Research.

All photographs are details of Carol Schwartzott's artist books.

WHAT I DID: 

This week I did a bit of research. I was not convinced after last week's experiments if I want to continue with writing and illustration. I do enjoy the work, but I always feel at the end that I've created something trivial. So I decided to do a bit of research. I made an appointment on Tuesday to meet up with Annette Haines to look at the Universities collection of artist books. I spent about an hour and a bit going over different books in her collection and broadening my understanding of what a book could be. The one book I saw that really latched onto me was a series of four books. Each book was about a different season, and addressed the content a little differently. Each book had a poem somewhere in it, and often the materials would change a bit between each book. The things that resonated most with me were the tactilibility of each, the use of poetry and older illustration styles, and the small and personal size. I also really enjoyed the box they came in. 

Books chosen from my field trip to the art library: 

-A Day in the Country: Impressionism and the French Landscape

-A Writer's Eye: Field Notes and Watercolors by Paul Horgan

-Impressive: Printmaking, Letterpress and Graphic Design

-Jan Hendrix: Diario De Fatigas

WHAT I ACCOMPLISHED:

I didn't really accomplish a whole lot, other than being late in posting this blog post. I drew out a an idea map to flush out my illustration interests, and to map out some different themes and ideas that were floating unpinned in my mind. I also broadened my idea of what a book could encapsulate and different forms it could be found in. 

ONWARD?

I've come to wonder about using my illustrating and writing interest with more of a utilitarian goal in mind. I am really fascinated by history, and as I've spent the week agonizing over something to focus on for this class, I always come back to my love for history. I don't know as of yet what part of history or subject I would like to focus on. I am going to spend a few days pin pointing an area of history to look at. I am now thinking about using illustration, design, and writing combined with information (personal or otherwise) to create some kind of publication. 

I keep returning in my mind to a little book I found in a small-town shop just on the cusp of this last summer. It was a book called "Look and Cook," a children's cook book that utilized old 1920's-50's illustrations and graphic design. It was charming and I'm sorry I didn't buy it, but more importantly I appreciated the use of history, personal and cultural, and illustration to create something that is useful and also visually interesting.