This week's favourite artists

Hanna Konola




Naoko Serino - Fiber Art



Fred Eerdekens




Annie Vought - Papercuts




I'm sorry I have been so rubbish at posting this week. I have been really busy at work and have also had a few job interviews to go to... I am exhausted! I haven't even had a chance to start my new book project. Anyway, it's nearly the end of the week and I have had a few minutes to have a little look at a few new artists, above are some of this week's favourite finds.

We're going to Chessington World of Adventures this weekend, which is a theme park here in London. Not quite as impressive as some I have seen in America, but I'm still very excited. I hope you have lots of fun too!

Paul Madonna - All Over Coffee

This week I am starting a new book project with my lovely friend, Kasia. We have decided to make some drawings of moments or scenes from our day to day lives on pieces of paper which we will send back and forth to each other. We will then bind the pages together, or put them in a box, or staple them, or something like that, when we feel the project is finished.

Kasia has recently moved from London to Aberystwyth, a small sea-side town in Wales and we're both doing mundane office jobs so we are thinking the project might provide an oppotunity for us to focus on the beautiful moments in life. We're constanly moaning to each other about how difficult it is for us to do the jobs we do, so I'm also hoping this will provide a bit of an outlet and a stronger sense of comradeship. I'll post the results when we're finished, it will also be for sale in our shop, I imagine.

We have been looking at the artist Paul Madonna who is the author and illustrator of a beautiful book called All Over Coffee:

Paul Madonna does amazing work, very precise but loose. He puts a lot of thought into waiting for just the right moment to stop looking around. These strips are a reminder to stop now and then and admire a corner of a room, a window or a rooftop. There are lovely details everywhere, at any time, no matter where you live.

– Tony Millionaire, author of Maakies

Kas has an MA in the Visual Language of Performance and we did a degree in Fine Art together. We also share an Etsy shop, Two Hidden Heads. Read Kas's blog, Eyes, Lies and Illusions.

I <3 Office Work

Design*Sponge's famous inside-out security envelope tutoiral



Every morning I collect the post. I use a knife to slit open the envelopes and pull the insides out, which I smooth flat and stamp "received". I then haphazardly tear the plastic windows out of the envelopes and pile them up next to the butchered envelopes. One neat pile goes in the green bin and the other goes in the silver bin.

Sometimes I am passed a collection of limp paper. Each subtly coloured piece needs to be signed, hole punched, dated, sorted, and stamped; passed from place to place, hand to hand.

I'm enjoying the paper, the different qualities each piece has, and the feeling of obsessive organisation. I used to pretend I was doing this as a child, playing post office with my brother.

Have a lovely weekend everyone. x

Etsy Artists' Books

Delicate book structures from Little Paper Bird - take a look at Little Paper Bird's AMAZING blog. I am not exagerrating, it is amazing.


The Flannel Shirt, Kerrie Carbary - I really like the way the artist has simply and poignantly approached such a personal subject in this accordian fold book.

Mini SF Photo Books - Kelly Lee Barrett
Orange Neighborhood, Vachi Designs
Veronica Press - "I Do (I Don't) is an artist's book/board game which takes the players on a romantic journey through a fairytale courtship... oh, who am I trying to kid? I cringe watching the equivalent of a house down payment or a new car get frittered away on ugly dresses, open bars, extravagant dinners, and bad DJs. I'm ashamed seeing women care more about the size of the diamond than the man who gave it to them. I'm disheartened seeing "'til death do us part" turn into "four or five good years." Since marriage seems to be taken so lightly these days, I decided to make a game of it. Sit down, pick up the dice, and wind your way through a few dates from hell before eventually finding Mr. Right and planning and executing the "perfect" wedding. (Really, have you ever worn any of your bride's maid's dresses again? I didn't think so. Mine are still collecting dust in the closet.)"


ByCole - a lovely book which allows you to make and present your own collage. I love books which have little bits of ephemera and found items hidden away inside.

I don't post about Etsy artists much, mainly because there seems to be a bit of a lack of Etsy artists' book makers. Here are a few I wouldn't mind in my collection. I've got another post in the making for later.

Red Fox Press

OBJECTS OF YOU - drawings of objects in Seoul and in Achill, Ireland



Night and Day - from a desire to share even more moments, when we are 4000 miles apart,came this spontaneous idea... take every day a picture during day time, and one at nightThese photographs and small texts are echos from past memories
and expressions of sweetness ans sadness, and of longing for togetherness.


REFLECTIONS - photographs of reflections taken in London in October and November 2005





Red Fox Press is a small publisher based in Ireland who publish artists' books, zines, prints and have an archive of mail art projects. They frequent book arts fairs so I'm hoping to see them around some time soon.

You can buy their books from their website which is like a little box of treasures, there seem to be an endless number of things to look at and snippets to read. They also have a fascinating blog.

Bookart Bookshop - Book of the Month

You - Homework 2007
(Please click on images to see larger and read the text.)

You is a lovely little artist's book about the difficult decisions in life.

Originally produced for the artist's younger brother when he was struggling with decisions about exams, college and career; the book has a universal quality that makes it a joy for people of any age. The sparse, but beautifully written prose, deals with some of the issues that make life's big decisions so difficult; external expectations, passion, doubt and fear.

Homework demonstrate a great understanding of the communicative power of the structure of the book. By using cut-outs and the 'reveal' aspect of turning pages, they pack this short book full of surprises and visual connections.

Entirely handmade, the book is letterpress printed in three colours, with cut-outs and even a pop-up. Produced in a limited, numbered edition of 500.

(From Bookarts Bookshop website)

I love this book, it's very much in keeping with my current job hunting dismay (any encouragement welcomed on this issue), and it comes in a rather utilitarian paper bag. It reminds me of how I used to love making books out of these and putting little snippets and found objects inside.

While I'm on the subject, if you're ever in London, check out the Bookart Bookshop. It's really worth a visit. No matter what your budget, there is always something lovely to buy and it's great for gifts. I worked there during the 2006 Christmas period and it was such a pleasure to spend my days reading and holding all the books.

I found some beautiful animations.

Chris Kenny

299 Children 2005 - Mixed media construction with found photographs

Pastimes 2007 - Mixed media construction with found text

Twelve Houses 2005 - Construction with found text

Qinghai (Map Square) 2007 - Construction with map pieces

Telesterion 2007 - Construction with map pieces

From website - Chris Kenny produces an unexpected kind of poetry with his three-dimensional ‘drawings’ and constructions made from twigs, fragments of maps and strips of found text. Objects or phrases of the same type are mounted on pins and organised in a way that suggests an intention to rationalise the differences between them. Represented by England & Co, he will have recent works included in the gallery's Summer Exhibition.

It's a quiet post from me today. I feel a bit flat... back to my normal self tomorrow I hope! x