Hand-cut paper.
Neenah Crest 80 cover. 2022.
Pointed brush.
Ástor. Tangible music.
As a native Argentinian, the music of Ástor Piazzolla (1) lives deep in my soul.
The idea for this piece started to grow after attending a workshop on paper engineering with Kelli Anderson. Initially, I wanted to create the word “Astor” in folded paper (2, 3), to emulate his iconic instrument, the bandoneon—a type of concertina popular in Argentina. After some tests, I decided that trying to make the whole word was too complex, so I developed only the letter A (4, 5).
His music is called música ciudadana, “music from the city” of Buenos Aires. Passionate, vibrant, nocturnal, sorrowful, and melancholic, his lyrics and music belong to Buenos Aires’ porteña night. Black paper and very bright blue strokes transmit the feeling of rainy nights and dark spaces. The intentionally illegible text, tangamente enamorada (6) (“tango-ish in love”), is an extract from Balada para mi muerte (“A ballad to my death”).
Because it’s a 3-dimensional piece, it should be seen from many perspectives (7). For that purpose, I created a clamshell case (8) to keep the piece inside, but also to serve as a stand to display it opened, as intended.
Specs:
The black paper is Strathmore. The calligraphy was made with ruling pens and gouache.
The box is 11 x 11 x 2 in., and the “A” folded is approximately 3 x 6 x 1.5 in.
Hand-cut Gilbert paper. 12 x 12 in. 2022
Alfarera (The woman potter). Connecting places and crafts.
In 2021, I attended the postgraduate course Diplomatura en Artes del Libro (Arts of the Book Postgraduate Course) at the National Art University in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Due to the pandemic, it was mostly online.
For the final book project (7), I collaborated with two artists: Catalina Rojas, letterpress printer, and Romina Cabaleiro, writer and editor. Catalina lives in Miami, Romina in Buenos Aires, and I in Chicago (1).
The inspiration for our book was Stonecutter, by Jon J. Muth and John Kuramoto (2), a version of the traditional East Asian folktale about the nature of power and the value of accepting who you are. We decided to make a new version written in Spanish, in haiku instead of prose, and with a woman potter as the main character. Romina created this character to experience different Argentinian scenarios and traditions (3) and Catalina printed this story subtly, debossed, without ink colors (4). It’s a book to read with time for meditation and contemplation.
I provided the general design and layout (5), and the calligraphy for the cover and dividers (6).
The entire process was guided and reviewed by Rubén Fontana, Zalma Jalluf and Patricio Gatti, full professors at the University.
It was an amazing experience merging all of our crafts and a true collaboration in every level, from the content, across the design, and through the printing process.
Specs: Book on sheets, 161 x 200 mm, 76 pages
Paper: Crane’s Crest, 118.4 g
Printed letterpress with polymer, blind debossed
30x30 cm. Color pencil.
“ We'll burn all of our poems
Add to god's debris”
Patti Smith.
Gouache on Rives BFK. 20x13 in.
“I can give you my loneliness, my darkness, the
hunger of my heart; I am trying to bribe you
with uncertainty, with danger, with defeat.”
Jorge Luis Borges (1934)
Gouache on Rives BFK. 20x13 in.
Be curious, not judgmental.
Gouache on Rives BFK. 20x13 in.
Lettering on ceramic plates. 2020
Color pencils.
2020
Never let go.
Patti Smith.
Color pencils, ruling pen, and vector file.
2020
Todas las hojas son del viento. L. A. Spinetta.
Digital, 2020
6x6”, gansai.
2020
Handmade embossing. Watercolor.
2020
Watercolor, 6x6”.
2020
New Year card, 2019.
Sumi ink on Arches paper.
10x8.5”
2019
Sumi ink. Kadhi paper.
Watercolor, Kadhi paper.
Collaboration with Judith Mayer.
Chalk and pastel. 4x4f
Chalk Howard Street Festival, 2019.
Commission for The Society of Typographic Arts. Chicago Characters: A Brief & Incomplete History of Design in Chicago. 2018
Carved slate. Capital romans with flat brush, gouache. Red lettering with EZA pen.
2017. Translation. Fraktur.
2018. Ruling pen.
SOLD
2018. Sharpie.
