‘Visual Words’ unfolds at FAC
Published 8:54 pm Tuesday, October 6, 2009
In celebration of the intersection of the literary and the visual arts, The Edmonds Arts Commission and the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation present a joint exhibit titled “Visual Words” featuring artwork by Lynda Sherman, a letter press artist, and Doug Keith, an illustrator and graphic designer. Each year for the Write on the Sound Writers’ Conference, a joint exhibit at the Anderson Center features artists who use the written word in their artwork or are book illustrators. This exhibit features two very different approaches in the work of Lynda Sherman and Doug Keith.
Sherman finds her inspiration in the surreal life of being a letterpress printer in the 21st century. Using handset metal and wood type, she translates everyday experiences into beautiful paper ephemera and tactile objects; a passing comment from a window washer becomes a poem, a trip to the grocery store becomes a haiku and a ride on the #36 bus becomes a valentine.
Sherman has been printing under the Bremelo Press impression since 2000. Currently working and teaching from her studio in the Little Saigon District of Seattle, she first began letterpress printing 14 years ago with master printer Dikko Faust in New York City.
Keith’s career began as a commercial artist shortly after graduating from art school in 1974. He started illustrating picture books over 15 years ago and has worked on more than 40 books in a variety of genre and markets.
What he enjoys most about illustrating picture books is bringing the author’s words to life. It requires skill, patience, dedication, hard work and probably one of the toughest challenges, meeting the deadline. His graphic art training proved invaluable for working on picture books especially in page design and layout. He finds the whole process exciting and rewarding. The artwork in this exhibit represents a variety of projects and includes pieces that give insight into the creative process of making good picture books.
