the hough boys
The following are images of my big bookmaking project from the spring semester. It was an edition of 10. The project consisted of a series of hand-made boxes that are created from the design of an original nature-themed pencil box from the mid 1980s. Inside, there is a hand crafted book in the left side and some "artifacts" on the right side. Click below for more images.
Another view of the sides of the box. The exterior of the box was created after scanning an original pencil box, resizing the imagery and inkjet printing it on fabriano paper.
The underside of the box.
The inside of the box with partition.
The artifacts: each box has a fake baseball card (scanned from an original baseball card autographed to one of the boys in the book), plastic army men, a vintage pencil, and vintage picture book of an outdoor place. all of the artifacts make reference to boyhood treasures and experiences.
A ribbon runs beneath the book and then under the paper covering the inside of the box so that it is easy to lift the book out of the box. The ribbon I selected reminded me of those cloth belts that little boys wear for some reason...
The cover of the book. (about 6"x7") The cover is made from a crinkley textured dark brown paper and the title "The Hough Boys" is letterpressed with black ink.
The title page. Also, I used a retchoso style binding.
A family tree to explain the family dynamic (a second marriage).
Every double two page spread after that point is dedicated to four sons and their father. This is an example spread, which is on Greg. The bulk of the book explores themes of masculinity, being raised tough, competitive natures, etc. Much of their upbringing deals with imagery of hunting, fishing, and sports. Also, the beginning of each spread has a current picture of the boy on the left side.
This two page spread is the 2nd one in Brian's history. On the right, a large black and white picture depicts a time when the three boys, Brian, Greg, and Brad all broke their arms for different reasons (2 sport-related, one fight) within the same week, resulting in three separate hospital trips and the staff thinking that their dad had been abusing them.
A 2-page spread from Hank's history. Hank is the father. Here he is shown with catches from a shark fishing expedition, an enormous boar that won him a ranking in the state, and literally a pile of dead deer. The text, however, is his words about his loving intentions of raising his boys; teaching them faith, humility, the ability to fend for themselves, respect women, and respect nature.
The colophon at the end of the book.