The book-of-the-week for Week 7 is a pop-up book titled The Three Gates. The book of three photographs, three poems, and three accompanying pop-up structures is inspired by three aspects of the Loire region of France... the vibrant gardens, the magical forests, and the finely crafted architecture. A colorful pastepaper cover seemed to best set the mood... The text was printed on the Pearl letterpress with white ink and 14-point Caslon type.
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| Cover of Japanese silk bookcloth and pastepaper |
The first poem, Bounty, is letterpress printed over a photograph of a backyard garden that this artist espied (beyond a gate) in western France.
Bounty
Beans, broccoli, beets, brussels-sprouts, and basil;
Leaks, limas, lavender, lentils, lettuces, and lovage;
Swiss chard, spinach, snow peas, and squash;
Tomatoes, thyme, tansy, turnips, and tarragon;
Potatoes, pumpkins, persimmons and parsley;
Peas, parsnips, petunias, and peanuts;
Cauliflower, cabbage, collards, and chives,
and corn, corn, corn, corn, corn, corn, corn.
The bounty goes on and on, beyond the pretty
----------------::::iron gate:::------------------
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| a garden and a box pop-up of a gate... |
The second poem is called St. Peter Was Out to Lunch. It has a sliding pull tab which moves a cut paper gate across a photograph of a serene forest this artist came upon unexpectedly.. while walking about a mile from the Loire River.
St. Peter Was Out to Lunch
Morning walk
I found myself
in a place of Grace
some heaven on earth
golden and peace filled
I walked right in
the gate wide open
St. Peter was out to lunch
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| tab pushed in... |
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| tab pulled out... come in! |
The last page has a photograph of the lovely Chateau du Pin (http://sci-le-pin.com), where this artist visits whenever possible. The V-fold pop-up of another cut paper gate accents the poem, Behind the Gate...
Behind the Gate
Turrets and gables
gargoyles and ghosts
the elegance of decay.
Window panes catching
reflections of clouds
are really just pages
of the stories
of the house
behind the gate.
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| opening the page, the gate lifts up.. |
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| fully open, the gate is upright and the house in full view |
