Blue Water, Yellow Balls

(Easthampton, MA): Warwick Press, 1987. Blinn, Carol. Quarto. (4)pp., accordion-fold. One of twenty copies signed by Carol Blinn, who wrote, illustrated, and printed this book. A poem by Blinn is accompanied by a watercolor illustration that extends across the central page spread, depicting three yellow balls floating on a cerulean pool surrounded by evergreen trees. The image is an homage to David Hockney, who made a series of paintings of swimming pools using vibrant shades of acrylic paint. The title page is accented with blue and yellow watercolor, and on the page following the poem is a palette of the watercolors that Blinn used in her illustration. Created by Blinn in the summer of 1987, the book is an ode to the season, bringing alive the bright colors, heat, and slower pace. Bound in tan cloth with a watercolor label evoking the undulation of water. Housed in a matching box backed in light green morocco. Laid in is a portfolio of materials describing the artist's process of imagining, writing, and designing the book. These include diagrams depicting ideas for the book's binding and eleven drafts of the text, evolving from prose to poetry, showing the author's changes. A lovely, scarce book produced in a very small limitation.