A106. Mineral King - Kern Loop
(Center) E6. Naomi Shihab Nye. Problems with the Story. San Antonio, Texas: Peter & Donna Thomas 2001.
57 x 83mm (2 ¼” x 3 ¼”), 30 copies.
Binding: “Dowel-spine portfolio”; a single sheet of paper is folded to create pockets on front and back inside covers and held together by a wooden dowel inserted through slits in the spine. Portfolio cover paper is off-white handmade paper with colored letters and numbers stenciled in paper pulp, made by students during the class. The text is printed on two off-white handmade paper accordions that are housed in the pockets of the portfolio. Paper: Handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Letterpress; text in red. Typography: Hand set, each page set in a different typeface. Notes: Signed by the author. Made by Peter and Donna Thomas in collaboration with students at the Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, Texas.
“The poet visited the class and read this poem. Each student was assigned one portion of the poem. They chose a typeface that to them related to their words, hand set the type, and then printed it on my handmade paper, which I had brought for use in the classes.”
(Left) E7. Peter and Donna Thomas comp. Open House. San Antonio, Texas: Peter & Donna Thomas, 2001.
38 x 67 mm (1 ½” x 2 7/8”), 30 copies.
Binding: Simple accordion; covers are blue painted paper over boards. A blue string is threaded through the book and passed through a silver bead on front cover that acts as a clasp. Paper: White, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Letterpress; text black, background multiple colors. Typography: Hand set in various metal typefaces. Notes: Made by Peter and Donna Thomas in collaboration with students at the Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, Texas.
“The poet visited the class, and read this poem. We discussed the poem, both what type faces might best represent the content and what kind of binding structure would help convey the meaning of the poem. Looking at a folded accordion from the side, we came up with the concept that accordion folded pages could be seen as the front steps leading into a house. Students then came up with words they thought expressive/representative of the poem to be printed as background imagery on the paper. Each student handset and letterpress printed, in various sizes and typefaces, and various colors of inks, the word of their choosing. The poem was then printed in black ink over the lightly printed background. We then developed this variation on a simple accordion binding for the project. Working thematically with the poem we came up with the idea to string a piece of thread through the front cover, through one side of the accordion pages, through the back cover, across the back cover, then back through the other side of the accordion pages and out through the front cover, representing a physical railing, and conceptually our physical limits. The two ends of the thread pass through a bead over the front cover. The bead slides on the thread to secure the book shut.”
(Right/Background) A106. Donna Thomas. Mineral King - Kern Loop. Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas, 2001.
60.5 x 54 mm (2 3/8” x 2 1/8”), 24-page accordion, 40 copies.
Binding: Case-bound fold out accordion; bound in painted paper over boards. Paper: White, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Digital. Type: Reproduction of text handwritten by Donna Thomas. Illustration: Reproductions of eight watercolor paintings by Donna Thomas. Notes: Reproduced from a one-of-a-kind of the same name by Donna Thomas [B212].
“A summer backpack trip I took in Sequoia National Park, a beautiful region of the southern high Sierra, was inspiration for this book which documents the trip in a free verse poem accompanied by eight watercolor illustrations.” – Donna Thomas