Christmas in July — Shawn Sheehy Style!

I've always been a big fan of Shawn Sheehy. His work as a paper maker, book artist, pop-up engineer and teacher is top-notch—plus he is a genuine, all-around super person. So, when Shawn recently asked me to carry his books in gallery inventory I was very excited. His most recent book titled, Fresh Cut Xmas: A Well-Trimmed Survey of Holiday Plants is terrific.

Shawn tells us that this book "celebrates the flora that has played a role in winter holidays for centuries. In contrast with the excess of contemporary seasonal traditions, the style of this book is minimal; the palette is spare, the baubles are few, and the text on each page is composed using the haiku’s 17 stark syllables. Here’s a sample from the frankincense spread:

The frankincense tree bleeds the fragrance of kings; but commoners choose AX.

Fresh Cut Xmas looks at ancient plant folklore through a contemporary lens with dual purpose: understanding and appreciating each plant more fully, and highlighting oddities of 21st century cultural practice."

You can purchase Shawn's work here. He also sent another very interesting pop-up, EELIO, the second in his Enviro-Gods Series.

If you are interested in learning more about Shawn, I recommend listening to his Helen Hiebert podcast interview that very nicely covers his back story, artistic process and several interesting stories about the world of commercial pop-up book publishing.

Also, Shawn is the conference chair for this year's Movable Book Society conference in Kansas City in September. This is one conference I highly recommend. Many talented book artists are involved in this inspiring organization. Find out more about the MBS and the conference here.

Enjoy!