Return to Ippy Patterson's Eden

Title page spread from Ippy Patterson's
Escape from Eden

Some years ago now, a magical opportunity fell into my bookbinding lap. Poet/friend/general facilitator of magical opportunities Jeffery Beam and I had just worked together on a small handbound run of his book, Visions of Dame Kind. When Jeffery learned that his friend and neighbor Ippy Patterson was interested in creating a book out of her recent drawings, Escape from Eden, he put her in touch with me.

You can see from the photos why I was in, immediately. Ippy's rapidograph drawings are stunning, and the visual narrative is perfect for the accordion book format.

We made the first copies of the edition in 2005 (9 or 10 copies, I believe, out of a planned edition of 20), and then took a breather as they made their way into the world. I'm thrilled to be working on a fresh round of copies for some new shows and events that Ippy has coming up later in the year.

An interior page spread from Escape from Eden, by Ippy Patterson

As impressive as the drawings are from page to page, they're even more so when you spread the accordion to its full 10' length.

Escape from Eden, open, by Ippy Patterson

The opposite side of the accordion features a poem that resonates with Ippy's drawing: "Paradise," by Keith Waldrop.

In the first round of binding, we created copies with three different bindings: a beige/gold, a rusty brown, and a burgundy. For the next couple of copies we are sticking to one color: Canapetta's natural cotton/linen bookcloth.

As much as I enjoy making artists' books with my own content, this project is a reminder that sometimes the greater joy is creating a book whose primary purpose is to support and showcase someone else's work, while I slip into the background.

Final page spread from Escape from Eden, by Ippy Patterson.