Memories of My Father (1997)
Artist's book: handmade paper, woodcuts and screenprints

This is an artist's book of visual memories of my father, who died in 1994. My father immigrated from India to the United States, where he spent the last thirty years of his life. The memories combine both cultures. The walking stick in one of the small books, for example, is a hand-carved stick from the hilly region of Maharashtra. It reminds me of hikes in the mountains; of a picnic interrupted by news that a tiger had beensighted in our vicinity. The bathrobe is one that he wore on cold nights in America. His glasses and chappals (Indian sandals that he wore no matter what the weather) were still beside his bed after he died; books and music represent his interests. The fire in the family room conveys his warmth and love. It makes me think of his deep attachment to family, and the many occasions he created for bringing us all together. I used one of the designs from a carved frieze on our house in India as the border for the woodcuts.

The woodcuts are on handmade paper made of cotton rag and abaca. Towards the end of the beating, I added pieces of old hand woven cushion covers to the pulp. These were cushion covers which my parents had used in their home in India. I also incorporated the covers' embroidered design into the woodcuts, and added a small remaining piece of the embroidery in each book. The screenprints are printed on Arches Cover.

Copyright © 2007 Shireen Holman