Artist Showcase: Jessica Tice

As an artist, I never stop creating. It's an everyday part in my life.

Even after a long day of creative work in the studio, I still need time to do my own work apart from the pop-up books we love to construct.

Feel free to take a look at: http://www.jesstice.etsy.com/

xo!

- Jess

Paper Sculptor Extraordinaire!

One of my favorite paper sculptors is a woman named Jen Stark. She hand-cuts rainbow colored stacks of paper in various mind-bending configurations.

Be sure to visit her website at: http://www.jenstark.com

-Shelby

Back from Washington D.C.

Last weekend, everyone from the studio (except Simon who had to go to a family reunion) made a pilgrimage to Washington D.C. and took part in the Moveable Book Society conference. This three-day event comes around every two years and is held in a different location each time. It’s a great opportunity for collectors, paper engineers, artists, and book lovers to share their stories and even a few of the treasures from their collection. There is always an exhibit associated with the event and this year we visited the National Museum for Women in the Arts as well as got our hands pulpy in a paper-making workshop at Pyramid Atlantic. Stay tuned for full coverage of the conference in the coming weeks!

To learn more about this great organization go to: http://www.movablebooksociety.org.

- Kyle

Further adventures...

The Movable Book Society conference in D.C. has now passed and we have to wait two more years before the next gathering. Luckily, it will take about that long to process all the amazing presentations and book collections that I was able to witness over the three days. The conference was a great success and I must share some of the special moments here.


The first presentation was on the wonderful artist and paper engineer, Julian Wehr, brought to life for us by his son Paul Wehr. After sharing the life’s journey of Julian Wehr, he presented many rare drawings and prototypes from the Wehr Archives in the University of Virginia. My favorite was a color mock-up of a sequel title of Wehr’s first book. This unpublished animated book shown above exhibited stunning movement from his trademark rocker tab and delightful graphic endpapers. The book was ready for publication, but the timing was not right, so it was lost in the shuffle. What a tragedy. Maybe some day “The Further Adventures of Finnie the Fiddler” will see the light of day. Until then, it’s a good thing it was all in protective plastic sheets because there would have been drool all over this one-of-a-kind movable book!

To learn more about Paul Wehr and his quest to keep his father’s work alive, visit: http://www.wehranimations.com.

- Kyle

A new look for the Studio

The Studio will be moving downtown soon and we are thinking of getting some new office furniture. Matthew had me searching online and I found this brand of office equipment that I think it appeals to our line of work. Appropriate for a paper engineering studio, right?



- Simon

Say "Yes" To Turkey

Brooklyn based design group The American Design Club is having its first show at the end of this month. The group is trying to put American designers back on the international design map. The show is called Out Side Of Sorts, Showcasing design that is for or inspired by the outside.
It will take place Thursday September 25th and a store called Character, located at 19 Price st. New York, NY. It should be a fun time, I know I'll be there.

- Simon

Long Time, No See

Dear Pop-Up Blog Lovers,

I have been lax these past weeks posting and for that I am sorry. I have been consumed with working on the artwork for my next title, Nursery Rhymes, slated for release in Fall 2009. Surprisingly, I am on schedule! I thought you might want a couple sneak peeks at the pencil-sketched prototype I've created - but I can only show a pop-up that didn't make the final cut so I don't ruin too much of the surprise!

This pop-up for the the classic rhyme "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" actually didn't make the final cut of the book. The water spout gets really, really tall on the right hand side while the spider opens a tiny flower umbrella. In the end, we decided the design needed to be more centrally placed on the page - so I designed a new one (not shown here) that is quite different, a bit more playful and ultimately better for the book.

You can see the Itsy Bitsy Spider and her flower umbrella up-close in the above picture. Maybe I'll get to use this design for another book...

- Matthew

I Mustache You A Question...

This phrase is sometimes used here in the studio, mostly by me.

Where it came from, I have no idea, but with a mustache like this one, who 
cares!


And check out more amazing beards and mustaches at 
http://www.worldbeardchampionships.com/ !

xo - Jess

Get schooled!

Today is the first day of class for many kids across the country. It’s also the first day of school for me. Yep, Professor Olmon has to report to duty at Pratt Institute and introduce another class of undergrads to the action packed world of paper engineering. I am always extra excited for the Fall term and even woke up before the alarm in my “first day of school jitters”. I’ll keep you posted on how the semester goes!

Sticking with the back to class theme I wanted to introduce the fold school, which is a great place to create your own cardboard furniture. Just download the PDF, grab some old boxes, and before you know it there is a petite stool, chair or rocker. Keep in mind, these finished projects were intended for little ones, but take the skills and patience of the old and wise.

- Kyle