Despite having a rather splendid biscuit tin, I sometimes put my digestives in the cupboard. Similarly, all my tea jar contains right now is the final bag of Make Us a Brew mint and chilli tea (I’d HIGHLY recommend you try it!). The new box of tea is living on the table. What I’m saying, is, objects get misplaced – we think we left them in one logical place, when they’re actually in another, equally as obvious home. So I’m delving into the art of making – and breaking – names, categories and ways of ordering that we use to navigate our daily routines.
Above is a book of boxes. Below is a triangle book of numbers. Both are works in progress: click on the picture above to look at further images of this and other books I’ve been making of late…
If you’re into artist and hand-made books then the Book Arts Bookshop in London is definitely worth a visit. It is the Aladdin’s cave of folded, stitched and limited editions, a veritable feast of paper and print. Books range from £1 – £100 and are arranged on shelves, tables and in boxes for all to see. Spend a good amount of time browsing, as they have a lot of stock in the shop! Indeed it is the place where these ideas of multiple classification, and order within disorder, are living and breathing. You can spot different gems each time you look at a shelf, get lots of ideas for what your own books could be about and have a jolly good time along with it. The spherical window in the door is great fun too. I will post some links soon on the links page to some of the artists whose work I particularly admire. And, as luck would have it they also accepted my very own Shoe Tales Book to sell in the shop.
On the subject of organising… this is the cupboard I received for Christmas, handcrafted by the wonderful Matthew Simkins. Inspired by old spice cupboards, it is a place to store all my tools, bits, bobs and making stuff materials. It’s nice to display these things sometimes, such as the richly coloured Icelandic roving, some books in progress and a jar of buttons. And oh! what to put in the drawers? So much choice! I have that box of teabags on the table – perhaps this might be a good place to start…
Sarah Edmonds: Illustrator, Printmaker & Book Artist 