TRAVELING IN A TINY HOME THAT IS REALLY AN ARTISTS' BOOK ON WHEELS

Peter and Donna Thomas have been making fine press and artist's books for over 40 years. When they started, as craftspeople at Renaissance Faires, they fell in love with the graceful beauty of "gypsy wagon" caravans that other vendors had made to sleep in or use as booths for selling their wares. In 2009 Peter and Donna built their own tiny home on wheels, designed after a typical late 19th century Redding Wagon. This blog documents their trips around the country, taken to sell their artists' books, teach book arts workshops, and talk about making books as art; as well as to seek out and experience the beauty of the many different landscapes found across the USA.

Peter and Donna started their business in 1977 and made their first book in 1978, so from 2017-18 are traveling to celebrate 40 years of making books with shows in a dozen libraries across the country. See the schedule on the side bar to find if they are coming to a town near you....

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Click here to see a digital exhibit of all the books Peter and Donna have made since 1977.


Monday, November 6, 2017

On Tour: We Feel a Little like Rock Stars

Forty years of making books is a real milestone. Since we left home in August we have visited over 30 universities. And yes, at times we think we know what it must feel like to be touring rock stars: We drive a good part of every day to get from somewhere to somewhere, arrive in town just in time to set up for what ever we have going on, and then pack up and find a place to park and sleep in the caravan. Lucky we usually are parked in a kind person's driveway, or in a pretty campground, but also usually we get there too late to enjoy any natural beauty!

But Oh! is it ever exhilarating and rewarding to see our 40 year shows. This last week were in Milwaukee, where Max Yela and his staff in Special Collections Library at University of Wisconsin have hosted a show of our work in the Golda Meir Library.


We were also this year's featured Ettinger Family Book Artists Series Lecturers. Thanks goes out to Suzy Ettinger who funds this endeavor. Everyone benefits: the artists, the library, the students, as well as the general public. Everyone is invited to attend and they do. Even on Halloween, a crowd showed up for artists' books! Peter ends the talk with a song:


The show presents about 100 of our editioned books in 10 in the cases, showing the books in chronological order. Below is a case with our very first books, made in 1977. Line drawings, etchings and very white handmade paper:


And here are two cases with work from the last few years:



It was a special treat to see the 2002 Wildflowers of the John Muir Trail and Landscapes of the John Muir Trail accordion books opened out full length to display the illustrations. They feature digital reproductions of Donna's original watercolor paintings and handwritten text, printed on Peter's handmade paper. If you want to see more about our current books for sale you can look on our website. Click here to see it.


And, if you want to see a short video showing the whole show at UWM here is a link to it on YouTube: Just click here!

Life as a touring rock and roll star, or even a wandering book artist, can be a hectic lifestyle but there are rewards: we can't say enough about  the wonderful people we have met at our talks and workshops around the country, and all the librarians who have supported us and are dedicated to the kind of art we are all so passionate about.

And last but not least: The catalog for the shows is available on Amazon. You can just search for "Peter and Donna Thomas The Work of 40 Years" or here is the link: 




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