I'm In A Book!

I thought about fancier titles - perhaps with a hint of sophistication? Or at least less gauche? Nope. I am just THRILLED!!!! The gorgeously lovely and extrememely hard-working Maria Arango Diener not only orchestrated a wonderful international project in the City of the World Monumental Collaborative Puzzle Print - she also had a book published showing everyone's work!!!

The prints themselves make for a HUGE puzzle print spread over 5 sheets!- I have yet to frame mine, I think I need a bigger bit of free wall first. As and when I do ever get it framed and up on a wall I promise to show the pictures here.Here's just a glimpse of them when they arrived last year with a complete image and key in the foreground:

Here's my page - so so so doing a little happy dance. I don't know exactly why it is so exciting to be in a book, I have never yearned for fame so it's not that. Maybe it's something to do with feeling validated in some way - daft, this was all voluntary participation - but I rubbed shoulders with some very experienced woodcutters and engravers in the process, so that felt pretty bloody wonderful too.

The figure in my block does not represent me as such. I had in mind to portray us all. A simple figure just watching the birds, finding peace, nature and connection where he or she can.  Without the birds, I'd have to move.

In the background you can just see faded images from the newspaper cutting I included with my block. We all did this - mine reflected the on-going financial crisis affecting us all, some so very much more than others, which I contrasted with some, ahem, fairly rum views (in my not always very humble opinion) from our current 'leader'. Hrmph.

The book also features a whole bunch of process shots (I personally love these) with the team of volunteers who did such hard work over the whole thing including the printing days.I know I shall keep coming back to it time and again.

I would love to do something like this again. That Maria would too is amazing, and this wasn't even her first monumental puzzle project. Nonetheless, she ends the book with 'Follow the blog for announcements about the next great project! Until then.' - I can't thank her enough.

Hehe. Am in a book. Who'd have thought it. :D

Maria's blog can be found here: http://puzzleprints.blogspot.co.uk/