Raise your hand if maps don't intrigue you as an art-making material. Ok, you two people are excused...all the thousands of others may stay and learn about Jill K Berry's new book Making Art From Maps, published by Quarto/Rockport. Bits and pieces of awesome maps are shown throughout the book, and sometimes you will get to see a vintage or novelty map in its entirety. It starts off with a quick section on tools, materials, and basic techniques. Before you start in on the projects, you'll want to familiarize yourself with making cones, flowers of various types, leaves, and tapes.
The how-to's that follow in the rest of the book are not super detailed, but if you have any experience working with paper, you won't have any trouble following along. It's very unlikely that you will have the exact materials shown anyway...these projects are just begging for personalization! The six main chapters contain projects that cover home decor; books, journals, and boxes; fashion; collage and illustration; sculpture and installations; and interiors and lighting. Each chapter is closed out by a wonderful gallery section that showcases the work of dozens of other artists.
As you work your way through this book, I'm sure that dozens (hundreds?) of other ideas will occur to you for how you can incorporate wonderful maps into your own artwork! The hats and shoes shown in the Fashion chapter have gotten my mind going. The examples shown are fun, but I don't want to duplicate them exactly...I want to grab my own maps and start creating!
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