Books by _____: A Personal History of Book Displays

Introduction: I've always a lot of books, even as a kid. Arranging them is a consistent joy, but how I arranged them has changed over the years. 

• Alphabetical Order - Practicing what I learned in Elem. School. Exact date unknown.

• Height - When the jagged tops of the previous arrangements started to bother me, & the smooth descending slope of book tops relieved the previous stress. Exact date unknown.

• Color - Began as an art project my Junior year of college. 2012/2013. Current preference, because it is wildly beautiful (!!!!) & surrounding myself with beauty makes me feel hopeful.

Studio Details: Floating Shelves

Floating shelves have been on my wish list for ages, so when we bought a house, can you guess my first purchase? Yup. These are $20 LACK shelves from Ikea- the 74 3/4"x10 1/4" size trimmed to fit our wall. The install was time consuming but oh so worth it. Once they were up, I filled them with colorful treasures that make me feel inspired & hopeful. Some of my favorites include: several glass blown weights & vases I made in the hardest class I ever took, BlueBell Ice Cream containers from the factory in my parents' town, a jar full of linoleum printmaking block shavings, & several artworks from other artists/friends I admire. Also, as you can see, there are tons of books, which I arranged by color. Most of the ones in my studio I bought specifically for the purpose of showcasing their color or to make into art. I'm particularly proud of the cyan stack, as it took the longest to gather!