Donna Letterese graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 2006 and most recently completed her MFA in Illustration at California State University at Fullerton in 2022. This double sided accordion Book with pop-up elements was first presented at "The Only Way Out is Through," her MFA thesis exhibition in October of 2021. Donna creates mostly Botanical Illustration and Narrative Art, including Comics, Illustration, and Book Arts, bridging the gap between Natural Illustration and Cartooning by using cute human and anthropomorphic animal characters whose fantastical adventures can range from the dark and bleak, to the brighter and more joyful. Since 2010, she has taught children Cartooning at L.A.'s Barnsdall Art Center (now via Zoom) and loves being an Arts Educator at various arts centers and libraries. Donna is now based in the Pacific Northwest, Washington State. See more at: www.donnaletterese.com and www.drawdvl.com
Calla and the Dark Woods: Part II An Edition of Accordion Books with Pop-Ups and Raised Images, 2021
Mixed Media (Digital and Handcrafted Materials for Bookmaking)
“Calla and the Dark Woods” is part of a Sequential Art and Narrative Illustration series created by Donna Letterese. This fantasy series is depicted through the mediums of Illustration, Comics, and Book Arts. This Narrative is depicted in a double-sided accordion book, created through cutting, gluing, and folding together three accordions of black sulphite paper. Black cardstock is folded across each front and back cover. Each cover is a Variation Edition with elements from the inside of the book printed on cardstock, then cut and glued onto the front covers. The inside panoramas are drawn digitally in Photoshop and printed on an Inkjet printer with some hand-done drawing embellishments using Kuratake pens or POSCA pens. They are then cut, collaged and glued onto the black sulphite paper base to fit the front and back panoramas of the books. The cutting and gluing is done using an X-Acto precision knife, PVA glue, and glue sticks, with occasional minimal reinforcements using Book Binding tape. When stretched out, the books are approximately 41” long, cover to cover. The inside panoramas are approximately 36" long. The books are 6” tall, on the inside, and the covers are approximately 6.5” tall. Black ribbons are glued inside each front and back cover, so they can wrap around from front to back and tie the book shut when closed. The back panorama of the book is a Beach Scene landscape. The front panorama of the book shows the Dark Woods, from its happier and technicolor fields and creatures, into the more somber forest inhabited by the Sloths of Sorrow. The Butterfly and the Sloths of Sorrow raise up from the panoramic illustration using cardstock paper springs. Calla, hiding in the brambles, pops out using an 180 degree tube post armature pop-up. All of the character pop-ups are drawn in Photoshop, printed onto cardstock, cut, and glued to their requisite pop-up or raising mechanisms. The ribbon that comes out from the back cover is to initially be pulled around the front of the book, and the ribbon that comes out from the front cover is to initially be pulled around the back of the book, then both are looped around, until the ribbons meet in the front of the book in order to tie it closed.
