Artist Books by Isabel Knowland
I began making books while studying for an art foundation course. I love
the sculptural aspect of books and find it a satisfying way of using
printmaking to convey ideas.
Homage to Bach
The Bach series of screenprints and books all take their inspiration from
the 48 Preludes and Fugues. The colours were determined by my own
synaesthetic response to the individual notes of the scale. Each print
denotes the colour of the main note of the scale together with the fourth
and fifth notes, thus creating a colour ‘chord’.
‘Homage to Bach 1’
12 screenprints in a clamshell box
16 × 18.5 × 2.5 cm
‘Homage to Bach 2’
12 screenprints uniquely bound in a portfolio cover
24 × 18.5 × 1.5 cm
The Wisdom of Trees
15 pages that open out to reveal quotations and proverbs about trees.
‘The Wisdom of Trees’
Ink and linocut on Zerkall paper and board
16 × 7.5 cm
Dramatis Personae
An ABC of emotions as personified by Shakespeare’s characters. Each page is
overlaid by the particular letter taken from the original portfolio, and
each emotion and the speech from which it is derived is detailed at the end
of the book.
Scaffolding
A flag book of Seamus Heaney’s poem ‘Scaffolding’.
‘Scaffolding’
Drypoint and digital print on Medieval Laid paper and mountboard
7.5 × 15 cm
The Happy Prince
Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s story. Collograph, paper, mountboard, thread.
13 × 21 × 40 cm (open)
Swallow Book
‘Swallow Book’
Ink on mountboard with linocut, thread.
13 × 9 × 33 cm (open)
The Windmills of Your Mind
Inspired by Michel Legrand. Paper and card, 12 × 5 × 26 cm (extended)
Tree Book 1
Ink and linocut on mountboard, 21 × 12 × 25 cm (extended)
Tree Book 2
Ink and linocut on mountboard, 21 × 12 × 25 cm (extended)
Lemon Book
This book has David Malouf’s poem ‘Wild Lemons’ on one side and
Ottolenghi’s recipe for preserved lemon couscous on the other.
‘Lemon Book’
Accordion fold book
8.5 × 13.5 cm