25th Winter Book Release Party: 12/14/13

In a special partnership with publisher Milkweed Editions, Minnesota Center for Book Arts 2013 Winter Book Minidewak reproduces four selected readings from Braiding Sweetgrass in a limited edition, handmade artist’s book.

As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. These two aspects of identity combine in Kimmerer’s recent book of essays, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.

Under the direction of MCBA Executive Director Jeff Rathermel, Minidewak was produced in two editions, each letterpress printed by master printer Monica Edwards Larson, with the assistance of Winter Book interns Ian Kolstad, Dan Shearen, Evelyn Miller and Shark Shredder. All illustrations are by Nate Christopherson. Both editions include letterpress printed text and imagery on Arches Text Wove, with titles set in Cresci and text set in Granjon.

Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is an Associate Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF). She is the author of numerous scientific articles, and the book Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. She is Potawatomi and combines her heritage with her scientific and environmental passions.

The artistry, sumptuous materials and craftsmanship of each Winter Book makes it an avidly collected series, included in museum and rare book library collections across the country and around the world. Minidewak is produced in extremely limited editions (200 Standard, 26 Deluxe).

A respected and dedicated champion of the field, Minnesota Center for Book Arts is the largest and most comprehensive center of its kind.

They celebrate the book as a vibrant contemporary art form that takes many shapes; Their mission is to lead the advancement of the book as an evolving art form. MCBA is committed to book art, artists and appreciators. That mission is achieved through quality programs that support a broad continuum of creators, learners and admirers. They lead the field by promoting innovation, sustaining traditions, educating new enthusiasts, inspiring creative expression and honouring artistic excellence. From the traditional crafts of papermaking, letterpress printing and bookbinding to new methods of art-making and communication, MCBA supports the limitless creative development of book arts.