Matthew Reinhart's Blog, page 35

Vintage Movable Review: Turtle and Her Friends

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While Vojtech Kubasta is my favorite illustrator to come out of Czechoslovakia in the 1960's he is by no means the only artist I admire from that era. Rudolph Lukes was an illustrator for the country's publishing giant, Artia Prague. His color palette and design aesthetic are decidedly of the time and I find a certain charm in his depiction of animals. On display today is Turtle and Her Friends that was printed for Golden Press in 1968. We are all familiar with Golden Books and their ubiquitous gold spines lining most children's bookshelves, but they did venture into a limited pop-up venture.

Lukes is restricted to only four spreads and the compositions are quieter than his contemporaries. I don't know if it's the simplicity and directness of the pop-ups or nostalgia for my youth, but the work always stands out to me when I see it in collections. It is unclear who paper engineered the pop-ups, but many of his titles are quite similar and I would not be surprised if Lukes was in fact the paper engineer. If anyone can shed some light of the life of Rudolph Lukes I would be very appreciative.

~Kyle

Word of the Day: Bucolic

bucolic \byoo-KOL-ik\, adjective

1. Relating to or typical of the countryside or its people; rustic.
2. Of or pertainting to the life and occupation of a shepherd; pastoral.


noun:
1. A pastoral poem, depicting rural affairs, and the life, manners, and occupation of shepherds.
2. A country person


Origin:  Bucolic derives from Greek boukolikos, "rustic; pastoral," from boukolos, "a cowherd; a herdsman" from bous, "a cow; an ox".

Word of the Day: Ossify

Ossify \AH-suh-fy\, intransitive verb1. To change into bone, to become bony.
2. To become hardened or set in a rigidly conventional pattern
Origin: Ossify is from Latin os, oss-, "bone" + -fy, from Latin -ficare, akin to facere, "to make"

History Lesson: Grand Canyon

January 11, 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon in Arizona a national monument.  Theodore said, "Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is...You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see."

Artist Watch: Night & Day Studios with Charlie Harper

Night & Day Studios has created an app for little hands and minds, 'Charlie Harper's Peekaboo Forest'.  It's beautifully designed, using Harper's bold, graphic animals to help teach children animal names and the sounds that they make.  There's also and option to change the animal names to Spanish.  We downloaded the app here at the studio and learned about butterflies and turtles in Spanish!  I can't wait to see more from this studio and hopefully from Charlie Harper as well!
http://www.peekabooforest.com/
To check out more apps from the studio:
http://www.nightanddaystudios.com/

Word of the Day: Lickerish

Lickerish:  \LIK-er-ish\, adjective;
1. Fond of and eager for choice food
2. Greedy; longing
Origin:  The Old French licherous ,"pleasing to the palate," evolved into both English words.

Word of the Day: Bibelot

bibelot \BEE-buh-loh\, noun
A small decorative object without practical utility; a trinket.  Bibelot originates from Old French beubelot, beubelet, "a small jewel, a trinket," from a reduplication of bel, "beautiful," from Latin bellus, "pretty, handsome." It is also related to bauble.

 

What's Popped Up: Keeping Portland Weird Part 3

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We continue on our rundown of day two at the Movable Book Society 8th Biennial Conference. Artists, Ilisha Helfman & Joe Freedman took to the podium for a lively presentation on the diverse works that they create in their studio located in downtown Portland.

Armed with a laser cutter and an active imagination, Joe and Ilisha gave us a virtual tour of their downtown Portland storefront and workshop called LeafPDX. They moved effortlessly between collapsible dioramas and expanding tunnel books, elaborately staged theatres and highly patterned houses. Inside the paper doll houses, miniature furniture displayed even smaller objects like intricate buttons. Joe shared the many diecut books, movable cards and volvelles that they had designed and produced for themselves and various clients. Ilisha talked about her love of textiles and design that was evident in her NYT blog which showcases imagined wardrobe from magazine clippings. Not to mention her passion for teaching workshops in "jazzknitting". They finished their presentation with explanations of the antique optical toys that their company has updated with contemporary themes and constructions.

Once the slideshow was finished, the pair moved into the workshop portion of the day and led the large group through a step-by-step assembly of a meticulously prepared tunnel book kit of Portland, Oregon. With the aid of a few floating volunteers, members of conference constructed their own keepsake as Joe and Ilisha moved from table to table to offer advice and accept praises. In time, all the tabs were inserted and all the panels placed in the correct order and it was time to say goodbye to Joe Freedman and Ilisha Helfman. But not before we say hello to "Ole Million Face".

~Kyle

Listen Up: Jack Peñate 'Pull My Heart Away'

Here's a simple music video for a really catchy tune by an English singer/songwriter Jack Peñate.  Armed with super 8 cameras and film, he and his friends made this video.  To check out more from Jack Peñate, click here!

Word of the Day: Nosegay

Nosegay- A bunch of odorous and showy flowers; a bouquet; a posy.  Origin:  Nosegay  is nose  and gay  joined together to mean "something bright and showy that one holds to the nose."