BOOK & PRINT

TRADITIONAL BOOK ARTS include printmaking, bookbinding, gilding, water marbling, and paper making. I have tried my hand at many different aspects of book design and construction. I find that books are perhaps the holistic way to combine my many artistic interests including illustration, typography, and traditional craft. 

LITHOGRAPHS

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ABOUT THE PROCESS

Lithography feels like the printmaking method most connected to expressive drawing. For me, it feels like a more direct translation from a sketch than most of the relief techniques I enjoy. I have practiced both plate and stone lithography and have experimented with layered prints that employ masking and traditional water marbling. 

RELIEF PRINT

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ABOUT THE PROCESS

I have worked in many types of relief print but primarily wood cut and letterpress. My letterpress training began in 2010 and in that same year I began commercial work under the moniker Panthera Press. My private press primarily produces custom stationery such as wedding invites, but when I have time I like to experiment with more conceptual prints. 

GILDING

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ABOUT THE PROCESS

Gilding has a long history within the book arts because it has such a powerful effect on the viewer. It is also a craft I find incredibly challenging. Mixing and applying a traditional plaster base for gilding is a difficult process to learn, but worthwhile for the focal point it can add to a design. I have experimented with many ways to apply gold to a design including traditional raised gilding, powdered shell gold, and more modern metallic pigments. 

 

Shadow

Questions about Perspective

 

I was powerfully affected by a documentary I saw about the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings. In light of the current political unrest we are facing as a nation it seems important to me to recall the actions of the past. It may seem strange to focus on a past event when there is so much currently going on worth exploring, but I believe time and distance gives a deeper perspective to this event. After thorough research I decided that text should create a contrast with the imagery. Japanese poems serve as a counterpoint to the images.  All of these poems were written long before any interaction between America
and Japan (with the exception of my poem at the end), but put in context with these images of war they gain an added depth.

Something important in this work is the idea of perspective and entitlement/access. As a second generation American with immigrant parents (neither from Japan) what access do I have to speak about something like this? Considering both of my grandfathers are American military – though not serving in WWI I, is my perspective even valid (keeping in mind I may be descended from the aggressors of this tragedy)? I believe no culture can claim exclusive access to something of this importance. My research has raised more questions than answers and this book is a way of sympathizing with the victims and finding my place in relation to the events of the past.

 

 

Shadow

Questions about Perspective

 

I was powerfully affected by a documentary I saw about the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings. In light of the current political unrest we are facing as a nation it seems important to me to recall the actions of the past. It may seem strange to focus on a past event when there is so much currently going on worth exploring, but I believe time and distance gives a deeper perspective to this event. After thorough research I decided that text should create a contrast with the imagery. Japanese poems serve as a counterpoint to the images.  All of these poems were written long before any interaction between America
and Japan (with the exception of my poem at the end), but put in context with these images of war they gain an added depth.

Something important in this work is the idea of perspective and entitlement/access. As a second generation American with immigrant parents (neither from Japan) what access do I have to speak about something like this? Considering both of my grandfathers are American military – though not serving in WWI I, is my perspective even valid (keeping in mind I may be descended from the aggressors of this tragedy)? I believe no culture can claim exclusive access to something of this importance. My research has raised more questions than answers and this book is a way of sympathizing with the victims and finding my place in relation to the events of the past.

 

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