Wednesday, June 16, 2010

animal books!

I'm working on a book of animal portraits and poetry called, Animals on Land. It will be the first in a trilogy of animal books:


Animals on Land
Animals under Water
Animals in Flight

You can download a short excerpt of the book here.

To view the portraits that I've completed so far, please click on the thumbnails below:

































For each animal I have done a...

study of the animal

sculpture from the study

drawing of the sculpture

vector graphic of the drawing

and finally... a fabric collage

Thoughts behind the process:

I want my work to become something I could never imagine on my own. I want to give up my control over it, so that imperfections and variables can come in and abstract it. I've realized that each time I pull a subject in and out of a different physical space (whether 3D, 2D, or digital) it is translated in a way that I wouldn't expect. It loses realistic qualities and gains other qualities that might make you stop and look a little closer.

14 comments:

  1. I LOVE it! When did you carve the quail? It will be so fun to follow the creation of the book step by step.

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  2. The book is such a great idea! I'm particularly excited about the statues!

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  3. What a treat to be following you through the creation of this book! I love that quail and will look forward to each new animal you do. martha

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  4. Great first animal! Looks like you have been busy :)

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  5. oh, this is a wonderful idea! i read somewhere that art is the process of slowing down our gaze, begging us to consider the object again. i'll probably only get to see this project in a year when i re-emerge with internet access. peace until then!

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  6. Excellent! I love what you've done so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing more. I think you should do a Boston Terrier for "B" if you haven't already chosen another animal. BTs have a lot of character and psazzz (spelling?) I could send you some pictures of Francis if you would like! :)

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  7. Hallo Monica,
    ich finde Deine Arbeit wirklich wunderschön und bin schon sehr gespannt wie es weitergeht. Ich wünsche Dir für Dein Projekt alles Gute und natürlich viel Kreativität.
    Liebe Grüße von Deiner Cousine Pascale

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  8. Hi Monica,
    It's Nicole, your old roomie!
    I wanted to tell you that I LOVE this project!!
    It is so amazing, and I will definitely be buying it when it comes out!

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  9. Monica, I am so in awww... To see the quail from it's inception to the end product is amazing. What talent. I'm actually in tears here because your work is sooo beautiful and I can just stare at it and embrace it's beauty forever. I anxiously anticipate the release of your book and will be the first to buy it. Wow, I can't believe how affected I am by your art. Love it!

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  10. Hi Patty, I'm so happy the art makes you feel that way! You have no idea how encouraged and excited I am that you're enjoying it. =D

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  11. Monica, this is beautiful. You've already got my favorite animal.

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  12. thanks joyce! which one is your favorite?? frog?

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  13. It's your first anniversary for this project! :)

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  14. They're all turning out so beautifully, as i knew they would. Truly there is no going wrong with this project, not with the inspiration that lights your way. <3 dO you know how you're going to construct the book yet? I heard from christen that there was a book making class (somewhere within the community college district, i think/hope), I thought it was odd that a class would be dedicated solely to the construction of books but i forget that there are so many different amazing ways to do it!

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