Alice Melvin
Edinburgh, Scotland
In 2005 I designed four bookmarks for Bookmarks III playing on the word bookmark. The four bookmarks depicted
marks one might come across in books: the tea stain; the child’s scribble; the inky finger print; the library stamp.
Since I created this work I have had plans to design a book of bookmarks, or a Book Mark Book with ten tear out bookmarks.
I therefore felt that contributing to Bookmarks V was an excellent motivation to design the next four bookmarks in the series.
The Sellotape repair; the jam splodge; the price sticker; the student notes, have therefore been added to the original quartet.
The bookmarks have all been screenprinted in an edition of twenty-five, and together total the hundred required for the project.
Like many artists I am an inveterate hoarder and my work reflects this magpie approach to life. A whole project can evolve
from the smallest of starting points: a pretty button; an old postcard; a snippet of overheard conversation. I am also a
great organiser: a trait revealed by my predilection for resolving work in the book format. The structure of a book naturally
arranges its contents into a sequence, it is a container for information and images, and, like the best containers can hide
a wealth of treats within it. This is one of the qualities which I most love in books and which my work celebrates.
A book also contains a wonderful sense of exploration and discovery that encourages viewer participation. It requires
physical handling: it is picked up; the front cover is opened; pages are turned. As this is done expectations as to what
is to come next can be confirmed or confounded as the book is read. I like to further invite this interaction by making
books with a play element. Integral to all my work is the making process. Hand printing, folding and binding
a book or paper object give me a great deal of satisfaction and are a significant feature of the work.
Alice currently lives and works in Edinburgh where she is pursuing a career as an Illustrator, Designer and Book
Artist. Her first book An A to Z Treasure Hunt is being published by Tate Publishing and will be released in
September 2007. Alice is currently working with the Tate on an accompanying range of children’s products, and
will shortly begin work on her second book.
Alice has participated in various group exhibitions including Zoo, Edinburgh Printmakers, 2007, A6, Peacock
Visual Arts, 2006 and London Artists’ Book Fair, 2005. Her artists’ books are held in private and public collections
including: British Library, Tate, and Centre for Fine Print Research at University West of England Bristol.
Alice’s work can also be viewed on her website: www.alicemelvin.com
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