Map Book

Artist book / alphabet book of prints and found materials.

This was the first artist book I ever made, studying with Helen Frederick. She challenged us to create a book out of found materials – no traditional pages allowed.

After spelunking* around in the basement of my childhood home for a few hours, I emerged with two stacks: one of maps from my parents' travels as newlyweds, and one of the word-a-day calendars my siblings and I were required to study at the dinner table during our formative years. I decided to design an alphabet book, linking each word to the map it sits on by way of a visual element in the map that evokes the definition of the word.

*Spelunking is a word I learned during this dinnertime ritual.

Note: The vocabulary words tucked inside this book were taught to my siblings and me at our dinner table for many years leading up to the SATs. At the time, I resented the ritual, but so many years later I still remember, and love, many of the words I learned.

To me, the shape in bottom center of the left spread above best represented the word “inscrutable.” My hope is that a reader might see the black and white version of the symbol, locate its origin on the map (Where’s Waldo style), wonder what “i” word it might be referencing, then open up the flap to discover the answer.