Dirt Book by Katya Reka -SOLD! -*LIBRARIAN'S CHOICE AWARD!

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Dirt Book is a formal interpretation of an excerpt from One Hundred Years of Solitude by G. G. Marquez. The text is placed on the covers of the book, while the handmade paper pages make up its content. The text describes a woman’s uncontrollable desire to consume earth/dirt. I created paper that incorporates items rarely eaten in large quantities or at all. Most of the inclusions used in pages are disposed of as a cooking by-product and later become compost or dirt. Spent tea leaves, coffee grounds, beet tops and large amounts of turmeric powder were used to create pages. The book also contains pages made with clay, the matter of earth itself. When stacked vertically, the book has been referred to as a ‘sandwich’. Dirt Book is a sculptural book object created through a time-consuming process using various ingredients and inspired by a literary vignette. Congratulations Katya Reka, a LIBRARIAN’S CHOICE AWARD winner for FEAST!

Artist Bio

Katya Reka is a graphic designer and a book artist, originally from Ukraine. She holds an MFA degree in graphic design from Indiana University Bloomington. Professional graphic design experience inspired her to look at the tradition of the handmade in design throughout history. Her work explores handmade and digital in book arts, design and printmaking. Interested in the role and place of a physical book in the contemporary world, she combines handmade paper, stitching, relief printing with digital printing, video and digital tablets. As an assistant professor at New Mexico State University, Katya teaches graphic design and book arts by introducing students to both digital and handmade techniques.