Reproduced from the July/August 2002 issue of Expression Magazine.
Dark
To
Light

by Dawn Rae


Taking a beginning course in book arts, I wasn’t sure how to put my feelings down into the books once they were constructed. I thought that I had to write the book—silly me! Our professor squelched my fears by simply instructing me to write about my own experiences. She told me to focus on a personally memorable event, to describe it in whatever detail I desired and then to trim the resulting narrative to just the emotionally descriptive words. Following this technique, it is “easy” to trim four to five pages of writing down to four or five lines.

Using the above editing method, I described my mother’s passing, an emotional journey which I then incorporated into my book, Dark To Light. As the book unfolds, it expresses my journey with my mother through her illness. The text reads, muddy river / so dark / small moon / little light / dawn comes / bringing light. With a simple structure and deep emotions, I created a beautiful memory of a difficult time. I am glad to share it.
Materials
Black construction paper
From paper, cut:

Eight 5-1/8" x 5-1/8" pieces

Eight 3-7/8" x 3-7/8"pieces
(These will be used to cover the back side of the boards.)

Seven connecting pieces 3-1/2" long x 2" high
(Our sample uses black paper with a pre-printed design. For a creative substitution, use a solid color construction paper and decorate as desired.)

 From heavy cardboard, cut eight 4" x 4" pieces
(Note: Museum, Davey or Mat board are all suitable.)

From white 67-lb. Exact® Vellum Bristol, cut eight 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" pieces

From white vellum, cut two 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" pieces
(These will be used to cover the front and back covers if desired.)

Rubber stamps

PVA Glue
From darkness to light,
art echoes the rhythms of life.
Instructions

1. Cover the eight pieces of cardboard with the eight pieces of 5-1/8" x 5-1/8" black construction paper. Wrap 5/8" around to the back and miter the corners. (See photo 1)

Photo 1
2. Glue the connecting 3-1/2" x 2" pieces to the back side of the board with the decorative side facing the front. Center these connecting pieces top to bottom and overlap 5/8" between the boards. This should leave approximately 1-3/4" between the boards. (See photo 2)
Photo 2
3. Glue the 3-7/8" x 3-7/8" black construction paper pieces to the back of each board. This will complete the basic structure of the book. (See photo 3)
Photo 3
4. Decorate the eight 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" white pieces to tell your own story, or decorate them with the stamps and designs of your choice. 5. Glue the decorated 3-1/2" x 3-1/2" pieces of white vellum to the front of the black, wrapped boards. (See photo 4)
Photo 4
The Dark To Light book was decorated in the following manner. All eight pieces of white vellum were stamped with the “Face” stamp from Stamp Francisco. A ragged torn mask was made of the stamp and attached with low-tack tape over the stamped image on six of the eight pages. A brayer and various colors of dye-based stamp-pad ink were used to ink over the background and the mask. Various colors of dye-based inks were also sponged over the black ink to create highlights. The type was pasted to the upper-left corner of each page and was lightly sponged with ink to blend with the backgrounds. The front and back covers were not masked. Black ink was sponged on lightly and then covered with white vellum.
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