UH 323 Assignment Showcase
What constitutes a book? This course explores the concepts, aesthetics, and techniques of contemporary book arts - included below are the results of such exploration!
#1 Book Structure/Content
Choose 3 different simple book structures and use these to establish 3 "reads" of the same poem/text.
#4 Altered Books
Alter a paperback or hardback book that you have read or are familiar with.
#2 Self-Portrait Flagbook
Create a flagbook to serve as a self-portrait using text and imagery.
#5 Flipbooks
Make several practice flipbooks that illustrate basic animation techniques and then combine a few animation techniques into one final flipbook.
#3 Image-Driven Drum Leaf
Using a song for inspiration, design a 12-16 page image-driven book bound in drum-leaf style.
Artist Statement
Write a short artist statement reflecting on your body of work.
Book Structure/Content
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For this read, I made a starbook that is primarily white and light yellow paper with sketches done in graphite. My favorite form of fine art is graphite drawing, so naturally this was the first book I made. I wanted to use illustrations to tell a story and add pops of color to highlight key details. I used star imagery to connect the structure with the content. When reading this poem, I first thought about what it means to be loved and thought I should portray a story where the characters perhaps are looking for love and find someone who understands them through a pet and owner relationship. This read was perhaps a more personal interpretation as I have recently adopted two puppies.
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For my second read, I wanted to do something totally different from my first book and to go a little out of my comfort zone. I decided to do a take on the accordion fold by making a book representative of an actual accordion, portraying it as a performer's once beloved instrument in context with the poem. I thoroughly enjoyed making this one as it reflects my affinity for vintage/antique-type items, and I've always wanted to learn how to play the accordion (I just haven't found the time or money for it). I felt more freedom with this book as I could use existing items I had to make a collage of sorts. Out of all the reads, I think this one connects imagery the best with the poem contents in delivery and medium.
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For my last read, I thought I would try to interpret the title of the poem in relation to the poem contents. This one took some careful thought and my initial idea was actually transformed when I happened to look over and see my stack of envelopes. I wanted to make the read more fragmented, given "late fragment", and cut individual letters from some paper advertisements I received in the mail. Then I considered how a "late fragment" may be a message that had not arrived on time. Therefore, I chose to make a flagbook made of envelopes to represent a conversation by mail with the poem author, with the two different voices being differentiated by who is the addresser and the addressee. I did not actually know that this poem was Raymond Carver's last one when making it, but for the "late fragment" of the conversation, I made the last line "returned to sender".
Self-Portrait Flagbook
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The Process: This flagbook took a few attempts to make! I have been learning different types of poetry, and at the time of making this book I was particularly interested in villanelles, so I chose that form. With the style of book, I thought this form fit as well due to the repetitive nature of the poem alongside the flags. My study abroad semester was a major stepping stone in developing my individuality and independence, and thought it best captured my innate desire to learn and explore everything. Therefore, the red color symbolizes desire, as well as the vibrancy of finding a treasure (inspired by the red basket of strawberries I picked instead of studying (pictured on the back cover), which I do not regret in the slightest). While the sepia tones are there to give a hint of nostalgia and even slightly resemble antique maps. After trying to draw threads, and then deciding it was too busy, and thus covering up the flags with red paper, I think the end result turned out amazing!
The Poem: Unabridged Take the long route home, and with melancholy leave So that in the stillness the earth beneath may speak The handspun threads make up the basketweave. In haste to explore, wear your heart on your sleeve And the pathways will not fail to embolden the meek Take the long route home, and with melancholy leave. Nooks, crannies - your sanctuaries are your reprieve What takes an extra hour can satisfy the soul for a week The handspun threads make up the basketweave. Counting one's breath and steps can surely relieve The aches of an aging body coming off of its peak Take the long route home, and with melancholy leave. To travel with baggage is a hefty yoke to heave, But its value to friends can the burden's worth tweak The handspun threads make up the basketweave. Stories linger still in the attic and under the eave, But birdsong doesn't stay in the nightingale's beak. Take the long route home, and with melancholy leave The handspun threads make up the basketweave.
The Colophon: Unabridged is a flagbook by Savannah Spring that was completed at the University of Alabama in Spring of 2025 during her senior year. The book includes original photography from Savannah's exchange semester to Germany, including photos from places such as Esslingen and Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, the city of Potsdam near Berlin, and border cities between Germany and Poland: Görlitz and Zgorzelec, respectively. The imagery and poem were inspired particularly by a solo trip Savannah embarked on near the end of her exchange late in the summer of 2023, and embodies a waning sense of adventure (or "wanderlust") as she becomes more and more homesick, but still strives to see the beauty and excitement in her surroundings.
