Cover

Beginning to meander

Water Reveal

River Surround

River Town

 
Ann Engelman (Fort Atkinson, WI)

Meandering River Book
2014
Relief prints on Stonehenge paper, cut and folded using the meandering book form.
Edition of 2
Dimensions open: 18×34
Dimensions closed: 4.5×6

This Artist Book began as relief print. I wanted an image of a simple, old, small, comfy, town that would have a safe, idyllic feel to it. It is defined by primitive, cartoon-in-nature architecture. The world is such a scary place right now. The town is surrounded by a river which offers some internal safety, but uncertainty on the other side.

Storage of large prints hinders them invisible and framing is expensive. I wanted to be able to visit this small town from time to time. I thought of the meandering river which led to a meandering book. But, the reverse side was void of anything. I became interested in the textures of water and explored potential water movement in another relief print. I printed the water image on the back of the river town print. I was able to create different elevations, paths and points of interest with the moving pages. The book became playful sculpture.

This book was an evolution of my interest in relief printing, diminishing wall space in my home and a wish to spend time with peaceful images. I also printed the River Water block on the back of the River Town print and cut it to make a meandering book. Emilie helped me to do the cuts. This was very successful.