Also, you’ll find three excellent books are 500 Handmade Books, Speaking of Book Art: Interviews with British and American Book Artists, and The Penland Book of Handmade Books. Each is an inspiration as you progress through your thinking about your own work.
Finally, check out philobiblon.com, an extraordinary source for all things dealing with the subject: various links, plus exhibitions, and reference works. It’s a site you can easily bury yourself in, so visit when you have lots of time!
Julie Chen, True to Life, Siblia Savage photo
Chapter and Verse Discovering the expected in unexpected ways is one of the joys of craft. Few give more pleasure than the spectacular projects of the paper and book arts. In addition to Julie Chen, consider some of these boundary-stretching artists:
• Dolph Smith, whose sculptural books are like small kinetic sculptures with moving parts;
• Barbara Mauriello constructs intricate handmade “memory” boxes and slipcases to expand on the stories she tells within;
• “Paper engineer,” Carol Barton, whose pop-ups and tunnel books (with cutouts in the middle of concertina pages that allow the reader to see through the book from one page to the next) literally give dimension to her works;
• Daniel Kelm, a former chemistry professor whose kinetic books combines a knowledge of physical science with interests in alchemy and philosophy;
• Susan King, described by a fellow artist as “the mother of artists books,” incorporates a Kentucky religious upbringing with a legacy of storytelling in her work;
• Richard Minsky’s works address political and social issues with striking, and sometimes startling, imagery;
• Clifton Meador makes books that develop ideas through tiny nuances, broad gestures, and overwhelming contrasts
Julie Chen, A Guide to Higher Learning, Siblia Savage photo
