Announcement: Words On Woodcuts Press

If you follow this blog, you know that over the past 3 years I've completed the artwork for two books that feature my woodcuts. The first is Cats A-Z, a cat-themed alphabet gift book for adults, completed in 2013. The second is Owl and Cat In Love, a reimagining of Edward Lear's poem The Owl and the Pussycat, completed in 2014.

Since then, I've sought a contract with an established publishing house, first through a literary agent, and when that didn't work out, through direct submissions to smaller presses. I've had a few serious considerations, learned a lot, but received no offers.

Independent publishing was always a backup plan, and that time has come. My experiences with attempting the traditional publishing route, while disappointing, have given me more confidence. I have seen these projects taken seriously by professional agents and editors. I know there is a market for my product, I simply need to reach it.

My business plan is almost complete, and next month I'll kick off the fundraising campaign. Words On Woodcuts will be a press!

Barry Moser's Uncommonly Expressive Animals

This weekend I stumbled upon a picture book illustrated with the most exquisite hand-colored wood engravings. The book was Ever Heard of an Aardwolf? and the illustrator was American artist Barry Moser.

Even though I found this book in the Children's library area of the Academy of Natural Sciences, it is hardly only for children.

Moser is a serious artist with a prolific career and his own imprint, Pennyroyal Press. Many of his stunning black and white original engravings (which sell for hundreds each) depict animals.


This book in particular included type designed by Eric Gill, lettering by Judythe Sieck, and was printed on Mohawk Superfine paper. I might have found it among many cheap, mass-produced, mediocre books for kids, but it was a gem among pebbles.


Most importantly, the imagery is certainly sophisticated enough to be enjoyed on a high level by an adult audience.


What most captivated me about the animals in this book were the emotions conveyed by the animal's facial expressions (especially in the eyes), and sometimes the gestures of the bodies. The okapi glancing down as if caught in a moment of wistful reflection. The zebu who stares down the viewer with a haughty frown.

Obviously I can't (or at least shouldn't) repost a significant portion of someone else's book here. But I can at least give a small taste with these three, low-resolution details of primates wearing tremendously human expressions. I highly encourage anyone who enjoys wood engravings and/or animal art to seek out this book and see the whole collection of works in its full glory.

Winter Selections from Mary Azarian's "A Farmer's Alphabet"

The atmosphere of a rural winter in her home state of Vermont, comes through clear in these woodcuts by Mary Azarian. Each scene featured here is a tribute to a way of life connected to the land and seasons.

In addition to the more common winter activities of sledding, shoveling, and building snowmen, there are mittens drying over an ornate, wood-burning stove, where an old-fashioned tea kettle boils. In another scene an adult pulls on a set of one-piece long johns with a buttoned back flap. These subjects, so varied in their patterns and textures, so colorless and harsh in their lighting, are particularly well-suited to the mark-making abilities of a master carver. 

The series was commissioned by Vermont's State Board of Education for display in classrooms. Maurice Sendak, one of the most acclaimed picture book illustrators in history, was often quoted as saying that he didn't make his work for children. For example, in one of his last interviews, he said,

I don't write for children. I write. And someone says, "That's for children."

Azarian was a teacher before she took to illustrating books with her stunning woodcuts, so she certainly must have had a sense of what interests children. That said, when I look at these images, I never feel that they are particularly made for children.

Certainly I can enjoy this book with my children. They are excited to point out scenes that relate to their experiences, and inquire about anything unfamiliar. But the level of sophistication found in these images make them captivating for any age.

Godine Press published it as a beautifully bound, large gift book in 1981, and it continues to sell. It is definitely worth either buying or finding a copy in a library. It isn't enough to see it on a screen. One must leaf through the heavy, archival paper and really take in the exquisite details found in each lovingly carved image.





To borrow another quote from Sendak:

A book is really like a lover. It arranges itself in your life in a way that is beautiful.