Sunday, October 18, 2015

"Centli" Hand-made Book and Codex with Corn Paper






Book Title:
CENTLI – Corn in the Nahuatl language
A limited edition of two handmade books on the theme of corn.
Artwork and bookbinding by Eduardo García-Villada.

Dimensions:
Book - 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 1 1/4 inches
Box - 4 1/2 x 6 x 1 1/2 inches

Binding:
Book I - Keith Smith's Buttonhole Stitch.
Book II -Long Stitch Variation.
Sewn with waxed linen thread on black book cloth.
Cover boards covered with marble paper and colored Japanese itajime (fold and dye) paper.

Text Block:
End sheets of dyed purple Mexican amate paper.
Signatures of handmade natural corn paper alternated with dyed blue Mexican amate paper.

Artwork:
Decorative applications of corn husks, paste paper, dried flowers, crash linen, and pheasant feathers.
Illustrations from "Design Motifs of Ancient Mexico" by Jorge Enciso (Dover Publication, New York, 1953) drawn with tempera, black markers, and acrylic paint.

Written Text:
Poem fragments by Pablo Neruda (1954) "Oda al maíz."
Calligraphy in Foundational hand with white zinc gouche.

Date:
April 2010
Ames, Iowa
USA