Trees in Winter

For the past few years I’ve been taking photos of trees in winter, their naked branches so stark and poetic against the bright grey winter skies, sometimes, less and less each year, covered in a perfect blanket of white snow. Most of the time these weren’t trees found deep in the woods, but individuals, maybe in a park, on the side of the road, in the middle of town, in a back yard, trees that lived where people lived and stood out for their personalities. Trees in Winter is the result of these photos. It is a process driven book. I had been experimenting with CMYK printing and wanted to try to work with this pro- cess on the Vandercook using photopolymer plates. The resulting book, made late in 2018 and 2019, is the culmination of several months of test plates and prints. There were many challenges to working with this technique, but the resulting images have a vintage, some- times haunting quality. The CMYK prints are juxtaposed with handmade suminagashi mar- bling, the patterns of which are reminiscent of tree rings or woodgrain.

Trees in Winter is an artists’ book designed, printed and bound by Elizabeth Castaldo of Forest Magic Press in 2018 and 2019. It was printed from photopolymer plates using CMYK process, with letterpress printing, handmade suminagashi marbles and hand cut paper. The book measures 5 x 7 inches and is enclosed in a slipcase. It was produced in an edition of 15, with collaphon signed and numbered by the artist.