Heavenly Monkey :: small press, cool books.

Starting in 2007, Barbara Hodgson and Claudia Cohen launched a collaboration to delve into their shared passion for color - conceptually, metaphorically, aesthetically - by creating a series of books on the subject. The first volume was The Temperamental Rose, which surveyed the history of the study and expression of color in literature. After Image, which the creators described as "colour at play," followed in 2009.

Since play and work go hand in hand for Cohen and Hodgson, the third volume in the series (Occupied By Colour, to be issued in 2012) will examine colour in a variety of occupations. The fourth and last volume of the series, which will explore colour around the world, is expected to be completed in 2014.

More than just books, the colour series is an opportunity for Hodgson (an author, artist and professional book designer) and Cohen (a professional bookbinder) to work beyond a page's two dimensions, engaging the reader through constructions, models and movements integrated with the text. The amount of handwork required to complete each book (the printing is perhaps the easiest part: every sheet in the books requires some degree, and often quite a lot, of hand colouring, embellishment, cutting, and in one case even embroidery!), combined with the intricate bindings and boxes that Cohen creates for each title, placed a limit on the number of copies that could reasonably be created before tedium and carpal tunnel syndrome set in. Thus, the edition for each title is limited to 30 copies, the first eight forming a deluxe issue in a more elaborate binding and containing some additional elements. From the start the series has been over-subscribed, and the third and fourth volumes are reserved for people who have been collecting the series. Copies are, however, available for viewing at a number of special collections in libraries across North America.

For details of an experiment related to the color series books, see here.

HEAVENLY MONKEY