A96. Song of Creation
Title
A96. Song of Creation
Creator
Thomas, Peter and Donna
Author: Muir, John
Author: Muir, John
Description
70 x 54 mm (2¾” x 2 1/8”), 12-page accordion, 500 copies.
Binding: Nested accordion; covers are cream paper, handmade by Peter Thomas, over boards. Paper: Green paper with plant fiber inclusions, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Digital. Typography: Reproduction of text handwritten by Donna Thomas. Illustration: Reproduction of a panoramic watercolor painting by Donna Thomas spanning entire accordion. Notes: Illustration made on location in Yosemite Valley.
“The text is a quote by John Muir. ‘From form to form, beauty to beauty, ever changing never resting, all are speeding with love's enthusiasm, singing with the stars the eternal song of creation.’
The concept of adding complexity by layering has been explored by many artists. Accordion pages can be layered, or nested, to make interesting artists' books. We were exploring this concept when we saw River of Stars, a book with an interlocking accordion made by Ed Hutchins and Julie Chen. That binding structure inspired us to create something similar. We imagined a number of different possibilities, and created several prototypes, before developing our simple and elegant system to make a nested accordion book with its pop-up-like motion." - Peter and Donna
“In 1993 I made my first series of one-of-a-kind books featuring watercolor paintings I made while backpacking. As I was working mostly in miniature at this time, I would carry small sheets of paper with me and paint the scenes ‘en plein air.’ This was the first edition book featuring my paintings from California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. I chose to paint Yosemite Valley as it is my favorite place in all the Sierra, and this is a 180 degree view compressed into a panorama, a thing that only an artist could do at the time, though now all cameras have the ability to take panorama shots. I developed the page structure/binding, which we call the nested accordion, for this book, and used it in several later editions.” - Donna
Binding: Nested accordion; covers are cream paper, handmade by Peter Thomas, over boards. Paper: Green paper with plant fiber inclusions, handmade by Peter Thomas. Printing: Digital. Typography: Reproduction of text handwritten by Donna Thomas. Illustration: Reproduction of a panoramic watercolor painting by Donna Thomas spanning entire accordion. Notes: Illustration made on location in Yosemite Valley.
“The text is a quote by John Muir. ‘From form to form, beauty to beauty, ever changing never resting, all are speeding with love's enthusiasm, singing with the stars the eternal song of creation.’
The concept of adding complexity by layering has been explored by many artists. Accordion pages can be layered, or nested, to make interesting artists' books. We were exploring this concept when we saw River of Stars, a book with an interlocking accordion made by Ed Hutchins and Julie Chen. That binding structure inspired us to create something similar. We imagined a number of different possibilities, and created several prototypes, before developing our simple and elegant system to make a nested accordion book with its pop-up-like motion." - Peter and Donna
“In 1993 I made my first series of one-of-a-kind books featuring watercolor paintings I made while backpacking. As I was working mostly in miniature at this time, I would carry small sheets of paper with me and paint the scenes ‘en plein air.’ This was the first edition book featuring my paintings from California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. I chose to paint Yosemite Valley as it is my favorite place in all the Sierra, and this is a 180 degree view compressed into a panorama, a thing that only an artist could do at the time, though now all cameras have the ability to take panorama shots. I developed the page structure/binding, which we call the nested accordion, for this book, and used it in several later editions.” - Donna
Publisher
Santa Cruz, California: Peter & Donna Thomas
Date
1999
Language
English
Files
Collection
Appears in Exhibits
Citation
Thomas, Peter and Donna
Author: Muir, John, “A96. Song of Creation,” Digital Exhibits - UWM Libraries Special Collections, accessed November 18, 2024, https://web.uwm.edu/lib-omeka-spc2/items/show/552.