| Title | Little Boat Dreams |
| Artist / Creator | Anita Bigelow |
| Artist's Nationality | United States |
| Place of Publication | Portland, Oregon |
| Publication Date | 2015 |
| Contributors | Courtney Frisse took the photographs of the books |
| Process / Technique | Original illustrations |
| Structure / Binding | Modified fishbone fold (i.e., extended pamphlet fold) with oar flags |
| Medium / Materials | Colored pencil, water color, acrylics, acrylic inks, sumi ink; pens used are clipped crow quill and one of Tim Leigh's folded pens |
| Paper Stock | Arches Text Wove |
| Number of Pages | 18 pages |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 13.625 x 6.5 x .25 inches. Extends out to 25 inches |
| Edition Size | Unique |
| Box / Wrapper | Presented in a tape-tied portfolio |
Little Boat Dreams by Anita Bigelow -SOLD!
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For almost 30 years I have loved to row, so it was with great delight that I saw how much a model of Hedi Kyle's fishbone fold seen from above resembled a bird's eye view of a rowing shell. The structure invites pulling out and pushing in, but then I as I did so I wondered if the motion were more flying than rowing. This ambiguity started a flow of thought which became Little Boat Dreams. To be true to the idea of a rowing shell, I modified the fishbone fold and added oar-like flags now it is more of an extended pamphlet fold with flag book allusions. The words on the oars are extracted from Paul Valery's Le Rameur (The Rower). The rest of the text is my own, inspired by questions: if a rowing shell were to dream, would it dream of flying far above the river? Would it dream of its usual motions in its usual world? Would sinking be its nightmare or just another way to return? The text consists of words that might echo in a little boat's or a rower's dreams.
Artist Bio
Anita Bigelow, nee Lourie was a literature major at Reed College and then, ten years later, at Portland State University. Anita originally studied calligraphy with Lloyd Reynolds at Reed. She briefly attended the San Francisco Art Institute as a printmaker and there had the good fortune to take a typography class from Jack Stauffacher. Only recently has she been assiduous in the practice of calligraphy, enjoying classes from Rebecca Wild, Carol DuBosch, and Colleen Cavin, along with as many workshops as possible. More recently she has discovered a love of book binding and the possibility of making artists books, a love discovered in a PSU book arts class taught by Susan Harlan, and furthered in workshops with Tim Ely. In her other, pre-retirement lives, Anita taught in alternative schools, worked in a restaurant kitchen, and was a computer programmer and systems administrator. She also worked as a copywriter and illustrator.