Written Works in Progress
Lost Origins of the Snowman, Bloodless Sacrifice
The Lost Origins of the Snowman is not A CHILDREN'S BOOK, but a look at why the building of snowmen came into our culture. The main portion is told in the form of a one act play. Below are the cover and a few random pages. All the story and illustrations are complete and laid out. I am currently seeking a book agent.
The Mitten Kimonos (working title)
A collaboration with Jean Gumpper and Lauren Kinnee, The Mitten Kimonos is planned as a series of woodblock prints, writing, and photographs that celebrate a hidden spring. This spring, located in the thumb of Michigan, has been visited and revisited by Sandy Kinnee since 1950. The source of the water that flows from this spring is believed to be from ancient melt-water of the great glaciers that formed the geography of the Great Lakes. Nearby the location of this particular point, where the glacial water emerges from the ground, was the site of of a late nineteenth century linen mill.
Mitten, as used for the working title of this project, refers to the shape of the state of Michigan, which on a map, is seen as mitten-like. The artists involved in this collaboration are from Michigan, as is the location of the site the project celebrates.
The second part of this working title indicates that the completed prints will be made on kimono-shaped, handmade paper. Yes, the paper could be mitten-shaped, or any other shape. It does not have to be kimono-shaped. However, Sandy Kinnee is best known for his kimonos, out of all the shaped paper he has made. He has produced several hundred kimono-shaped prints. Each of the hundreds of prints combines a non-western kimono format with imagery that is not necessarily expected. The kimono-shape is his signature format. The Mitten Kimonos will unite landscape imagery from Michigan, usually seen on a rectangular plane, with the kimono shape.
The two kimonos, above, illustrate the unprinted shape that is expected to be used for this project, as well as what a finished kimono by Sandy Kinnee looks like. Each of these kimonos is 24" X 36" tall.
The Mitten Kimono Project is in several phases and are expected to represent a full-year cycle. Lauren Kinnee is currently photographing the site, and will document the immediate area over the course of a year. Wildlife abound around the water source in amazing numbers; wild turkeys, deer, elk, foxes, etc.
Lauren, in addition to being the photographer for the project, is an archaeologist who has visited ancient sites where springs are key to the development of the culture of that locale.
In the meantime, Sandy has collected water from the spring. This water, as well as cotton and linen gathered from the vicinity, will be made into rag paper pulp. Kimono shaped paper, 24" X 36", will be formed. The linen will be from worn and used fabrics and articles of apparel, perhaps some of which was raised as flax and woven nearby. Cotton will be primarily from discarded clothing worn in the region between Port Huron and Flint.
Jean Gumpper, known for her reduction technique woodblock prints, will translate the images that Lauren is shooting. Jean's landscape inspired prints often involve both water and uncultivated plant life. Her view of nature captures the universal chaos that is both abstract and completely representational, recognizable imagery. Examples of Jean's work are shown below:
Sandy Kinnee and Jean Gumpper both grew up in Michigan, not far from this spring, and graduated from the University of Michigan School of Art. While Jean did not know of this particular font, the water she drank for most of her life originated from the same ancient source.
Update of progress, as of December 27, 2008.
The shape has evolved away from the kimono shape to a series of ovoid forms. On the left are small sketches, on a dry-erase board, of possible shapes. The other photos are of shaped deckles cut and scattered on a carpeted floor. The white marlite, bathroom paneling, sheet is 26" X 38". The interior void is the area that will dictate the shape of the paper. The white region of each deckle blocks the papermaking screen from gathering fibers, therefore the paper gathers in the shaped void only. Each formed, shaped, sheet has a natural "feather" deckle. Test sheets have been formed from each of six ovoid patterns and Jean will begin working with these samples before paper goes into production.
Wrong Color Goldfish
A collection of short stories, cover illustration by
Giselle Restrepo
Smudge Knee
A story about growing up and finding ones place in the
world. Illustrated by Giselle Restrepo
Putting the World on Wheels
How the world was saved by the greatest minds in Detroit;
illustrated by Giselle Restrepo
The Edison Snow Shovel
Another collection of short stories.