| Title | Viola |
| Subtitle | An Auction of Romance |
| Artist / Creator | Sarah Bodman |
| Press Name | Bristol Bound Bookbinding |
| Artist's Nationality | British |
| Place of Publication | Bristol, UK |
| Publication Date | 2004 |
| Structure / Binding | Case binding. |
| Medium / Materials | Archival inkjet print from original photographs and assemblages on Velin Arches Blanc. Hard covers bound in pale pink suedette with embossed title and ribbon ties. |
| Number of Pages | 18 |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 6 x 6 x 1 inches. (15 x 15 x 2.5 cms.) |
| Edition Size | Edition of 10 |
| Signed & Numbered | Yes |
Viola: An Auction of Romance by Sarah Bodman
Viola is based on the true story of a lady who loved to bake and decorate cakes for her parties; Viola would do anything to have a reason for entertaining her family and friends. Unfortunately, Viola developed such a taste for parties that she began to arrange certain events in order to bake and ice more cakes.
Sarah tells us, "My inspiration is always the darker side of nature, human nature and history. All my books use images that lure the viewer in by making the subject look attractive. I use botanical imagery to explore aspects of historical events, manipulated to re-interpret the notions of nature (and human nature) as something beautiful and safe. This book is a good example. Another title, Livia's Garden is a tour of the garden of Livia (wife of Augustus Caesar). Livia used her knowledge of 'medicinal' plants to remove any human obstacles which threatened the stability of the Imperial family in Rome."
Artist Bio
Sarah is Research Fellow for Artists' Books at the Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR), where she runs projects investigating and promoting contemporary book arts. She is also the editor of the Book Arts Newsletter a vital monthly book arts resource published at the CFPR; and the Artist's Book Yearbook a biennial publication on contemporary book arts, published by Impact Press. She is the editor of The Blue Notebook journal for artists’ books, and writes a regular news column on artists’ books for the ARLIS UK and Ireland News-sheet, and for the journal Printmaking Today. Sarah is the author of Creating Artists’ Books (a handbook for A&C Black, UK and Watson-Guptill, New York, USA, 2nd edition published December 2007, ISBN 978-0-7136-6509-3). Sarah's artists' books are included in many international collections such as Tate Britain, the British Library and the V & A Museum, All Saints Library and Winchester School of Art, UK; Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection, Yale Centre for British Art, MOMA, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Mills College and Rhode Island School of Design USA; Museum van het Boek and AKI (ArtEz) The Netherlands; Biblioteca Casanatense, Italy; Southern Cross University, Lismore and Institute of the Arts, Canberra, Australia.