| Title | Voyage of Discovery |
| Artist / Creator | Julie Shaw Lutts |
| Artist's Nationality | American |
| Place of Publication | Salem, MA |
| Publication Date | 2012 |
| Subject | Travel |
| Medium / Materials | Mixed Media / Vintage red wooden toolbox, paper, paint, found object. |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | Closed: 17 x 3 x 7 inches. Open: 24 x 24 x 8 inches |
| Edition Size | Unique |
| Signed & Numbered | Yes, on bottom of box |
Voyage of Discovery by Julie Shaw Lutts -SOLD!
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The pages of Voyage of Discovery are wooden circles, which each have a planetary or globe like image. On the flip side you will find a quote from Marcel Proust. But one must puzzle together and layer the pages to "find" the quote. All the circular pages can be "played" with and then put away inside the found vintage long red box.
Julie Shaw Lutts' Thoughts on ‘Boxes and Containers’
My artist books are often housed in vintage boxes or containers, which I have found at flea markets and tag sales. I love the idea of wondering “what’s inside” and the process of lifting the lid, or opening the box to explore the unknown.
When working on a piece I often have the theme or narrative worked out and then choose the box or container in which to house the book. This choice often dictates the size of the ‘pages’, or how many parts, pages, or found objects will fit nicely inside. The box choice gives me parameters to work within and helps drive the finished work. Then the challenge is to make all the pieces of the book connect and feel right.
I hunt for these boxes in flea markets everywhere I go. I walk the aisles scoping out the tables and blankets on the ground, until an object or box speaks to me, gives me a spark of an idea on which to build a piece. All the items hold a story of their past and I add to that story when I use an object in my work. These old boxes are getting harder to find all the time so when I see one, and can afford it, I add it to my collection and it patiently awaits it’s turn to be used.
Artist Bio
Julie Shaw Lutts, a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, is a collage, assemblage, and book artist who lives and works on the east coast. The artist scavenges flea markets, yard sales and gathers items on her travels to inspire her work. Old photographs, tintypes, handwritten letters, odd medical devices, vintage diaries, found objects, curious personal ephemera, and all kinds of mixed media are used to create her artist books, collages and constructions. Julie has a deep respect for the stories to be found in history, and uses the antique objects she finds as touchstones to imagine fresh narratives throughout her work. Combining these historical mementos with her own photographs and images creates the foundation of her work, into which she then blends influences from contemporary culture. Julie’s artist books, collages and assemblages are all one-of-a-kind works.. She has been called a “visual anthropologist”, as so much of her work explores layers of memory, identity, and personal histories through thoughtful visual narratives.