Guillotine Press


Kelly Parsell ~ Illinois

Guillotine Press books till the sun comes up press books The Ripe Series



Bookworks by Parsell as Guillotine Press. This is the Press name that she initially took when she began making books.

Red Spot an (un)traditional game of cards By Kelly Parsell Chicago, Illinois: Guillotine Press, 2008. Edition of 25. 2.4" diameter; 37 circular leaves. Illustrations: scanned colored pencil drawings. Ink Jet printed on Lettra. Housed in lidded clear plexi case. Kelly Parsell: "Questions I continue to ask myself through my art-making and questions I pose to you. What is love? Can sex, identity, and sexuality ever be simple? Is there a defining line between girlhood and womanhood, and if so, when will I cross it?" A version of the children's card game Old Maid. In this adaptation the object is not to be the last one holding the "Red Spot" card. The illustrations leave no doubt that this is about a woman's monthly cycle. $65	Click image for more


Bookworks under the till the sun comes up press are those Parsell created when working on her thesis project at Columbia.

My Spanish Journal Revisited By Kelly Parsell Chicago, Illinois: till the sun comes up press, 2010. Edition of 100. 5.25 x 8.25"; 124 pages. Ruled lines and pencil offset printed on French's newsprint paper by Clifton Meador and Brad Freeman. Ribbon bookmark text letterpress printed by the artist using polymer plates. Crayon drawings hand-colored. Bound in blue bookcloth with title in black on front cover. Kelly Parsell: "It is written in childlike writing on lined paper used for handwriting exercises. This overall lighthearted and humorous text focuses on learning Spanish vocabulary, and through the vocabulary lessons, the child reveals the story of her family. "The second text, which is actually the more important text to the overall piece, is a poem titled ‘Flying Kites.’ The text enters the book not on the pages, but rather on ribbon bookmarkers. Each stanza of the poem enters the book on a different ribbon at a specific place in the child’s journal.... The poem is much more serious than the child’s text, creating a strange and often disquieting play between the two worlds of the texts and also between two realms of girlhood and womanhood.” $175	Click image for more


Kelly Parsell: "When I was a child, every night I lined my stuffed animals up around me in bed. I talked to them. And they did things you wouldn’t believe. They protected me—a plush army of pink fur and button noses. "Upon first glance, my artwork looks as though you are peeking into the bedrooms and playrooms of my childhood. There are images of balloon animals, rubber duckies, Pez dispensers, inflatable pool toys, and the same stuffed animals that used to get me through the night. I am drawn to these images, always have been; they are a source of comfort for me, a type of home. "But like the stuffed animals of my childhood, my art is deceptive. After you actually walk into the realms of my artist books, handmade paper, prints, poems, and sculptural objects, you realize something is off. The whimsy and innocence is replaced with a feeling of unease as the child playthings are juxtaposed with adult world issues such as death, loss, maturity, and sexuality. These juxtapositions are often disquieting, causing you to investigate the strange space where childhood and adulthood (namely girlhood and womanhood) meet, and what happens during the time they are forced to coexist. "My art occupies the same liminal space I’ve inhabited since I was five-years-old. Those stuffed animals from my childhood were not simply protecting me from the dark. Their synthetic fibers were blocking out the noises that came from my parents’ bedroom, noises that were confusing and conflicting, that would persist even after the birth of my half-sister and after the divorce, noises I still hear today (although they’re more distant), that raise many questions for me—questions I continue to ask myself through my art-making and questions I pose to you. What is love? Can sex, identity, and sexuality ever be simple? Is there a defining line between girlhood and womanhood, and if so, when will I cross it? "Ripe is a collection of four artist books and an installation space that explores the psychological threshold between girlhood and womanhood. The books tell the fictional narrative of Neenah, a girl dealing with the changes of this transitional time and focuses specifically on sexual identity and maturation as well as the dysfunctional relationship of her parents." The installation was Parsell's thesis project at Columbia College of Chicago. These four books appeared in the installation.

ABkey By Kelly Parsell Chicago: till the sun comes up press, 2010. Edition of 26. 4 x 4 x 1.5"; 30 pages. Colored pencil drawings. Scanned and laser printed. Designed as a children's alphabet board book, this is the first book in the Ripe series and applies the gloss of one childhood reality over the mythology of childhood. The book begins "A is for Apple," but "'B is for bruise," "C is for cheater," and "D is for divorce." $75


Strawberry Heart A Coloring Book By Kelly Parsell Chicago: till the sun comes up press, 2010. Edition of 250. 8.5 x 11"; 16 pages. Digitally printed. The second book in the Ripe series featuring Neenah. This book is designed like a children's coloring book. The images are line drawings over which are childlike colorings. The story accompanying the images is the tale of how Neenah came to be named Neenah. Intermingled are the fanciful imaginings of a little girl that she has a strawberry for heart. My doctor said, "It's not true you goofy grape. A heart cannot just take any old shape. $25


Diary By Kelly Parsell Chicago: till the sun comes up press, 2010. Edition of 24. 5.25 x 8.25"; 84 pages. Pencil writing scanned and inkjet printed on Mohawk Superfine. Casebound. Cloth covered boards with title gilt stamped. Continuing Neenah's journey into womanhood, Parsell developed a diary with entries that cover a two year period. The last entry is her eleventh birthday. This period is Ninah's transitional period from a little girl's body to a young woman's. It is also raises the question of what love is as she struggles with the divorce of her parents and the introduction of a half sister into her world. $85


tempered a collection of poems by Neenah Weathers By Kelly Parsell Chicago: till the sun comes up press, 2010. Edition of 24. 6.25 x 9.25"; 20 pages. Letterpress printed on Crane's Lettra paper. Bound in bookcloth-covered boards. The fourth book in the Ripe series contains bittersweet poems by a young woman confused and angry about childhood. $175

Page last update: 02.17.11