British artist, Emma Taylor, has given an entirely new meaning to the expression ‘bringing books to life’! This talented artist makes characters step out of books by sculpting them out of actual pages of those books. What’s more, she displays these sculptures along with the respective books.
Taylor’s inspiration comes from a variety of sources, such as classic literature, nature, animals, and the like. Her sculptures, based on books from where she has sourced her pages, portray characters that seem to have leaped out of those books. Her sculptures are no less than 3D stories that have inspired them. Says she on her website, “Book sculpture is my creative outlet to highlight an appreciation of the little things in life. A good book, a beautiful tree, a flower in full bloom.”
Taylor sources her sculpting material from old discarded books that she finds in antique and charity shops. She creates her sculpture from the pages of these books, using scissors and glue. However, she doesn’t throw away the book after taking the pages but makes the torn book a part of her sculpture.
The title of the book gives Taylor the idea for her sculpture. And she simply loves to recreate the literary scenes that she finds in the book. She also recreates architecture, plants, and animals that she finds there. The size of the sculpture basically depends upon the size of the book, which obviously is not too big. Despite the small size, it’s really a marvel to find her sculptures so incredibly detailed and intricate. Little wonder it takes her hours to create a single sculpture.
Taylor took to book sculpting when she was in her A-Levels and honed her skills for five years. During this time, she was able to produce a series titled ‘From Within a Book’. Such was the impact of her book sculptures that she was invited to exhibit in cities, such as Cambridge, Hong Kong, and London. Her works also appeared on ITV and were also commissioned by the National Trust and Wimpole Hall.
Although Taylor has earned a History of Arts degree and has tried numerous other career avenues, she realized it was only book sculpting that gives her real pleasure. So, despite her qualification, she’s happy to continue with scissors and glue, creating book sculptures. The good news is Taylor’s works can be bought from her online shop.
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