2 3/8” x 2 1/4″

2024

Three years ago, moving to a New England coastal town sparked an old passion of mine for the sea. I began learning about the history and culture of the area. All that the sea offers us and how we care for it inspired the Haiku text for this book. Using sun and water, I created photopolymer plates for the text and image, and printed all on Fabriano papers. The image of the whale is an original linocut, inspired by a petroglyph, reduced, and a miniature photopolymer plate made. My handmade abaca papers have generous flowing deckled edges reminiscent of sea’s wavy edges. I developed a love for seaweed and now collect washed-up pieces from the beach, taking them back to the studio for floating, pressing and drying. Floating seaweed in water, I shape the design onto handmade or Fabriano paper. The coral weed is added to wet paper pulp during the papermaking process. The sea star is encased between natural mica sheets and framed with Fabriano papers. The content overflows the covers to suggest how the sea offers an abundance of life.

To the Sea utilizes a compound binding with a coptic supported concertina. The covers are shaped by combining several types of polymer clays, conditioned and colored by passing through a pasta machine approximately 100 times. My whale image is embossed in fine silver clay using the same miniature photopolymer plate used for the content image. The silver frame is also produced from fine silver clay. These silver pieces are sanded, fired, brush-polished, and then embedded in the unfired covers. The seahorse is placed in the cradle on handmade paper and encased with a natural mica sheet and the fine silver frame. Waxed linen is used for the sewings. An edition of 3. The book is designed to be displayed standing partially opened.