Ball + Cup Madness

artist book

Ball + Cup Madness is an artist book I created for a print and finishing course at WWU. The assignment’s only constraint was that students had to design and produce a book. My idea was to make a book that doubled as a ball and cup toy. The written content of the book consists of six poems I wrote about an individual that just can’t quite catch the ball in the cup. As an added layer of depth, I made sure the drop caps illustrated the individual’s emotions.

Producing the book was challenging. A good friend of mine allowed me to use the equipment (table saw, lathe, drill, router, etc.) in his wood shop to make the front and back cover. The hinges I bought from a hardware store while the clasp was taken off of small jewelry box. I printed the poems on a sandstone colored paper and folded it into an accordion before stitching it together with the covers. The wooden red ball came from another ball and cup toy. Lastly I meticulously (not without many failures) cut out a tiny stencil to spray paint the title onto the front cover.