NEW WEBSITE

I have finally found time to make a website for my work!

www.kirstytizzard.co.uk

Whilst my blog has been neglected for a bit, the website shows what I have been working on in my final year at University.

Sleepers

It's almost the end of third year and I'm not sure I can remember what a good nights sleep means! I guess that might explain why I'm becoming more and more drawn to people dozing off on public transport and in various waiting rooms- I've got a rapidly growing collection of these peaceful people in the back of books, on receipts and coach tickets.

Uta Barth...

Barth generates some fantastic imagery- here's some examples...

The photographs are really soft and out of focus and make you just want to hop inside and be totally immersed by them.

Letterpressing

I've spent a week in a room at the bottom of uni with no windows, just lots of tiny lead letters and plenty of picas.

However, after setting the text some weeks ago now, I was finally ready to print and finished 1500 pages this morning. The idea is to print these condensed books that I've been chopping about and perforate and block them together so people can take a condensed War and Peace or maybe an Animal Farm away with them to read when they don't have much time.

It's by far the biggest print run I have done in letterpress. I think I'm going to quite miss working down there. Perhaps I might have to direct the next project that way too....

Pick Me Up

Time for the next installment of the Pick Me Up contemporary graphic art fair.

To be honest, I'm not sure I was drawn to much of the work in it. My favourite, however, and most useful to my current condensed book project was Stefanie Posavec's information design (above image shows the splitting up of books into chapters then words). It was worth the fiver alone just to be introduced to this single piece.

Laser engraving....

Fun times downstairs in the 3D workshop at uni. Check out the laser engraving my books!

In preparation....

Gearing up for the big print run, after speaking to Simon about the project I settled on 60gsm Bible Paper to letterpress the pages of my condensed books onto. This is it cut to size, above.

Using this stock means each page can be torn off the blocks easily and can exist as something not too precious. It's an idea stemming from the fact that when paperback novels first became widely available and cheap, readers on ocean liners would sometimes read a book tearing out each page as they go and chucking it over board.