Finding Joy

COMING SOON!! I’m so honored and thrilled to announce that work from nine different editions have been selected to be published by Meerkat Press!! More information coming soon!

(Please note that I have stopped adding examples of these books until after publication.)

*********

Welcome to the pages of Finding Joy! I call the re-imagined pages in this project “redated ideas” partly because that’s exactly what they are and also because it’s a bit of play with the idea that an idea is ever just one idea. I hold to the belief that ideas are alive and want to continue evolving and being shared in new ways!

This project focuses on found poems (also known as blackout/erasure/visual poetry) but also encompasses paint, collage, drawings, photography, screen printing, sculpture, and stitching. The text found on these pages is redacted, erased, covered up, and hidden in order to create new phrases, thoughts, haikus, etc. Only in very rare and obvious cases are words re-arranged or added. (Those pages will be noted.) Further fun can be found under flaps, in hidden compartments, and other ways of interacting with the books. For me, Finding Joy is about an exploration of connections, thoughts about how narratives are structured and interact with imagery, the magic of serendipity, and about the fun in making!

Only Joys

Made in 2024

The entire book with omission of every word except “Joy”. Painted using acrylic paint and cut by hand.

In the photo below, the left side is a view into the book from under the front cover. The right side of the image above is the view inside the book from under the back cover. Click on the image for a larger view.