After a rough and busy week it's nice to focus on something beautiful. The June theme for the #areyoubookenough bookbinding community challenge was "boxed in". Being boxed in, either physically or mentally, has much to do with factors that restrict or limit your actions. I enjoy restrictions when it comes to creativity; I enjoy this themed challenge that gives me both a starting point for a new artists' book as well as a deadline. What I don't enjoy are the inner restrictions that sometimes come from the conflict of having an actual self that always differs from the ideal self. Life is messy. We're not always as strong or perceptive as we'd like to be. Being more than just okay with who I am is something I work on every day, and a big part of that process is accepting all sides of myself, all emotions, all quirks, and all my neuroses. This artists' book is about all that, and it's called "A Human Forest". I'm not just birches, I'm pines and willows and aspens and all - and it's a fact that some of those make me weep.

The vintage tin measures 8,2x4,2x2,5cm / 3.2"x1.7"x1" and each page measures 7,9x3,5cm / 3.1"x1.4". I've once again used glass microscope slides and transparency prints of digitally edited cut up poetry. When viewed as a stack, the variable order of the pages creates a peculiar sense of depth to the piece.

A human forest:
All pleasures and all pains,
the excitements of silence
whatever it is, it's mine

As promised, I randomly picked a winner for the book giveaway, and now the amazing Collage Ideas Book is on its way to @kreativesdurcheinander who recommended @lovewalkinginsnow as a collage artist worth getting to know. There were altogether 50 entries with more than 50 recommended artists listed, so if you're looking for inspiration and new-to-you collage artists, check out the comments on my previous post, and more importantly, the long long list of artists tagged and mentioned on my Instagram post. Thank you all for your participation - I'll probably spend weeks going through the list of recommendations to make it last as long as possible!