It all started when we lost our family home to a fire. All but a few precious items were destroyed. Two antique children's books were saved. I wanted to find a way to salvage the beautiful illustrations. So with x-acto knife, tiny scissors and tweezers, I set out on a challenge. That was the birth of my first book sculpture.
I have been sculpting ever since. After sculpting professionally since 2011, I realize I can not plan it out. The book itself dictates how the sculpture will progress. No two sculptures (even identical books), have ever been alike. Each tells its own story.
It is now my full-time job to take old, damaged illustrated books and give them a new way of telling a story. After repairing or rebinding, I cut away all but the illustrations. I leave some in place, some I remove, and some I move around. The end result is bringing the book alive; telling the story visually. I can sculpt most any kind of book, so long as it is not brittle. Brittle pages equal crumbly sculpture and no one wants a crumbly sculpture. I never know what a sculpture will look like when I start. each books seems to transform itself.
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