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Created as part of my 2021 project for Albion College's Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (FURSCA) research program.
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The aim of my FURSCA project was to create a series of seven unique artist books, inspired by the exploration of the role of historic influences on contemporary artists and subject matter. I used three Vandercook letterpresses, located in the Albion College Print Shop, to create several of my books, utilized my knowledge of ceramics to create a sculptural piece, and learned new skills in printmaking. I set up my FURSCA schedule so that, during the first two weeks of the program, I would be doing independent research in the Albion College Archives and Special Collections, and during the final eight weeks of the program, I would tackle six unique exploration prompts, roughly one a week. These prompts evolved as the weeks went by, changing to further push me outside of my normal realm of artistic creation. The prompts are as follows: difficult binding, circular, light and transparency, texture, sentimentality, and wood.
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My goal was to create books that pushed the boundaries of conventional materials and allowed for me to challenge both my creative thinking and technical skills. I pushed myself to create books that were not strictly made out of paper and printed text. This led to me focusing on found object art, sculptural books, and the creation of much more technically difficult and large pieces than I had completed previously.
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