Justin Rowe from WABI SABI PRESS on Vimeo.

A short documentary about my book sculptures.

DPI Magazine issue 177

I have a nice feature in issue 177 of the Taiwan magazine DPI. Looks good - not entirely sure what it says though...

Meeting Mr Tumnus, Narnia book sculpture

 This is my latest book sculpture, call 'Meeting Mr Tumnus'. It is of course based on 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' by C. S. Lewis.

 I had been thinking for a while that the scene near the scene near the beginning when Lucy first enters Narnia and meets Mr Tumnus by the lamp post in the forest would be an interesting project.

 I used two different colours of LED, a white light in the lamp post, giving a nice icy winter feel, and a warmer white in the wardrobe .

St Peter's Church, Cambridge book sculpture.

 Here my latest book sculpture, it is another commission. This time the client wanted a sculpture of St Peter's church in Cambridge, a small very old church.

 The church is right next to the Kettle's Yard art complex, but is quite hidden from the road and easily overlooked.

 I think I have captured it fairly well including the overgrown grounds.

Don Quixote book sculpture.

 This is a new book sculpture of mine. It is another commission, the customer just wanted something related to Don Quixote (or Quijote if you prefer) I immediately though of the famous 'tilting at windmills' scene - this is the result.

Two new book sculptures

 It's been quite a while since I last posted, have sadly been busy, but here are a couple of new book sculptures I have been working on.

'Perhaps I shall find out somebody's secret!' and 'Love's bright dream' both feature illustrations from a late Victorian family compendium that I picked up for next to nothing from a junk shop.

 Each blade of grass is individually cut by hand with a scalpel and glued into place a row at a time.

 In this sculpture the pages are cut along the text, the twisted and buckled to give the appearance of waves.

Many more sculptures on the website...

Shackleton altered book sculpture

This is my latest book sculpture, a commission for a client who wanted a piece based on the Antarctic exploits of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

A quick google image search for inspiration turned up the image below which seemed to capture the feeling of what was wanted very well. It is from an image library and I can find no real attribution for it, so I have no idea how accurate a depiction of the events it is, but then that is not really what I was going for, more a 'feeling' of Shackleton's adventure.

 I picked up a cheap copy of 'Endurance' by Alfred Lansing on ebay, this forms the base of the sculpture. I then added ice floes and cut small waves around them.

I then cut the figures and sculpted the boat in the foreground. The piece is finished with a warm yellow LED which give a really good impression of fire.

 Other examples of my work can be found as ever on my website.

Midwinter Bookscape book sculptures

 Christmas is fast approaching and it is time for another Cambridge University Press bookshop window display.

 Midwinter Bookscape is a modular sculpture of four book sculptures that fit together to make one piece. There is also a fifth paper sculpture, a version of the Mathematical bridge that can be found in Cambridge, this links two of the book sculptures together.

 All the pieces are available to win via a Charity raffle, tickets cost £1 and are available from the bookshop the draw will be during January 2013, though the lucky winners will have to collect in person. There are also cards for sale in the bookshop, or my Etsy shop.

More images at my website.

Harry Potter paper maquettes

 We recently went on to the Harry Potter studio tour in Leavesden, just outside London. Rather than a theme park this is the actual sets and stages where the film were shot.

 After a grueling first few minutes where we were constantly having 'ARE WE HAVING FUN YET' yelled at us by pretty young tour guides (Warner Brothers don't seem to realise this does not go down well in the UK) we were left to our own devices to explore at will.

 As well as a myriad of props and sets including Diagon Alley and the Great Hall amongst many others, there were these amazing paper and card maquettes. These are the original three dimensional designs for Hogwarts etc.

 The detail in these architectural models is amazing, I really like that they are not painted and 'finished' - it is possible to see the making in them, which really makes you see the level of skill required to produce them.

 Very inspirational, lots of good ideas for future book sculptures.

 I would really recommend the Harry Potter studio tour, you don't have to be a fan of the books or films,  or have children (in fact you might get more out of it if you leave them at home!). If you have even a slight interest in the creative process the is an almost overwhelming wealth of things on display. It makes you realise how much time and effort goes into making a film with a fantastical setting, and you can see where all the money goes in making them.

Another new Jenny Saville print - Reproduction drawing IV (after the Leonardo cartoon), 2010

'Reproduction drawing IV (after the Leonardo cartoon), 2010' is another newly released limited edition Jenny Saville print from the Modern Art Oxford exhibition. The last one sold out in about a week, so move fast if you want one! Buy yours here.

Digital print on Somerset photo 300gsm paper

Edition of 50, signed by the artist

Dimensions 594 x 420mm

UPDATE: - Also sold out, even quicker than the other print I think!