Michelle Wilson
Oakland, CA
www.michellewilsonprojects.com
IG: @michellewilsonprojects

A Quarantine Book of Hours
2024
Handmade papers, linoleum block prints, letterpress
11 x 8 inches closed

Artist Statement

A Quarantine Book of Hours was inspired by the events, both personal and political, during the tumultuous summer of 2020. The colors of the pages marking the Hours reflect the hue of the sky for each respective hour of the day, using color and light as a means of measuring time, and are made from a mix of abaca and cotton rag.

The white narrative pages are printed with linoleum blocks and letterpress on paper made from a mix of abaca, kozo, and cotton rag. All papers were made by the artist in Oakland, CA. The majority of this book was printed at the InCahoots Artist Residency in Petaluma, CA, and was made possible by the Allison Rood Fellowship Grant Award. Subsequent printing and the final binding were completed at Rocinante Press in Oakland, CA.

This book is a meditation on loss, nature, acts of compassion and activism, and time. Written in a first person voice, the narrator tells of sitting in a garden, reflecting at various times of day on the loss of her grandmother, nature, Black Lives Matter, and food drives for the unhoused population in her neighborhood during the summer of 2020. At a time when fear and uncertainty abounded, so did kindness, aid, courage, and righteous activism. This book was made in part so these acts will not be forgotten.