While it is often perceived as a dying art form, there are more than a few artists who are making efforts to bring back fore-edge painting to relevance. One of them is TikTok user Maisie Jackson.

Jackson is known for her viral TikTok videos in which she showcases her fore-edge painting projects. This art history student can be seen decorating books belonging to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series or J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy with scenes and motifs contained in these literary masterpieces.

Jackson is an avid painter but only started doing fore-edge paintings a couple of years ago as a creative challenge. She posted some of her works on TikTok, and they quickly went viral, encouraging her to continue with the project.

While Jackson doesn’t shy away from tackling all sorts of authors and books, she admits that she enjoys most the works of Tolkien. 

“Tolkien works best for me, as I was always predominantly a landscape painter, and Middle Earth is full of an amazing variety of landscape; mountains, forests, rivers and beautiful architectural concepts,” Jackson shared in one of her interviews.

You can check out more of Jackson’s fore-edge painting works below.

The post Art History Student Creates Impressive Fore-Edge Paintings appeared first on MobiSpirit.

“The entire project is representing the power of reading,” he told A’ Design Award and Competition’s blog. “I wanted to challenge myself with a passion project using paper craft to elevate my favorite stories into surreal and imaginative works of art,” he explained the thought process behind his viral series. “I wanted to create a conversation and a guessing game between the viewer of the art and the books they represented.”

According to Watts, in a digital world it’s becoming harder to dedicate time to the classic paperback but reading from screens makes us read slower, learn less deeply, remember less, and sleep worse. “This is why students prefer to print out their electronic textbooks,” he says. “This is ‘The Power of the Paperback’.”

Which, of course, makes his day job all the more ironic. A multidisciplinary communication designer, Watts specializes in brand activation, promotional material, digital content, and conceptual development for brands and film or TV projects.

Take a look at some of his book sculptures in the gallery below.

The post Todd Watts Pays Homage to His Favorite Books appeared first on MobiSpirit.

While the basis of her work is books, the creative process involves a natural process of crystallization, which is created using a supersaturated solution of Borax in boiling water. Placing the book in the saturated solution when hot, allows Arnold to manipulate the book to her liking. As the saturated water cools again, the molecules shrink and any excess Borax crystallizes.

The results are crystallized books that look nothing short of mesmerizing, reminiscent of mystifying objects one might find at the bottom of the ocean in a fairytale landscape. “The crystals remove the text and transform the books into aesthetic, non-functional objects,” relayed Arnold in an interview with Redefine Magazine. “The books, now frozen with heavy crystal growth, have become artifacts or geologic specimens laden with the history of time, use, and nostalgia.”

She points out that stories often exist in our memories while a book remains a spine on a shelf. “I love how just seeing a book can conjure the story contained within,” says Arnold. “With the addition of the crystal growth, the story within the book remains in memory, but new stories can be created by viewers as well.”

Follow her mesmerizing creations on Instagram.

The post The Crystallized Books of Alexis Arnold appeared first on MobiSpirit.

And when she isn’t working, she’s reading – a hobby which translated into a call for (feminist) action when she launched her Goodreads book club, Our Shared Shelf. The goal of the club is to share feminist ideas and encourage discussion on the topic. One book is selected every two months and is discussed using the Goodreads discussion board.

“As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading as many books and essays about equality as I can get my hands on,” wrote Watson. “There is so much amazing stuff out there! Funny, inspiring, sad, thought-provoking, empowering! I’ve been discovering so much that, at times, I’ve felt like my head was about to explode… I decided to start a Feminist book club, as I want to share what I’m learning and hear your thoughts too.”

To become a member, all you need to do is register for an account and join on the group’s page. “Everyone is welcome. I would be honoured!” wrote Watson. You can also follow their inspiring Instagram page. It’s never too late to jump on board and crack open your books and minds.

The post Have You Joined Emma Watson’s Book Club? appeared first on MobiSpirit.

The Eye

‘The Eye’ is the nickname of Tianjin Binhai, China’s impressive futuristic library that is home to over 1,2 million titles! Since its opening in 2017, the gigantic facility with stark white terraced shelves has attracted more than 1.8 million visitors.

Boekhandel Dominicanen

Boekhandel Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands, is actually a 700-year-old church transformed into a bookstore. With its huge glass windows, spacious interiors and beautiful gothic ceiling, it is a real eye candy that promotes both reading and history.

Libreria Acqua Alta

And finally we have Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice, Italy – probably the most unusual bookstore on this list simply because books there are kept in bathtubs! The store gets regularly flooded each winter, so the owner piles the books into bin, bathtubs, and even gondolas in order to protect the precious merchandise.

The post The World’s Most Stunning Bookstores appeared first on MobiSpirit.

“They have the power to take us back to the past and feel how it is to live during that time, to the future with their ideas, or even to an alternate world – one where our imagination comes alive,” she wrote on Bored Panda.

She shares the books she reads on her Instagram page, creating images to describe each of them. Scroll down to see her latest book adventures.

The post Books Take Katrina Yu On Adventures Through Creative Images appeared first on MobiSpirit.

