Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund 2020
"If you could see through my eyes"
an Artist Book by Camilla Montemaggi
ABOUT THE BOOK
August 2020.
I got invited to create an Artist's Book along with 3 other fellow artists, and I said yes!
OK BUT What's an Artist's Book?
"An artist’s book is a medium of artistic expression that uses the form or function of “book” as inspiration. It is the artistic initiative seen in the illustration, choice of materials, creation process, layout and design that makes it an art object. A book that only contains text is simply a book; even if authored by an artist, it would be a book that belongs in a book store or the shelves of a library."
What will yours be about?
I chose to talk about inspiration. Tough one, right?
I wanted to create a tiny treasure, a small object to allow people to dive deep into the intricate dimension of the artist's creative process and tangibly see inspiration through my eyes.
It's an accordion booklet, and it includes 8 illustrations and some raw poetry written by me.
Why are you doing this?
I asked myself the same question midthrough, as I was facing some hardships. But then, I read what I wrote a couple of days before as a presentation for the project:
"I believe that we all have our inner imagery hidden right behind our eyes once we're about to create something. That personal, intimate, elusive state of mind of where ideas are born. I love that thing. It's raw, pure, and beautiful. I want to see it and touch it. This Artist's Book allows me to shape and hold this inner world in my hands."
...And yes, that pushed me to finish it :)
Some progress shots
THE VIDEOS
Here are some videos to show you the technique and colours I used (watercolours, acrylics and collage) - but most importantly to show off how fast I can work.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Working on this project has been interesting and cathartic in a sense.
Writing is something I rarely do and having a designed space to be creative and fully express my feelings has been rewarding.
The challenging part was creating 3 original books and 3 copies in only 4 weeks, but that definitely helped me prioritize and work completely focused.
Seeing my initial idea come to fruition was such a unique experience in this case as it was so personal and out of the ordinary, I can't wait to see people's reactions when they'll read it!
Well, now onto the next project! ✰
Thank you for your attention ♥