Image-Driven Drum Leaf
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Song: Rescue by Lauren Daigle The Process: I chose this song largely due to its emotional weight and its ability to paint a vivid image with a narrative. To me, it tells a story of someone who gives up hope, thinking that they are all alone in the world, but really they aren't and they mean everything to someone. It's a very uplifting song and I wanted to capture the emotional significance of it, especially with the use of contrast and color, adding imagery with biblical inspirations. One interesting thing about the process is that the folio order changed throughout. The folio that is now in the 3rd position was actually the first one and it emanates a sense of loneliness and being surrounded by darkness. I added the two folios in front of it to enhance the narrative more, to show what was lost to sort of lead into that state of lowness and provide context to the situation.
Rescue
The Colophon: "This book was inspired by Lauren Daigle's "Rescue" and verses 16 and 17 from 2 Kings Chapter 6. This is a story of a princess losing her city, sending out an SOS, not thinking it would be heard. Darkness is overcome by an angelic army sent to rescue her. The illustrations were painted digitally."
Altered Books
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For the altered book assignment, I chose to alter "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. I thought it would be a good book to alter because the book is a metareference to the one that exists in the wacky universe that the story takes place in. The book gives an approximate yet kind of vague description of the guide, so it leaves a little room for creative liberty. It's described as looking like a large calculator, so I went with that depiction and used the book as the face of the calculator and matboard as the backing/casing. For both the front and back, I cut out the pages that either have the mentioned guide entries on them or describe the guide in some way, such as the friendly "Don't Panic" inscription on it. Since the guide is alien technology, I wanted to make it look alien by adding symbols from various known "alien languages", such as Galactic Basic from Star Wars, Klingon from Star Trek, a forerunner alphabet from Halo, with some Latin and Greek letters filled in (because the symbols actually spell out a hidden quote from the book - "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book." Then to tie the bow on the technological aspect of the guide, I wanted to integrate some of our own human technology into it, which is where the QR code comes in! Scan it with your camera and lay your phone in the slot, and it becomes your own guide screen.
Flipbooks
This flipbook was inspired by the painting titled "Winter Landscape with Church" by romanticist painter, Caspar D. Friedrich.
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I initially knew that I wanted to choose a Caspar D. Friedrich painting because he is one of my favorite artists (among a few) and was a prominent figure in the Romanticism art scene, which is also my favorite art style.
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I chose this painting specifically because part of the assignment was to focus in one thing in the painting and I thought the crutches in this scene are an overlooked detail. Therefore, it became the primary detail for my flipbook.
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The haiku is titled "Hymn of Reassurance" due to the religious nature of the painting and as a nod to Paul's "hymn of assurance" in Romans 8:31-39. With two crutches being laid out on the snow with no owner in sight, I took it that a miracle occurred at that spot and the crutch-bearer needed them no more. In my eyes, this painting highlights hardship becoming overcome, with some subtle divine intervention.
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"Hymn of Reassurance"
Two lone crutches lay
In miracle thrown away
O glorious day!
Artist Statement
Dark against light is probably the first, or the sole image someone gets in their mind when they think about contrast. In a way, contrast might seem like a synonym to “opposite” or “opposing”, but my belief is that contrast isn’t a dividing thing, in fact, it's something complimentary, for it highlights the peak attributes of different things being compared. Who would grasp around in the depths of darkness without knowing the things revealed in the light, and vice versa: who could appreciate the shade without knowing an exceedingly sunny day?
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When it comes to my daily life, I’m always drawn to things that stick out, a pop of color amongst grays, a vibrant flower sticking through the sidewalk. Of concepts that don’t on first impression seem to mesh, but at some point in time and context make a lot of sense: like nature overtaking an abandoned automotive factory, or a shell casing holding wedding flowers as a boutonniere for example. Pairing unlikely things together and making them work is a goal I want to achieve with my art and my overall form of expression. Sometimes the union of unexpected and surprising pairs can be oddly beautiful despite their juxtaposition, and since “unexpected” and “surprising” by nature can imply “fleeting”, that’s something I wish to capture and share as it comes.
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