The Flying adventures
of two candy cane pen Friends

An Artist Book and Exhibition

ABOUT THE Story

The Flying Adventures of Two Candy Cane Pen Friends is the enchanted tale — told through photographs and hand-lettered text — of pen pals who finally meet and spend time exploring the Pacific Northwest in a little blue and yellow airplane.  Evoking the spirit of Antoine Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince and Nick Bantok’s Griffin & Sabine books, Flying Adventures is a timeless story that celebrates the magic of friendship and flight, inspiring the dreamer in us all.  On a personal note, it also happens to be the creative retelling of the real-life adventure which made me want to learn how to fly. I created the original handmade book as a thank-you gift for my aviator friend, but in wanting to bring the story and its inspiration to a wider audience I now present Flying Adventures not only as a limited edition artist book, but also as a framed exhibit, illustrated reading, and abridged paperback “zine” edition.

THE BOOK

Once home from the big adventure I wanted to send a thank-you present to my flying friend. At first I thought I’d print copies of all the photos I took and put them in an album for him, but then I thought I’d like to do something more special and things snowballed from there: What if I printed the photographs myself and bound them into a book? (So I learned some bookbinding skills.) Then I thought about adding captions to the images, but that led me to realize that our whole experience felt like a fairy tale, so why not just write it like one? “Once upon a time…” turns just about anything into a good story. I made a book for my friend and also one to keep for myself. A few years later I created a second edition with exposed tape binding in order to avoid the use of glue on the spine. The hidden bonus was that the spine now looked like the red & white striped rudder of my friend’s plane.

the Exhibition

In wanting to share the Flying Adventures story with a larger audience but still stay true to its handmade-art-book spirit, I decided to create a deconstructed version of the book. I thought of printing individual pages to frame them for gallery display, but that felt flat, both literally and metaphorically. Instead I chose to impart a three dimensional, open-book feel by sewing deconstructed signatures to mounting boards and displaying them in shadowbox frames. Viewers could then read the story, page by page in an “open book” displayed on a gallery wall.

THE PAPERBACK

When people read the book, they often say they wish they could have a copy, and for awhile I tried to find a publisher. I didn’t have much luck, as it’snot quite a traditional “art” book but also not very “mainstream,” and so I decided to create a limited edition paperback version—a “zine” of sorts— in a completely different format from the original hand-bound editions. The visual layout is horizontal and the story is condensed, but the magic is still most definitely there! Each copy is signed and numbered. You can purchase one (or more!) if you’d like:

Scheduling & PURCHASING

Limited edition framed display folios and special edition hand-printed, hand-bound artist books with a custom dedicated colophon are available for purchase. Single images may be commissioned for printing in custom sizes on traditional or unique substrates such as wood, metal, and acrylic.

To discuss scheduling an exhibition, reading, or public talk; or for information regarding purchasing artwork, please contact me directly via email or telephone (614) 937-5163.