Farewell Florilegium Artist's Book by Alisa Banks
This piece is featured in the February 2025 issue of The Fore Edge, a quarterly newsletter from MCBA that highlights new artist’s books and zines for collections, universities, and libraries. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, there is a sign up available here. Past featured pieces can be viewed here.
“Farewell Florilegium is an ode to my first ‘real’ garden. The text was written in response to an article by storyteller, writer, performer, and cultural geographer, Carolyn Finney, entitled ‘Love Notes’, that ends with a prompt to write about a place that is loved.
My garden contained plants gifted to me by relatives, some who are now ancestors, and I can recall each gift, which was usually accompanied by a story. In 2021, my husband and I sold our home of 30 years. Because we were moving into a temporary residence, I could only take a few plants and cuttings to a friend who volunteered to “plant sit” until we found a permanent home. This meant that many other plants had to be left behind. I collected as many samples as I could, and dried others for a future project. The covers of Farewell Florilegium are made of recycled paper which was dried in plaster molds to retain thickness.
The back cover features an embedded vial containing a mixture of tinctures from a few plants I harvested before moving. I pulled the sheets of handmade paper that consisted of cotton and abaca fibers, and hand cut stencils (which were multiplied by machine) of simplified plant shapes. Images were painted freehand in the stencils onto wet pages with finely pulped cotton that was colored with synthetic dyes. Also featured in the book are samples of inks made from the dried plants. The text was created by rubbing colored cotton pulp over a silkscreen.” -Alisa Banks
Open: 5” x 6” x 2”
Closed: 60” x 6” x 2”
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
This piece is featured in the February 2025 issue of The Fore Edge, a quarterly newsletter from MCBA that highlights new artist’s books and zines for collections, universities, and libraries. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, there is a sign up available here. Past featured pieces can be viewed here.
“Farewell Florilegium is an ode to my first ‘real’ garden. The text was written in response to an article by storyteller, writer, performer, and cultural geographer, Carolyn Finney, entitled ‘Love Notes’, that ends with a prompt to write about a place that is loved.
My garden contained plants gifted to me by relatives, some who are now ancestors, and I can recall each gift, which was usually accompanied by a story. In 2021, my husband and I sold our home of 30 years. Because we were moving into a temporary residence, I could only take a few plants and cuttings to a friend who volunteered to “plant sit” until we found a permanent home. This meant that many other plants had to be left behind. I collected as many samples as I could, and dried others for a future project. The covers of Farewell Florilegium are made of recycled paper which was dried in plaster molds to retain thickness.
The back cover features an embedded vial containing a mixture of tinctures from a few plants I harvested before moving. I pulled the sheets of handmade paper that consisted of cotton and abaca fibers, and hand cut stencils (which were multiplied by machine) of simplified plant shapes. Images were painted freehand in the stencils onto wet pages with finely pulped cotton that was colored with synthetic dyes. Also featured in the book are samples of inks made from the dried plants. The text was created by rubbing colored cotton pulp over a silkscreen.” -Alisa Banks
Open: 5” x 6” x 2”
Closed: 60” x 6” x 2”
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
This piece is featured in the February 2025 issue of The Fore Edge, a quarterly newsletter from MCBA that highlights new artist’s books and zines for collections, universities, and libraries. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, there is a sign up available here. Past featured pieces can be viewed here.
“Farewell Florilegium is an ode to my first ‘real’ garden. The text was written in response to an article by storyteller, writer, performer, and cultural geographer, Carolyn Finney, entitled ‘Love Notes’, that ends with a prompt to write about a place that is loved.
My garden contained plants gifted to me by relatives, some who are now ancestors, and I can recall each gift, which was usually accompanied by a story. In 2021, my husband and I sold our home of 30 years. Because we were moving into a temporary residence, I could only take a few plants and cuttings to a friend who volunteered to “plant sit” until we found a permanent home. This meant that many other plants had to be left behind. I collected as many samples as I could, and dried others for a future project. The covers of Farewell Florilegium are made of recycled paper which was dried in plaster molds to retain thickness.
The back cover features an embedded vial containing a mixture of tinctures from a few plants I harvested before moving. I pulled the sheets of handmade paper that consisted of cotton and abaca fibers, and hand cut stencils (which were multiplied by machine) of simplified plant shapes. Images were painted freehand in the stencils onto wet pages with finely pulped cotton that was colored with synthetic dyes. Also featured in the book are samples of inks made from the dried plants. The text was created by rubbing colored cotton pulp over a silkscreen.” -Alisa Banks
Open: 5” x 6” x 2”
Closed: 60” x 6” x 2”
*Consignment item. Not eligible for 10% membership discount. All consignment purchases are final and non-refundable once shipped.
Alisa Banks (she/her) is a visual artist based in Dallas, Texas who investigates connections to contemporary culture, her Creole heritage, and the African diaspora through the lenses of home, terrain, and the body, using Southern Louisiana as a point of entry. Her sculptural artist books, mixed media work, and textile collages, often incorporate fibers and found materials and reference traditional craft forms. Alisa’s work has been exhibited in internationally, and is housed in private and public collections, including the Smithsonian Institution, the US Library of Congress, The Schomburg Center, and The British Library.
AlisaBanks.com | Instagram: @ABanksArt
