MFA Thesis Exhibition 2023

This exhibition was the culmination of my MFA in Book Arts and Printmaking! My work was installed in Arronson Gallery in UArts’s Hamilton Hall on April 17th. The opening was May 5, 2023, and the show ran from April 22nd to May 19th. The wall mural is hand-painted (by me), and the custom shelves for Don’t Look Into The Abyss were made by my mom, who is a woodworker! The best part of this exhibition was seeing people interact with the book in real-time.

The works in this show are: Don’t Look Into The Abyss (currently $35), Deluxe Edition of Don’t Look Into The Abyss ($300), and Original Pages from Don’t Look Into The Abyss ($175/each). The original pages are each 6” x 12” and painted in gouache and ink.

Thank you to Xue’er Gao and Lori Spencer for providing some great photos of the exhibition and the opening!

Printing Don’t Look Into The Abyss, March & April 2023

I’m thrilled to share some process photos and videos from the printing of my thesis book, Don’t Look Into The Abyss. I printed this book in the Borowsky Center for Publication Arts with Master Printer Erica Honson.

Spring Workshop Round-Up

The last few months have been a whirlwind! So I’m collecting photos from workshops I’ve taught recently in one place. We have: A folded-cover book workshop for seniors at a Free Library branch, another round of the laser-cut carousel books at UArts, and a fun text-block sewing class for the Penn Doublespeak Literary Magazine staff at the Kelly Writers House! Plus a few extra photos of the criss-cross books from the last Kelly Writers House workshop.

Recycled Criss-Cross Books at the Kelly Writer's House

I had the pleasure of leading this packed workshop on my favorite topic— turning vegetable cartons into crisscross books! Thanks to Heidi at KWH for the great photos.

NAHP Triennial Exhibition

My pulp paint series Conversation was selected by jurors Karen Kunc, Mina Takahashi, and Erin Zona for the North American Hand Papermaker’s 8th Collegiate Triennial. The exhibition opened at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, PA and will be traveling through 2024. Other stops include Evanston Art Center in Evanston, IL, the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland, and the Lyndon House in Athens, Georgia.

Conversation (Seen on the righthand wall) installed at Cedar Crest College for the NAHP 8th Collegiate Triennial

Showing off Medieval Girdle Books at the UArts Library

My MFA cohort had the opportunity to display our Girdle Books— a medieval book with a long cover that could be tucked into a belt— at the UArts library this month! Mine is the one in the fetching blue sweater. Other artists featured here are Xue’er Gao, Grace Johnson, and Jingnan Cheng.

Fun fact— Hironymous Bosch painted a Girdle Book in The Temptation of St Anthony!