Portfolio of Artist's Books

Beyond Compare--view 2

Beyond Compare, a Slinky-style book, contains extensive drawings and handwritten information on Mammoth Cave (KY), plus a wall-size U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of Mammoth Cave National Park, cut into 3" x 6" folios. This is one of five books in the set titled A Cabinet of Mammoth Cave Wonders, which I created for MCNP after serving as the 2009 Artist-in-Residence. More information about this book and the set as a whole, as well as a book titled Cave Sing, is available on the Books & Tales part of this website. Cave Sing views are also part of this website's Portfolio.

Beyond Compare--view 1

Beyond Compare--view 3

A Mammoth Cave Cabinet of Wonders--view 1

In 2009, I had the privilege of serving as Mammoth Cave National Park's Artist-in-Residence. After returning to my studio, I created this five-book set, titled A Cabinet of Mammoth Cave Wonders, for donation to the park. Images of each book are part of this website Portfolio, and more information about my park experiences and this set appears in the Books & Tales part of this website. In the Portfolio and on the Books & Tales webpage, there are also details about a separate MCNP artist's book, titled Cave Sing. My fascination with this cave system--the world's longest--and its history continues to grow!

A Mammoth Cave Cabinet of Wonders--view 2

Carver, Sustainer--view 1

This 9-signature, soft-cover, Coptic-stitched book deals with water’s effects on the park’s karst landscape and on cave formation, as depicted through laser-printed text on clear acetate pages encased in multicolored-paper pages with hand-torn designs (5 1/2″ wide x 3 3/4″ high x 1 1/16″ deep).

Carver, Sustainer--view 2

Carver, Sustainer--view 3

Carver, Sustainer--view 4

Chiropterans of This Karst--view 1

This 9-section, origami-style, multifold book focuses on the park’s bat population. I incorporated extensive drawings and handwritten facts, plus sections from a US Geological Survey topographic map of the park. (Dimensions: 5″ wide x 5″ high x 1 1/8″ deep; fully opened—forms a multi-angled circle 11 1/2″ in diameter)

Chiropterans of This Karst--view 2

Chiropterans of This Karst--view 3

Chiropterans of This Karst--view 4

Descent into Particulars--view 1

This 14-page accordion-style hard-cover book has clear acetate pages that contain laser-printed information about the explorers and mapmakers Stephen Bishop, Max Kämper, and Ed Bishop, along with their photos, the place-names from their maps, and portions of their maps. (Dimensions: closed—11 1/2″ wide x 3 7/8″ high x 13/16″ deep; opened fully—approximately 45″, with less extension providing different multilayered views)

Descent into Particulars--view 2

Descent into Particulars--view 3

Descent into Particulars--view 4

Notes on the Tiny Fraction--view 1

This hard-cover book with a collapsible “fishbone-fold” interior depicts the tour routes in relation to the cave’s known length, at the time of my 2009 stay. (The cave's mapped length is now 400 miles.) I represented the "tiny fraction" that's viewable to the public through paintings and extensive handwritten notes about the cave and my tour experiences. (Dimensions: 5 1/4″ wide x 9 1/4″ high x 3/8″ deep; opened fully—approx. 24″ long)

Notes on the Tiny Fraction--view 2

Notes on the Tiny Fraction--view 3

Notes on the Tiny Fraction--view 4

Cave Sing--view 1

Cave Sing is a “star tunnel” book—that is, a book in which four multilayered tunnel sections are connected so that the book, when fully opened, forms a star. The book’s imagery and words center on 19th-century customs, and each tunnel section contains layers with silhouettes, historical facts and quotes, and collages with many different papers. When opened into the star, Cave Sing is 12″ high and 18″ from each star point to the opposite one.

Cave Sing--view 2

Cave Sing--view 3

Cave Sing--view 4

Cave Sing--view 5

Cave Sing--view 6

All in Stride

All in Stride is a Slinky-style book created with Lucia Harrison for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, as part of a seven-book set, This Stretch of Riches, that we donated after having served as this park's 2006 Artists-in-Residence. An account of our experiences and descriptions of this project appear in the Books & Tales part of this website.

This Stretch of Riches

After serving as Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore's 2006 Artists-in-Residence, Lucia Harrison and I created a seven-book set, This Stretch of Riches, and donated that to the park (which was this country's first national lakeshore). The set's central element, titled All in Stride, is a Slinky-style book containing inkjet prints from more than 40 pieces of original artwork reflecting our views of the park's scenery and resources. The set also contains six accordion-style books of haiku I'd written, and for these, Lucia created inkjet-printed covers based on our original artwork. An account of our experiences and descriptions of this project appear in the Books & Tales part of this website.

Edging Deep Blue

After serving as Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore's 2006 Artists-in-Residence, Lucia Harrison and I created a seven-book set, This Stretch of Riches, and donated that to the park (which was this country's first national lakeshore). An account of our experiences and descriptions of this project appear in the Books & Tales part of this website. There, I also describe a separate project I completed for donation to the park--a book of poetry and photography, titled Edging Deep Blue. This book has a hard cover accented by a lovely blue bookcloth, one of my pastepaper designs suggesting Lake Superior's waves, and blue-streaked glass beads on Irish linen thread.