This book celebrates and remembers my adventures looking for abandoned sites. I’ve been wanting to make a book on this topic for a long time, because I don’t have another physical way to remember them. I wasn’t able to include every place, so I picked a variety of sites in California. I decided to give the reader all the wrong information: the journey to the place, not the coordinates, and a vague outline of the structure, not a sharp photo. This makes the reader focus on what it’s like to be there, and why they want to search for it, instead of how to get there. For me, it preserves the memory of going there. 

I chose blue because to me blue represents nostalgia, and sadness for the structures that may not be there anymore when I go back. The text is entirely handwritten, and the images hand painted, to emphasize that this is showing one person’s unique experience. The endsheets are made from an old, worn bed sheet that seems like it could be found in one of these places.

The interior is screen printed on BFK Rives cream white. Its off white color and softness harmonize with the endsheet fabric, and keep the book from seeming too stuffy. I chose Italian Long Stitch because I like that the binding is visible. It follows the theme of showing the artist’s hand in the finished product. The overall design is quiet, which reflects the structures. An abandoned place is always silent, and if you do see someone, you probably want to make a stealthy getaway.

6”x6.5”, screenprint on Rives BFK, hardcover Italian long stitch.