Jenna Rodriguez
STILL
Hand-Bound Book, Letterpress Printed, Linoleums Relief Prints, Digital Images,
Typewriter, and Handmade Cotton Paper (covers)
9in x 12in
$600
Still was designed, hand-bound, and printed by Jenna Rodriguez while I was the Victor Hammer Fellow at Wells College Book Arts Center in Aurora, NY. Still was letterpress printed with the exception of the digital x-rays and digital pullout photographs. The animals were scanned to size and made into polymer printing plates. The covers are handmade paper from recycled clothing. The binding is drum-leaf binding with boards and five-hole pamphlet stitch for the x-rays.
Still memorializes road kill I encountered in the Finger Lakes of Upstate New York. Moving from Chicago, IL, to Aurora, NY I was overwhelmed with my daily encounter of road kill. The book transforms into a creative non-fiction narrative allowing me to connect with my environment. The deceased animals were found on my daily commute and treated with respect. The cover resembles asphalt or a gravestone. The book proceeds with an image of crows around an animal to represent the flight of their soul. Following is a pullout map indicating where animals were found. Animals are letterpress printed in two colors with linoleum blocks and polymer plates. A veterinarian allowed me to take x-rays, which are printed on transparent paper with vertical text stating statistics about road kill. Each animal has an obituary that states factual and humorous information with a pullout photograph showing the crime scene and the longitude and latitude. At the end of the project a private ceremony was held where the animals were buried on an island to pay respect and give thanks