Art Books
Handcrafted art books
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ELEGY FOR THE MCKENZIE by Kyla Corbett
River chatter and bird songs remind us of the richness of life that surrounds us. Gentle breezes, ancient trees and abundant wildlife seep into our souls. This forest is our home and we find joy and peace while building memories with our children. In the stillness of the night, we listen to crickets chirp and coyotes sing. A hot dry wind starts to howl warnings of the firestorm to come. Distant thunder rolls across the hills as dark clouds swallow the stars. Lightning claps and the forest flickers in a dawn-like glow. A roaring blaze dashes down the mountain as smoke rolls toward the valley like a freight train. Flames lick up the trunks of trees and create explosions of bark that shatter the crackling air. The fiery blaze sprints across the forest floor, driving all to flee while embers fall from the sky. No longer home and nowhere to go. Trees are blackened and weak, clinging to the loosened soil with their shriveled roots, straining to stay upright. Beetles come in to feast which then beckons the woodpeckers while green shoots of fiddleheads emerge, unfurling a glimpse of life anew. The rumble of chainsaws fills the air and nearby mills sharpen their blades as log trucks crowd their gates with blackened gold. Butterflies hover and owls silently swoop away. Gone is the forest. Only memories survive and we cry. Seedlings sprout and hold their ground while the forget-me-nots sway in the breeze and birds sing of new beginnings. We cautiously return to replace our sense of loss with renewal as we rebuild our home and our memories. While we sit among velvet mosses and pink fireweed, we are reminded to cherish what was and what is. The end is just the beginning. |
Elegy for the MeKenzie by Kyla Corbett
The Holiday Farm Fire in 2020 affected my community greatly. It inspired me to create an art book in an independent study class with Susan Lowdermilk at LCC. It is in a carousel style with pop-up movement to signify the cycle of life where there is no ending or no beginning.
Process:: I spent a lot of time photographing and writing at the Ben and Kay Park in Vida, Oregon. I had grown up fishing in this lush park and was devastated to see all of the trees were gone. I used ink and watercolor as well as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to design the pages and print the parts. After having it printed, I carefully trimmed each piece and page and arranged using special, archival glues and foam tape adhesives. I covered the cover in a beautiful irridescent book cloth that flashes from green to orange to signify the changing forest in a fire. The tie is a recycled, dyed sari silk ribbon. The cover title and illustration are inset into the cover and a colophon is added to the back cover.
.It is my hope that we will heal from the trauma of losing the beautiful forest along the McKenzie River.
Handcrafted in the Spring of 2021. The book was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2021 Movable Book Society Conference. for Emerging Artists.
Though I started with just the single edition, I plan to soon offer a limited edition set of the book to share the connection so many feel to our forest and the recent wildfires.
The Holiday Farm Fire in 2020 affected my community greatly. It inspired me to create an art book in an independent study class with Susan Lowdermilk at LCC. It is in a carousel style with pop-up movement to signify the cycle of life where there is no ending or no beginning.
Process:: I spent a lot of time photographing and writing at the Ben and Kay Park in Vida, Oregon. I had grown up fishing in this lush park and was devastated to see all of the trees were gone. I used ink and watercolor as well as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to design the pages and print the parts. After having it printed, I carefully trimmed each piece and page and arranged using special, archival glues and foam tape adhesives. I covered the cover in a beautiful irridescent book cloth that flashes from green to orange to signify the changing forest in a fire. The tie is a recycled, dyed sari silk ribbon. The cover title and illustration are inset into the cover and a colophon is added to the back cover.
.It is my hope that we will heal from the trauma of losing the beautiful forest along the McKenzie River.
Handcrafted in the Spring of 2021. The book was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2021 Movable Book Society Conference. for Emerging Artists.
Though I started with just the single edition, I plan to soon offer a limited edition set of the book to share the connection so many feel to our forest and the recent wildfires.
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In an art book class I took at LCC with Susan Lowdermilk in 2020, we designed a pop-up book based on a nursery rhyme. I chose Little Bo' Peep. I sketched the drawings with ink and printed the poem in a green color. I covered the book in a playful green and white floral cloth with a faux fur strip.
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"Lost in the crowd"
Our souls choke and we struggle to breathe, Suffocation lurks ahead. Darkness moves in and we lose our way. We stumble in our fear and loneliness, Time suspends and doors slam shut. We gasp for air, We claw toward the things we can still touch. Our hands wither beneath layers of fear and Our lungs shrivel behind the stench of masks. Panic takes over as we drown in silence. All becomes quiet as we surrender, Curled tightly, alone, on the floor, In the dark, Listening to the breaths we have left, In…. and out…. In…. and out…. In.… and out…. In…. and out…. …… The sound of an old, rusty doorknob starts to turn, We raise our head and listen, Sticky hinges moan, Light slips through the shadows And covers us with warmth. Our eyes start to adjust and we can see again, Behind the open door, A straight and clear path, Like none we’ve seen before, We push ourselves up off the floor, And make the decision to walk through, Free at last, To start again, To be who we really are. |
"Lost In the Crowd" 2020
In our art book class, we were asked to develop a tunnel book based on our early experience of the pandemic. I wanted to relay the feeling of total fear of people and being lost and hopeless as we all spiraled into lonliness together only to find that the isolation ended up a type of freedom from the every day limitations to explore who we really are and who we want to be.. The fears of the unknown pushed the doors of opportunity open to dreams long lost. In the dark times of 2020, I was able to find a path to pursuing my dreams in life.
Process: I found various reference photos and carefully printed and cut them out into the book. I wrote a poem that went with the book. The book cover was handmade with colored foil paper and flour paste. I used lids for the covid virus shape.
Though we felt locked away in fear from the pandemic, new doors opened and we could see new light in our future.
In our art book class, we were asked to develop a tunnel book based on our early experience of the pandemic. I wanted to relay the feeling of total fear of people and being lost and hopeless as we all spiraled into lonliness together only to find that the isolation ended up a type of freedom from the every day limitations to explore who we really are and who we want to be.. The fears of the unknown pushed the doors of opportunity open to dreams long lost. In the dark times of 2020, I was able to find a path to pursuing my dreams in life.
Process: I found various reference photos and carefully printed and cut them out into the book. I wrote a poem that went with the book. The book cover was handmade with colored foil paper and flour paste. I used lids for the covid virus shape.
Though we felt locked away in fear from the pandemic, new doors opened and we could see new light in our future.