Star light
Star bright
First star
I see tonight
I wish I may
I wish I might
Have the wish
I wish tonight
A small magical book.
Deluxe edition numbered 1 through 13. Stars on front cover and title page laid with palladium leaf. Includes a hand-painted slipcase.
Standard edition numbered 14 through 53. Stars handpainted in iridescent ink on front cover and title page.
Handmade french-fold accordion book, printed and bound by the artist. Pages digitally printed on both sides of Zerkall book paper with archival pigment inks. Background reproduced from a watercolor painting, on which the words STAR SPELL were lettered large in resist, and the paper then painted in layers of watercolor to reveal the words in the twilight sky background. Text lettering reproduced from original calligraphy. Flyleaves of sheer Japanese unryu “cloud dragon paper” with silver and gold flecks. Book is sewn into handpainted paper cover which wraps around, the front flap decorated with a star shape in the form of a fire-invoking pentacle.
The last page offers a haiku-like 17 syllable verse on the art of making magic, a reference to the old ways hidden in the nursery rhyme.
This book structure can be gently unfolded to see the painting in the background, and to find hidden words on the reverse.
Derived from an original book, now in a private collection.
Created by Cari Ferraro, 2007
Go to my Gallery here for more photographs and background information about the creation of this book. An in-depth essay, The Making of Star Spell, is available in my Library, originally published in the calligraphy and book arts journal, Bound and Lettered. There is also a bit about the genesis of this book in this journal post.
