Friday Finds
Amy M. Douglas’s 2018 book, “Proof: Print Is Not Dead,” is an ode to the ink-stained joys of printmaking. Each page is layered with retro typography and vibrant layers of color, and it’s great to flip through if you’re looking for a fresh perspective on signage and graphic design. Douglas notes that, unlike other forms, printmaking is an inherently shareable medium, with the ability to create multiples offering the opportunity to distribute artwork and open up space for experimentation through coloring and techniques. She writes, “I wanted to share printer's proofs from my work to show how pieces come together, and how they can be dissected to create other works. They're like puzzles, but they can create thousands of new pieces just by moving tiles around, joining colors, and trimming edges.” Douglas, who has also worked in web design for over 20 years, takes pleasure in this physical act of making. You can see more of her letterpress and screen-printed pieces on her Etsy, and get a behind-the-scenes look at her process on her Instagram.
How do we visualize the world around us? Sometimes it's through images, other times through language. Yana Mikho-Misho’s 2011 book, “It’s all about letters,” is a whimsical hybrid of both. Combining her loves of photography, collage, and typography, Mikho-Misho dedicates each page to a letter of the alphabet, repeating their forms through cutouts, building shapes through scraps of paper and found images, and adding calligraphic decorations through pen and marker illustrations and writings. There’s something about the rhythms of color and form that recall the improvisational nature of jazz. Yana’s own creative practice continues to incorporate these mixtures of material, from layers of collage to photography that captures the metaphysical, ephemeral moments of everyday life.
Timothy Tsun’s tiny sketchbook, “Daily Journey in a pocket,” is an adventure of observation and movement. Combining ink illustrations with miniature photographs and collages, this little book is a treasure trove of inspiration for anyone considering bringing a sketchbook with them wherever they go. From the other sketchbooks he’s contributed to the Project to individual pieces in daily practice, Tsun is interested in documenting the world around him, and supplementing these 2-D images with textures from found materials and mixed media. Originally born in Hong Kong, and now based in southern California, Tsun began his creative practice through calligraphy, which gradually grew into a rich career of projects in illustration, painting, and even graphic design. You can check out his ongoing works on Instagram and his complete portfolio on his website.
Animal lovers rejoice! Joanne Norris’s 2011 sketchbook is a great exploration of one of the natural world’s most mischievous critters. Each spread is filled with different depictions of foxes. It’s a book that matches their playful nature, as Norris bounces from one medium and material to another. Some are rendered with life-like pen markings, others through portrait prints, while some of these foxes float on a page with the softness of paint. As a freelance illustrator, Norris has worked on commissions for greeting cards, children’s books, packaging, and all kinds of other design projects, but it’s her love of animals that really shines through her creative practice. If you’d like your own copy of Norris’s fox artworks, you can get a copy of her book, Vulpes&Vulpes, and check out pages from her digital book, My Animal Oddities.