Book 3, Esther

Esther's daughter dug up a treasure trove of family documents and photographs, and this was a walk down memory lane for mother & daughter, with me enjoying the stories. Esther is a life long dedicated mah jongg player; came snow or blizzard, she met with her friends for a weekly game or two. The game was a constant through the many changes of her life, the kids, and grandkids. She continues to play.



I chose a palm leaf binding because I wanted her book to resemble a pile of mah jongg tiles on the back, but still have the pages held together. Her prints and my prints are laminated together with Gudy O adhesive from Talas. I suppose they more resemble playing cards then mah jongg tiles, but a similar idea anyhow. The pages are held together with two bone mah jongg tile beads at the ends. And this is a 2008 winning hand in American mah jongg.



Everything is Gocco printed, on Rives Lightweight and Rives BFK.

6 1/16" W x 3 15/16" H x 5/8" D (includes thickness of mah jongg tiles)
Edition of 20
$220, plus shipping & insurance $9

Book 2, Marion

It took me a long time to figure out that Marion wanted to paint watercolors. Once I figured that out, she and I spent many wonderful afternoons chatting and painting. She returned again and again to the image of the meadow with trees, hills, and a sunset sky.

I chose two to include in her book:



Detail of the opening page:



As we painted, she would quite often talk about the family picnics that they had, with all the brothers and sisters there. I wondered if the images were about the family picnics? Thus the title.

Her watercolors are reproduced with an Epson Stylus C88+ with DuraBrite Ultra ink; I wrote and printed the text with the Print Gocco; on Rives BFK; covered in Nepal Heavyweight.

7 1/16" square x 3/8" D
Edition of 20
$125, plus shipping & insurance $9

Book 1, Martha

Martha took to the Print Gocco like fish to water! She created 18 prints, each full of wonderful little observations about her daily life and sage advice. I thought her prints were like letters to her friends and family, and therefore chose a page format that referenced an envelope form. The book has extra pockets for her to add photographs or keepsakes, and the wrap around cover keeps everything together.

Interior view:



The cover:



Martha designed and Gocco printed the individual prints; I designed and Gocco printed the envelopes and the cover. The cover was also dyed with a very diluted acrylic paint; on Rives Lightweight, Nepal Light, and Nepal Heavyweight.

7 1/16" H x 5 3/16" W x 1 1/4" D
Edition of 20
$320, please see Abecedarian Gallery.