of products which you can check out here. Pick up a copy of this book here.

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9 Comments

08/5/08 8:31am

Abi wrote

Yum! Flat planes of colored ink make me wanna lick ‘em.

08/5/08 1:46pm

natalie wrote

My mom stumbled on Gwen Frostic’s workshop on a road trip around Michigan back in the 90s when Gwen was still alive and running her own printshop. Our family treasures our Gwen Frostic books, cards and (dwindling supply of) wrapping paper…

08/6/08 7:28pm

jinnie wrote

I have the Those Who See book, and it’s really worth every penny. Every page is so beautiful and wonderful to touch.. makes me want to collect them all!

08/10/08 10:09pm

yasmine wrote

oh, i was recently introduced to her work, and it’s just absolutely gorgeous.

michigas is also absolutely gorgeous :)

08/18/08 7:47am

ScentScelf wrote

Gwen Frostic the person was, and the studio still is, a Michigan institution. She left the Detroit area and set up shop in what was essentially the middle of nowhere, because she found it beautiful. What others find in locations like Santa Fe, she found in NW Michigan, and specifically had her studio built to take in the view and incorporate the landscape. (The studio is on a river, and sometimes you can find live frogs inside, along with the tree roots, etc.)

At one point, you could still (with permission) see Gwen’s original blocks for her prints. You can watch the old presses at work, and sit in the archive room and go through a large selection of prints she created. The last time I saw her, she was in her 80’s, and still going strong.

Great blog–glad I discovered it!

08/22/08 12:33am

danica wrote

i’ve seen her work before (and admired it very much) but never realized that she was in her 80’s, or that she’d been around for such a long time. i love that for some reason. and i love everything about this book. even if it wasn’t about my home state!

09/3/08 6:36pm

sosser wrote

i love gwen frostic’s work and michigan and i have been trying to get up to her studio for years. this book is gorgeous. maybe it will have to do for now…

09/6/08 9:46pm

ScentScelf wrote

Just to clarify…Gwen actually lived into her nineties, but died in April of 2001.

12/9/08 4:23pm

Susan wrote

I remember seeing her in the 60’s walking through her print shop. She was bent over and walked with a cane. I thought she was ancient
then.
They say she wrote her own epitaph: I was doubly blessed; I was happy and I knew it.

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© Julia Rothman 2007