While it is often perceived as a dying art form, there are more than a few artists who are making efforts to bring back fore-edge painting to relevance. One of them is TikTok user Maisie Jackson.

Jackson is known for her viral TikTok videos in which she showcases her fore-edge painting projects. This art history student can be seen decorating books belonging to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series or J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy with scenes and motifs contained in these literary masterpieces.

Jackson is an avid painter but only started doing fore-edge paintings a couple of years ago as a creative challenge. She posted some of her works on TikTok, and they quickly went viral, encouraging her to continue with the project.

While Jackson doesn’t shy away from tackling all sorts of authors and books, she admits that she enjoys most the works of Tolkien. 

“Tolkien works best for me, as I was always predominantly a landscape painter, and Middle Earth is full of an amazing variety of landscape; mountains, forests, rivers and beautiful architectural concepts,” Jackson shared in one of her interviews.

You can check out more of Jackson’s fore-edge painting works below.

The post Art History Student Creates Impressive Fore-Edge Paintings appeared first on MobiSpirit.

“The entire project is representing the power of reading,” he told A’ Design Award and Competition’s blog. “I wanted to challenge myself with a passion project using paper craft to elevate my favorite stories into surreal and imaginative works of art,” he explained the thought process behind his viral series. “I wanted to create a conversation and a guessing game between the viewer of the art and the books they represented.”

According to Watts, in a digital world it’s becoming harder to dedicate time to the classic paperback but reading from screens makes us read slower, learn less deeply, remember less, and sleep worse. “This is why students prefer to print out their electronic textbooks,” he says. “This is ‘The Power of the Paperback’.”

Which, of course, makes his day job all the more ironic. A multidisciplinary communication designer, Watts specializes in brand activation, promotional material, digital content, and conceptual development for brands and film or TV projects.

Take a look at some of his book sculptures in the gallery below.

The post Todd Watts Pays Homage to His Favorite Books appeared first on MobiSpirit.

While the basis of her work is books, the creative process involves a natural process of crystallization, which is created using a supersaturated solution of Borax in boiling water. Placing the book in the saturated solution when hot, allows Arnold to manipulate the book to her liking. As the saturated water cools again, the molecules shrink and any excess Borax crystallizes.

The results are crystallized books that look nothing short of mesmerizing, reminiscent of mystifying objects one might find at the bottom of the ocean in a fairytale landscape. “The crystals remove the text and transform the books into aesthetic, non-functional objects,” relayed Arnold in an interview with Redefine Magazine. “The books, now frozen with heavy crystal growth, have become artifacts or geologic specimens laden with the history of time, use, and nostalgia.”

She points out that stories often exist in our memories while a book remains a spine on a shelf. “I love how just seeing a book can conjure the story contained within,” says Arnold. “With the addition of the crystal growth, the story within the book remains in memory, but new stories can be created by viewers as well.”

Follow her mesmerizing creations on Instagram.

The post The Crystallized Books of Alexis Arnold appeared first on MobiSpirit.

And when she isn’t working, she’s reading – a hobby which translated into a call for (feminist) action when she launched her Goodreads book club, Our Shared Shelf. The goal of the club is to share feminist ideas and encourage discussion on the topic. One book is selected every two months and is discussed using the Goodreads discussion board.

“As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading as many books and essays about equality as I can get my hands on,” wrote Watson. “There is so much amazing stuff out there! Funny, inspiring, sad, thought-provoking, empowering! I’ve been discovering so much that, at times, I’ve felt like my head was about to explode… I decided to start a Feminist book club, as I want to share what I’m learning and hear your thoughts too.”

To become a member, all you need to do is register for an account and join on the group’s page. “Everyone is welcome. I would be honoured!” wrote Watson. You can also follow their inspiring Instagram page. It’s never too late to jump on board and crack open your books and minds.

The post Have You Joined Emma Watson’s Book Club? appeared first on MobiSpirit.

The Eye

‘The Eye’ is the nickname of Tianjin Binhai, China’s impressive futuristic library that is home to over 1,2 million titles! Since its opening in 2017, the gigantic facility with stark white terraced shelves has attracted more than 1.8 million visitors.

Boekhandel Dominicanen

Boekhandel Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands, is actually a 700-year-old church transformed into a bookstore. With its huge glass windows, spacious interiors and beautiful gothic ceiling, it is a real eye candy that promotes both reading and history.

Libreria Acqua Alta

And finally we have Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice, Italy – probably the most unusual bookstore on this list simply because books there are kept in bathtubs! The store gets regularly flooded each winter, so the owner piles the books into bin, bathtubs, and even gondolas in order to protect the precious merchandise.

The post The World’s Most Stunning Bookstores appeared first on MobiSpirit.

“They have the power to take us back to the past and feel how it is to live during that time, to the future with their ideas, or even to an alternate world – one where our imagination comes alive,” she wrote on Bored Panda.

She shares the books she reads on her Instagram page, creating images to describe each of them. Scroll down to see her latest book adventures.

The post Books Take Katrina Yu On Adventures Through Creative Images appeared first on MobiSpirit.