I began by completing several drawings of owls which can be seen in North Carolina. I also read Jennifer Ackerman’s book What an Owl Knows. It was a great and informative read!
These are the six owls I included in the book - Barn Owl, Barred Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl, Northern Saw-Whet Owl, Short-eared Owl. These blocks are carved and ready to print.
I had made this cotton rag paper several years ago. I printed pressure prints in a taupe and gray hue. Next, I printed a blue mat to serve as a background for each owl. I printed the owls in a charcoal black hue.
This image shows how I set the type forms of the owl’s names on the press. I printed this text directly beneath the prints of the owls.
The pages have been cut to size and ready to fold. The book was a double sided accordion structure.
This is the reverse side of the book. I sewed the two sides together with cotton thread after folding.
I then cut and assembled the covers using Davey board, papyrus, and milk paint. The recessed area will hold the cover text once the boards are completed.
I applied several coats of milk paint to the cover boards, sanded them, and applied black shoe polish (yes, shoe polish). The dark square area is the recession.
Interior detail.
Planning, designing, and creating this book was a rewarding and enriching process. I learned a great deal about owls, about printing, and about myself! This is why I love the process of creating - growing as an artist and person.
I recently completed a new artist book called Wise Wonders. Watching two Short-Eared Owls in flight on a cold winter evening in February of 2024 inspired this book.
Here are the five initial owls I chose. I transferred the drawings to the linoleum blocks and then traced over the drawings with a black Sharpee pen. This step facilitates the carving process.
This image of a Barred Owl in flight is on the reverse side of the book’s interior. Once the seven blocks were carved, I was ready to set the type and print all the book’s components. I used 12 pt Garamond and three tiny antique leaf ornaments. I printed the verses, colophon, and title pages separately on white handmade rag paper (the same as the relief prints, but without a pressure printed background). I then cut them to size and tipped them in while assembling the book.
Here, the relief blocks are set up on my Vandercook SP 15 ready to print. It was exciting to see the blocks locked up in this form on the press!
These forms are the additional text which I added while assembling the book.
I was pleased with how well the pages folded and the images fit correctly on their spaces! My careful planning and measuring paid off.
Here I have measured and cut the text portions of the book.
I then applied papyrus to the covers.
Completed book, front cover board.
Interior detail.
I made a portfolio for the completed book.
