Jun 9, 2011

Hand Made Shadows










"What shadows doth hide in the souls of human kind?"


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Well a last year I bought a Dell Laser Colour printer. When it arrived it was so  heavy it came on a wooden pallette. It took two of us to loft it out of my ute and it sits in the middle of our home office, a black monolith the size of an old fashioned poof. And we all know how big an old fashioned poof is, don't we?











Well, I kept the pallett cause it was kind of interesting, and I knew that in the next one hundred and fifty years it would come in handy for something or other. And so, the other day, when I had finally finished the last kilometre of my folding book I was making for the show that opens next Saturday, I realised it need a box.






And not just any box. It had to be old and patinated and gothic and bashed around (a lot like me bar the gothic). And so I realised that it would be a great irony if I made a box from the pallette that had supported the printer that I had printed the pages for my book from. And so the idea for this box was born.












The box is kind of handy actually. The book sits in it and the pages fold out of it. Kinda weird, but it adds presence to the procedings of the reading. And it was fun making the covers cause I didn't have a clue what I was doing. And I ended up making packers to sit around the pages to stop the book innards sliding around and breaking when the book is in the box.








Accordion books are great fun because the folding structure can go anyway you like. It can go sideways, or up or down, and y ou can stick pages in the middle of the accordion structure as if they are pages of an ordinary book. And you can have big spreads  of three or four pages that all go to make one big image. That's  if you are inclined.













That image above on the left, well that's the witch in the story, the one that get's burnt in the oven. Well you pull the red thing and she pops out of the burning oven. Heh.
There's also a few pages of writing in the front of the book as an introduction. That's there to make you think I am smart :) I am not sure if that ruse woked though... (see pic below)













And did I tell you I made a Blurb book as well?. So I have made an Artist's Limited Edition of 100 and they will be on exhibition at the gallery. I had some critique on this one that was extremely valuable - so thank you to those artists for their advice - you know who you are!













And lastly I made this book cover for a book which will be feautured at the show called Cape Grimm by Carmel Bird. You'll probably recognise it from a few posts ago.



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Thank you for looking. I'll be visiting tomorrow :) Watch out! Heh.





21 comments:

  1. hi Andrew!!!
    That book you have created is AMAZING! I would love to peek through a book with all ofyour illustrations - especially in that accordian style...did you make that?
    Glad the box worked out for you!!! and a new printer - that's what I need!
    There are some really cool mice here on the side bar staring at me! andrew, they are awesome, they look so real!!!! hope you are well!

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  2. Eh, I congratulate you, this looks great!
    (ehhhh, it's expensive, right?)
    Oh Venetian masks always gave me a kind of terror, I do not know why.
    You are an artist with all full-time
    I always believed that an artist was all day watching the horizon, smoking, drinking wine, waiting for the muses inspiring
    but I really see, you do not have time for that haha.
    Congratulations
    (you could not get the printer above the couch?)

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  3. This project wrapped up wonderfully! Beautifully, in fact! How perfectly the salvaged box worked to house your accordion book... Just the thing to encourage keeping interesting stuff, in case "you ever need it" (ahem).
    Love the directional folding options and the window for the witch to appear! Curious to know what deeds the shady pup is hiding behind his mask? ;o)

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  4. I like the facelift Andrew, nice new header and your shadow piece is wonderful. I love the masks. I think the book turned out beautifully and hope the show was a major success. I love the crate and the fancy corners on the book too.
    Are you grilling? I know that's really why you haven't been by to see me you know. Be careful, it may cause addiction. At least that's what my husband seems to believe :)

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  5. Huh? No R13 rating on those book covers? These editions will be worth more to collectors.

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  6. Blimey! You sure know how to play your accordion!! Really, the book looks awecellent!!! I wish I had oodles of money stashed away in a cave somewhere, so I can pretend to be an art collector and buy a copy!!!! You must, must make a few limited edition copies and sell them, I have no doubt people are going to be lining up.

    And good idea with the wooden box, it adds more beaten antique look to it. All the best with the exhibition, my friend!

    ~bigbelly!~

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  7. PS: Having a crush on your new blog look... I love the crow on top of the rat on top the crow on top of the rat on top of the crow...

    Heheh.

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  8. OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! This is great! I am so impressed with the accordion book! That is really awesome. How exciting is this? Very! At least that's what I feel.

    Your hard work paid off. The book looks very elegant.

    OOOOOOHHHH, to whom is he giving that finger? That was the first thing I saw at lunchtime when I first came to visit but could not comment.

    You really are an excellent storyteller!!!

    BRAVO!!!

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  9. Wows! You are big! Your illustrations are not just beautiful, because they have something special.

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  10. Oh Wow! How? Everything wonderful!

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  11. Probably one of the most inspirational posts I have ever seen, Andrew. I really applaud you for your hard work, your creativity and your ingenuity! Talk about awesome..to create a space for your book out of the pallet of the printer which printed your book...conceptually perfecto!

    I LOVE the illustration of the big bad wolf and little Red. How did I miss that one, Andrew? I love it. And of course your gorgeous illustrations look fabulous bound and with the red tabs that help the book from flipping about. I think it's ingenious to have her pop out of the flames by the way! And, no need to fight it, Andrew, you are an intelligent craftsman/artist who makes us want to delve deeper into your work each time we view it. SUPER duper congratulations and I know your book will be a hit at the show. Big hugs from California to you!

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  12. Oh. the moon is like death, it is a dangerous lover, she never wants to lose!!!!!
    until Thursday!

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  13. I'm impressed from beginning to end with this project. The book looks wonderful, the crate was a great idea, everything looks spectacular. I'm wishing you every success at the show, and really want to hear about your experiences there. Congrats! Bravo! Love the new look for this blog too!

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  14. now you know why you got me speechless, Andrew, this is SUPERB and i love the idea of the box!!!!
    My kind of thing:
    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jhFvgPO084U/Te_rlSeDSaI/AAAAAAAAEco/iF6w4caPKv4/s1600/IMG_3904_1.gif

    Good luck with the exhibition too. I'm sure all the visitors will love the work!


    Sincerely,

    your fan.

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  15. i forgot, let me tell you something secret, this wooden box, Andrew, we are made of wood, you know, what we burn apart from witches are more witches and wood. Haha, be careful :D

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  16. 'tis one of those illuminators (did i say it right???) that is hard to measure in terms of value, but you just know it in your heart and bones. I hope you are well.

    i'm worried =(

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  17. Hello, I am supposed to be sleeping or painting, instead I am blogging. I just read Mita's comments and for some reason some words are sticking out. Oh never mind. Hello. I hope you are well.

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  18. Wow--most amazing production. I really wish I could see the whole thing, and put my hands on the pages--open then up, and pore over them. I love your images on the screen, but I'd really like to put my hands on them.

    So, these are in bookstores everywhere, yes? (not the wooden-box/accordion-style book), but the others.....surely, but I just haven't seen them because I don't go in bookstores, because buying books is no in my budget.....

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  19. Just when I thought you could not get more awesome, you have to go and prove me wrong. Really, Finnie, a vintage looking wooden crate???? Pure artistic genius! And WAAAH!!! A pull-out witch! Oh MY! Quite the interactive masterpiece. I am absolutely slack jawed! You know, I love collecting pop-up books by Sabuda, so I go nuts over little touches like this. Great big standing ovation, waving my lighter in the air with one hand and shaking my glow stick in the other!

    And the new blog look is icing on top of the cake. Yummy! Congratulations, my friend.

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  20. Amazing book! Beautiful box! You've done it again, man! What else can I say with an exclamation. Oh, yes! Cheers!

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