Valerie Carrigan
North Adams, MA

Top: Messenger $650
Bottom: Passage $850

To Purchase Contact Abecedarian Gallery

About Messenger

Messenger is an artist book about the exploration of wonder—that which we happen upon unexpectedly against a backdrop of the common and everyday. The birds presented in this artist book—a barred owl, northern flicker, bald eagle, pileated woodpecker and evening grosbeak—are messengers, urging us to stop and pay attention to that which strikes the soul in a new and extraordinary way. The book is a tribute to the artist’s sister, Julie Rae Carrigan.

Messenger measures 11 x 14 1/2 inches, and consists of five unbound folios. On the front of each folio is text by the artist, printed letterpress on Mohawk Satin Cover Paper. Within each folio is an offset lithograph printed on Arches Hot Press, which has been reproduced from an original monotype by the artist. Messenger is housed in a clamshell box, and printed in an edition of 40.

About Passage

Passage is an artist book comprised of eight vibrant panels, each offering an intimate glimpse into the world of the monarch butterfly. Like a monarch in migration, the human soul journeys far, but returns to make its presence known again. Passage is the story of one soul’s migration. Whether viewing the book page by page, or stretched out as an accordion, one discovers suggestions of passage, both physical and metaphorical, as it unfolds.

Passage is an accordion book, measuring 10 x 15 inches, and folds out to 128 inches in length. Original monotypes by the artist have been reproduced for this edition as Ultrachrome prints on Innova Soft Texture. The book also contains a poem by the artist on the final panel, letterpress printed. Passage is housed in a clamshell box. The edition consists of 16 numbered copies.

Artist Biography

Valerie Carrigan is an artist and educator living in western Massachusetts. Her work focuses primarily on monotype, relief, and letterpress printing in book form and is represented in many collections, such as the The University of Vermont Arts of the Book Collection, The University of Denver Special Collections, and Smith College Special Collections. She received her MFA from The University of the Arts and has taught drawing, painting, printmaking, and book arts throughout the Northeast and in Cortona, Italy through the University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program. She was recently a guest lecturer in Book Arts at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

All images and text copyright the artist. All rights reserved.