Martha Carothers' book You Bet is a pamphlet bound book of ten leaves. The paper is hand made and the cutouts are in the style of the four suits of a deck of cards (diamond, club, heart, spade). The text shown is meant to be a prompt in the style of “You Bet,” such as “You bet your life."
Perhaps the most interesting component of this book, from a craft standpoint, is Carothers clever embedding of thread within the paper. The thread acts as both a veil to the next page and a filler when lifted into the light, partially reconstructing the solid space that was excised.
Paper cutouts are a versatile means of altering a book, that can be used to create anything from extremely basic formal and abstract shapes to an intricate world constructed within negative space. Here Carothers opts for the subtraction of paper into easily recognizable shapes, but complicates the space through her use of embedded threads.
Currently available for Fall registration at the Center for Book Arts are our classes Short Cuts which explores different paper cutting techniques, pop-ups and silhouettes, as well as Fables and Fairy Tales: Paper Art Workshop which explores the art of the Victorian-style tunnel book. Both classes offer a 3D approach to paper construction and encourage you to flex your creativity.
To read more about this work, click here.
Rebecca Kish