The book-of-the-week for Week 36 is about wishes... those gates of imagination. The book takes it's inspiration from a common ritual... making a wish when blowing out the birthday cake candles. The book is titled, Happy Birthday! Make a Wish. In some cultures, birthdays are one day of the year when wishes have a place. Even if the world is oblivious, when the birthday cake arrives... all aglow with flaming candles... wishes take the stage and become a part of the celebration.
Happy Birthday! Make a Wish is a little stiff leaf book with movable elements, letterpress printing, and a collage paper candle on every page that has a pull-tab. When the pull-tab is tugged, the candle flame is drawn into the candle and the wish is revealed on the paper behind the flame.
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| even the cover has a pull tab to reveal the whole title |
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| Open the book to see the first candle... |
Pull the tab under the first candle to see the wish... FAITH. The book has four pages of candles, each with a wish printed behind the pull-tab flame. The wishes are Faith, Hope, Charity, and Love.
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| pull the tab and read... FAITH |
The second page shows the candle and wish for HOPE...
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| tugging to see the wish HOPE |
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| the third page candle.. pastepaper and collograph collage |
Pull the tab and read the wish... CHARITY.
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| with tab pulled to see the wish.. |
The fourth and last page...
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| a colorful flame over a collage candle |
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| the wish... LOVE |
Below is a photograph taken on the evening of this artist's birthday in 2007. That day... the family was far away, friends were occupied, and a cake with candles and wishes was not going to happen. But that evening, the sky turned out in full flame... and the mountain looked just like a birthday cake lit up with candles. So as the sun set, the birthday girl made her wish.
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| a sunset birthday candle... |
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