The Atlas Collection

A few months ago, I was browsing my favorite antique store when a book caught my eye.

The book was oversized, with a bold red cover that had separated from the spine. Inside, the pages were worn and soft with age, but the colors were still vivid.

I wouldn’t normally pay as much as I did for this book, but I couldn’t resist the typography and all the gorgeous maps.

I had many arguments with myself about using the book for collages, but in the end, I did.

I didn’t end up using many of the maps, because they were too beautiful. The book includes pages of facts and definitions and those were what I used. I painted them first with layers of acrylic paint to obscure most of the text. On some of the painted papers, I used my Nolan Proof Press and wooden type to add letters I could then abstract. I found that the colors of the maps influenced the palette because I was drawn to yellows, pinks, reds, and purples.

There are still so many pages left in this book, that I could continue to add to this collection. I enjoyed spending the final months of a gray winter immersed in color.