Alisha Golden

Chart: These Bright Lights

The third title in Alisha Golden’s circle series, Chart is a study on constellations and stars. The piece features pages painted with acrylic inks and white pencil, and letterpress printed text in Caslon 471 type on archival paper. The pages of the accordion fold are all linked with linen tape.

The text runs in a single line through each page and is difficult to see. This forces the reader to approach the book at very close range, in effect, becoming part of the book and the space it occupies. Some of the text disappears or is set to accentuate or illustrate the meaning of a particular word.

Press: Never Mind the Press
Date: 1997
Number and Edition: 17 of 32
Size: 5.5” x 5.5”

 

Mrs. White Has Tea

Already in its third edition, Mrs. White Has Tea is a magical story of friendship, colors and tea. Color photocopies of tinted line drawings and computer set type are presented in the shape of a tea bag, creating a visual pun. The miniature book was printed letterpress and includes a rubber-stamped image of a lizard on the cover. The title is printed on the tea bag tag, and the single signature binding was sewn with embroidery thread.

Press: Never Mind the Press
Date: 1999
Number and Edition: 27 of 48
Size: 3” x 3”

 

No Moon Tonight

To create No Moon Tonight, the names of each month’s full moons were letterpress printed on translucent paper. The text includes stories of two people, moonless nights, insomnia and heartbeats. The double accordion format is sewn at the valley folds, and a window through the front cover gives the work a tunnel book effect for the right half of the structure. The ends are covered with purple book cloth and the title is embossed on the front panel.

Artist Alisha Golden said: “I used to put books together on my own, as a child. Then I learned a single signature binding in a calligraphy class in high school. College was the main place where I was exposed to many binding possibilities; I became fascinated with book structures. After I graduated I learned through books, then began designing my own bindings.”

Press: Never Mind the Press
Date: 1999
Number and Edition: 35 of 35
Size: 5” x 6”

 

She is the Keeper

She is the Keeper is printed letterpress from handset type on gray Stonehenge paper in blues and greens. The sides of the miniature box slide down to reveal the story about a mysterious box. Three linoleum cut illustrations printed in shades of gray illustrate the inner lids of the box. The structure is a chunky, single-page flag book attached to a turquoise Canson accordion. The text is a dream story about a mysterious box, curiosity, a desire to help, and a new understanding.

Artist Alisha Golden said: “I like the look and feel of letterpress. I like handling each individual letter. It helps me edit my work to focus on one word at a time. The computer is very fast. I already work too quickly. Setting type by hand slows me down. The physical impression in the paper adds to the handmade quality.”

Press: Never Mind the Press
Date: 2003
Number and Edition: 20 of 30
Size: 2.5” x 3”

 

Waking Snakes

Waking Snakes consists of 12 original poems printed on 20 pieces of periwinkle custom-made paper created at Magnolia Editions. All the inner pages feature deckle edges, while the covers are folded back. Linoleum cuts, collagraphs and fragments of text are included along with the poems on various pages, even disappearing into the gutters or printed upside down. The handset Univers 55, 56 and Caslon 471 type was printed letterpress. The piece is bound with a slot and tab binding designed by Michael Budinansky. The embossed title was stitched into both the clamshell box that houses the book and the book itself. The inside front cover of the box features a woodcut of three intertwined snakes, reminiscent of the head of the Greek goddess Medusa.

Press: Never Mind the Press
Date: 1996
Number and Edition: 18 of 20
Size: 5.25” x 4”