Moonstone

Moonstone: The Inspirations of Sarah Eley Kagan takes the viewer through a multi-dimensional experience of an artist’s inspirations and influences. 

Begin by opening the wooden pastel case. Inside, you are greeted by an artist’s book made from materials found in my grandmother’s studio. Sarah Eley Kagan (b. 1933), my namesake, is an artist who worked in oil and pastel. Flipping through her library of art books feels like spending time with her. The pages are dogeared, stained with paint, filled with magazine clippings and makeshift bookmarks. The collages in Moonstone are made from those art books to show a sampling of the work that influenced my grandmother’s own impressionist style. 

The flag book structure was chosen for its chaotic nature, hinting at the nonlinear experience of seeking inspiration. All six double-page spreads feature one flag that unfolds into a pop-up. Each uses a different paper engineering technique to bring the art closer to the viewer, inspired by my grandmother’s love of pop-up cards. The decline of her vision, which is the reason she is no longer making art today, led me to expand my own artistic approach in order to create tactile experiences for her. 

One of the surprising learnings from the creation process of this book was a connection to the messy, solitary artist within my grandmother, who I always thought of as prim and proper, elegant and classy. To honor this, smudges of pastel appear throughout the book. While they are intentional, they are also organic thanks to the effect of handling genuine artist’s materials. The accordion folded spine is made from a portion of a giclée print of my grandmother’s portrait of my aunt. The not-quite-blank covers are made from Canson Mi-Tienes pastel paper in her preferred neutral color: moonstone. ✨