Graduation Book

Last weekend my little sister Margaret graduated from Mt. Holyoke. Congratulations!

As I graduation gift I asked our family and life long friends to contribute any words of wisdom, advice, or meaningful quotes. I took all the input (40 pages worth), designed it up real pretty in InDesign, threw in a few illustrations, printed and bound it into a pocket-sized encyclopedia.

Here are the results, and if I do so humbly say so myself, it's one of my best books to date.

And a great big shout out to Margaret for taking these pictures herself, what a pro!

Month of Love - Seasons

For Month of Love we decided to a surprise challenge for Leap Day: Seasons.

 I made a quick (overnight) little color wheel book of all the things I love from each season.

This has been one of my favorite years, both for my own work and that of others. The variety and quality is truly breathtaking. Don't forget to check out the Month of Love website for our final week.

Month of Love - Lost in Translation

This week's challenge for Month of Love was Lost in Translation.

Looking for love in the all the wrong inanimate objects...

I like the sketchbook page I did for this a lot:

Month of Love - Heroes

Another Month of Love is here! This week's challenge was Heroes.

When I was a kid my dad used to sing us the song “Come Take a Trip in My Airship;” a song about a pilot who takes away a young lady away from all this in his airship. But whenever my dad sang it me as a kid he replaced all the ‘hes’ with ‘shes.’ Suddenly there was a woman flying through the universe having adventures and when she decided to settle down she asked the man to marry her. I loved this strong, empowered sky captain and wanted to capture the chorus of the song in a book. This was my first star book (the name comes from the star shape it creates when viewed from above while open).

Don't forget to check it out on Month of Love and see all the other incredible art that's being made!

Some sketches for the airship:

Beyond the Book - Artists' Talk

Tonight I will be at the Faneuil Branch of the Boston Public Library to participate in a group Artists' Talk about my books that are in the Beyond the Book IX show. The talk will be from 6:30 - 7:30.

The show will up until the 23rd, with another Artists' Talk on the 21st at the Brighton Branch. If you're local, stop by and take a look!

Beyond the Book IX

Several of my books were accepted into the annual Beyond the Book show hosted at the Fanueil Branch of the Boston Public Library in Brighton. The opening will be this Saturday from 11:00 - 1:00 and the show will remain up through the end of January.

My pieces Love Thy Neighbor, The Narrow House, and Mirror, Mirror will all be on display.

Month of Fear - Danse Macabre

It's my final piece, and the final day of Month of Fear!

When I was younger I spent a lot of time at my younger sister’s ballet recitals. Though most of it was a snooze-fest for me, the best performance was the little kids who had absolutely no coordination but were trying their damndest. This inspired my Danse Macabre piece, which I didn’t research much, but I’m sure obviously translates to “Dances Adorably”. I started with a mummy but as these characters devolved it didn’t really fit anymore, I would like to try and add it in for the classic horror film superfecta.

Month of Fear Appreciation Post

Artists (counterclockwise from top left): Sam Guay, Jenna Kass, 

Tim Paul, Rovina Cai, Serena Malyon, and Shannon Knight

As we turn the corner from crisp chill October to downright cold November we see the end of another Month of Fear. I've loved working on this project for the past three years. It's always so inspiring to see the work of other incredible artists and it pushes me to make the best art I possibly can. It's our final week this week, with the theme Danse Macabre, so catch one last look at Month of Fear!

Month of Fear - What Lies Beneath?

This week's Month of Fear challenge was What Lies Beneath? I made a box that opened with multiple panels to reveal different pieces of anatomy. There's a brain made of cork with thoughts pinned to it; a ribcage made of paper covered a heart painted on a stone; a stomach embroidered full of knots. The lid of the box is indented with a silhouette.

Month of Fear - Mirrors

Month of Fear is back in excellent form! This week's challenge is Mirrors, which led me into learning about the various death beliefs of the Victorians. Text reads:

Immensely obsessed with death, the Victorians believed that mirrors in the homes of the deceased needed to be covered to prevent the departed soul from being trapped behind the glass, unable to pass over.
The Victorians also believed that if a mirror in your home fell and broke of it’s own accord, it was a portent that someone in the home was going to die.

Cut paper on mirrors mounted in a handmade board book, measures 4.5 x 4.5 inches.

Slipcase Week - Day 4: The Narrow House

Making the slipcase for the Narrow House book was a bit more complex than some of the others and took a bit paper engineering to make the shape of the case match slope of the roof. But it was well worth the effort to create this uniquely shaped case.