Burning Me Open

This book takes the text and imagery from an 2009 artists’ book of the same title. I wrote the original text; the original illustrations were oil-paintings, re-created as line illustrations for this project. The book pages are transparent, and thus allow sections of several pages to be viewed at once. The pages are rigid and thick, designed to display well both flat or upright. When displayed upright, lighting can be adjusted for increased interplay between the line illustrations and the shadows they cast.

The rigid pages that make up the text block are constructed of 3 layers; the middle layer is of shaped copper leaf, the outer two layers are laser cut and etched cast acrylic (3/32 thick). This creates pages that are 3/16 inch thick, their edges are sealed with copper tape. The covers are sanded and waxed purpleheart wood, planed to 3/8 inch thick. The recessed title label is laser printed copper leaf mounted on museum board. One of the book illustrations is repeated on the front cover via lasercutting. The book is coptic sewn across the spine with dyed and waxed 4 ply linen thread.

I don’t often weigh my books but this book, modest though it is in size has a nice heft and weighs 1.5 pounds.

Thanks to Shannon Perry who prepared the illustrations for laser etching, and to
Stefanie Cornish and Jonathan Wiley for their help with all phases of production