Carved Books

If you read the profile attached to this blog, you'll notice that I refer to myself, among other things, as an artist. I shared some of my illustrations here a few days ago, but to be honest it's been a long time since I broke out the paints. More recently my artistic endeavors have been expended in what I call "carving books." And while Teacher Tom's Blog exists primarily to address matters related to my role as a teacher, I'm going to be exerting myself this morning in the garage, scrambling to get ready for my first art installation. I thought I'd share some images of my work by way of inspiring myself to build a dozen black easels for the display.

The show will at the main library of North Seattle Community College. I'm planning to get it installed on Monday, September 14, right after my first day of school. Needless to say I'm excited and grateful, especially to librarian Elinor Appel who has been advocating on my behalf.

The process is to use a small, sharp knife, tweezers, and a headlamp to very carefully carve down one page at a time. I wish my photography was better. I hope you can make out what I'm up to.


Funk & Wagnall Standard Dictionary, A-Lobar















Funk & Wagnall Standard Dictionary, Lobate-Z















Arabian Nights
















Whole Earth Catalog
















Vogue, December, 2008
















The Illustrated Almanac of Historical Facts
















The Iliad and the Odyssey
















The Dark Thirty
















The Believer, Forty-Seventh Issue, Beoufcake, September 07















Synapsida
















Pinocchio
















Now We Are Six (A.A. Milne)
















Madel Waffe
















Harper's Bazaar, December, 2008
















Elle Magazine, May, 2008
















Elsewhere, Perhaps (Amos Oz)
















First Aid, Fourth Edition, American national Red Cross