Coffee Book 4.5 x 6.5”

This project combined my enjoyment of relaxing with a good cup of coffee and the challenge of a new non-adhesive book structure. I also wanted to incorporate some coffee miscellany, pullouts and interactive elements to surprise the reader. 

The Coral Grove 4 ½” x 4”

I was lucky enough to be given about 20 sheets of beautiful, heavy blue paper. Its large size and intense color made me remember the warm, tropical waters of Hawaii and Baja. When reading a collection of poetry, I found the work of James Gates Percival entitled The Coral Grove and knew I had found the perfect vehicle for using my luscious paper. There were several challenges here—a new pattern of Coptic stitching, the attachment of multiple foldouts to extend the boundaries of the book, double-page spread compositions, and designing a unifying organization with line, color and texture. 

Key Book 3 ¾” x 5 ¾”

The inspiration for this book came from an oil change at my auto repair dealership.  On my rearview mirror was a manila tag with four giant black numbers. My mind started to think about how people and things get identified only by their number (social security #,  phone #, pin #, etc.). What might a number stand for? Punching in a number can bring a reward or give permission. A number can be a key. A key to what? I enjoyed taking the reader on a quest in this book, giving clues, posing questions, leaving red herrings. Multiple layers of textures, fibers, and papers, are combined with 3-D objects. The metallic feel of a safe or strongbox that might hold the solution comes from silver air conditioning tape, a technique I learned from creative book artist Carolyn Waite (Thanks!).

The Journey:  New Mexico 4 ½” x 6 ½ “

Sometimes I like to add another layer of fun to my vacation by challenging myself to make a book of travel memories that incorporates only materials found on the journey.  When a day of sightseeing is over and I’m relaxing and remembering what I’ve seen and done, it’s fun to get out my little art kit and go through my pockets. There I’ll find visual traces of what I’ve seen and done.  With my glue stick, scissors and ink pen, I can record my trip memories. These memories later will become letters to myself in the future. This book is constructed on what has become my most favorite book structure—the accordion fold.  It’s infinitely flexible, can be incorporated with other book structures, grows to accept a lot of memorabilia, and becomes a decorative element because it can be expanded to reveal a collage, rubber-stamping, etc. 

The Workshop Book  4 ½” x 6”

The Book Arts workshop at Oregon College of Arts and Crafts would be a week of intensive creativity and motivation, so I wanted to be sure to record as many ideas and inspirations as possible. I decided there was no better book structure that the accordion fold combined with signatures attached with the pamphlet stitch. This book allowed me to keep records of daily events, challenges, and revelations, and collect evidence of projects and solutions. 

Book of the Desert 4 ¾” x 5 ½”

I love revisiting this book because it makes me laugh all over again at some of the experiences I had in Palm Spring with my good friend Jan. Once again I used the non-adhesive book structure based on origami folds that creates a cover with multiple pockets for collecting trip memorabilia, hiding notes, and securing a pamphlet book inside for daily diary.

What I've Learned 2000

Container: 3 1/2" x 2", Scroll: 1-1/16" x 33"
Handmade paper, polymer clay, seed, wood

This scroll records some of the realizations I had been making. I wanted to record them so I could refer to them later. Now that it's 10 years later, it is time to evaluate my earlier beliefs and make another recording.

Law of Nature 1997

Container: 3" x 3 3/4", Scroll 1" x 9 3/4" Handmade paper, polymer clay, twigs

This series of containers was to explore faux ivory and vessel forms using polymer clay. Rare finds of ancient scrolls were found in vessels so they were perfect containers for a series of scroll books.

The Oracle 2002

6 1/2" x 5 3/4" Handmade paper, mixed media. Long stitch variation with kettle stitch

The artist Walter Nottingham inspired me to think in terms of enshrining objects to evoke spiritual as well as aesthetic concerns. This book is part of a ritual reminiscent of the ancient Greek oracle at Delphi, answering petitioner's questions with a "Yes" or "No."
Paper made from my environment became the unifying aesthetic factor. Embellishments gleaned from my workspace made it autobiographical. It was sewn with a variation

Balance Shrine 2002

2 1/4" x 3 3/4" Altoid tin, accordion fold book

The idea of a portable meditation shrine has been a fascination for me because it could be easily available, transported, and useful.  There have been certain affirmations, poems, and words that have great meaning for me, and it was appealing to have them with me in a small tin that is still reminiscent of the codex form.  These views show the outside and inside of my Balance Shrine.  It has the appeal of exploration and discovery, and the things to open, untie, and unfold encourage ritual.  I’ve made these for friends and they are all the more meaningful because they were tailored for each person’s philosophy and interests.

Taliban vs. Women 2001

6 1/2" x 9 1/2" Altered book, mixed media

As more and more revelations came out of Afghanistan about the Taliban's treatment of women, I was angered and disgusted. My feelings became even more intense when I began to investigate Afghan women's atrocious living conditions. I became compelled to create this book as an instrument of information and change. The book block was glued into divisions that allowed for niches. Dress pattern paper and measuring tapes were metaphors for the measures of a woman's worth under the regime. Netting, gauze and blindfolds symbolized the limitations on women seeing and being seen.

Spam Book 2009

Spam Can: 3 ¼” x 3 ¾”, Book 1 7/8” x
3 ¼” Handmade paper, mixed media

Often the books I've make incorporate things and materials from the world around me. Today, this practice has been dubbed the "green movement," and au courant as if it hadn't occurred to anyone until now. This book is made from "rebound" materials, all of which are in some way autobiographical and came from the garbage I would have sent to a landfill

The brown paper bag pages have been coated with white gesso, symbolic of the clouds of thoughts constantly floating by in our heads. The page corners are rounded like the curving outlines of thought bubbles in comic books. Staring at the gestural brushstrokes of gesso lets images appear much like you'd find faces or animals within patterns of marble. Every now and then a single word, image, or short phrase gives something to ponder, draw, or comment on. One needn't worry about entering deepest thoughts and feelings, since no one would think to pry into a Spam can, something most people would abhor.

Collection of Dr. Amit Shai