Elissa Campbell

Artist Member

Medicinema
Zoom box with hand-cut panels
Handmade box

You Can’t Take it with You
Artist’s book/board game hybrid

Fine Art
Tunnel book
Handmade box

Elissa Campbell 

Website: https://blueroofdesigns.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blueroofdesigns/

Etsy: http://blueroofdesigns.etsy.com/

BIO

I never could have imagined how bookbinding would impact my life when I took a part-time job at Paper Source while studying Art Therapy in graduate school. I fell in love with the craft and ended up writing my graduate thesis on using bookbinding in the Expressive Therapies.

Twenty-five years later, while I’m not actively working as an art therapist, I am still a big believer in the power of using books for self-expression. I make books in my studio in Montpelier, Vermont and sell my work professionally under the business name of Blue Roof Designs.

I love to teach and have led workshops both locally and across the country for the past 12 years. I’m a member of the Vermont Arts Council’s Teaching Artist Roster.

I’m currently serving as chair of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont and I’m on the board of the Vermont Crafts Council.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My bookbinding practice mostly focuses on production work – journals, photo albums, and guest books. I also make book ornaments, necklaces, and earrings. I believe I chose to make blank books so I could offer people a vehicle for telling their stories.

I find the concept of the book as a container fascinating and like that it can offer a safe space for self-expression. I love that one of my blank books can be transformed through one’s choice of content and media, making it personal to the owner.

Not surprisingly, I’m inspired by themes surrounding mental health – what impacts us and how we respond. My artist’s books often include limited text, if any. I prefer to leave it up to the viewer to engage with and to connect to my work in their own way.