Simply Books, LTD ~ Oregon
(Laura Russell)

Colorado series by Laura Russell
Miniature Book by Simply Books, Ltd

Hit the Road!
By Laura Russell
Portland, Oregon: Simply Books, LTD, 2008. Edition of 25.

9 x 5.75 x 1"; 19 pages with 19 original color photographs. Single-layer horizontal flag book with cloth bound cover and ribbon tie (to display open). Archival digital printing on Mohawk Superfine paper. Includes an insert card with a map listing each attraction. Typography: ITC Franklin Gothic. Enclosed in a chipboard wrapper.

Laurel Russell: "Highway 99 runs all the way from Canada to Mexico. In its heyday, Highway 99 was the main corridor through Washington, Oregon, and California. Replaced by Interstate 5 in the mid ' 60s, Hwy 99 still beckons with neon signs, shaped buildings, gentle giants and other roadside attractions that take us back to simpler times and happy road trips. This is volume one in a series featuring each of the three states. The 19 attractions featured in Hit the Road! are displayed in geographically correct order from North to South.

"When I moved to Bellingham, WA in 2003 I was entranced by the neon signs, roadside giants and other roadside 'arti-facts' of Seattle's Hwy 99. I began driving the highway on regular trips to photograph these endangered beauties. Sadly, in just three years that I worked on shooting the photographs for this book some of my favorites were tragically lost. "
$325

Urban Poetry: Street Seens
By Laura Russell
Portland, Oregon: 2004. Edition of 200.

9 x 8.5"; 25 pages. 21 original photographs. Post bound with silver corrugated paper covers. Archival digital printing on Superfine paper.

Laura Russell: "This book is the third in the Urban Poetry series exploring various types of street graphics found in our urban environment. The search for these images have taken the artist on many adventures in illegal art as she scours back alleys and street corners for the most interesting street art. The "posters" in this volume are intriguing from visual, social and poetic perspectives. Their messages tell us a lot about the current state of our society and culture."
$65

Create
By Laura Russell
Edition of 50

5.5 x 5.5” opens to 42” Quotations laser printed on Mohawk Superfine paper. Paper collages on interior and cover. Electric blue suede leather cover. Presented in a matching slipcase. Signed and numbered.

Inspirational quotes about creativity. Explores the innate need we all have to be creative in day-to-day lives. For some of us creativity is as vital to our survival as food and water.
$150

Colfax Day & Night
By Laura Russell
2003. Edition of 100.

10 x 8.5" with 19 pages, printed on each side. Archival digital printing on Mohawk superfine paper of 34 original color photographs.

Colfax Avenue is an amazing street. Its past is a colorful history of roadside landmarks and infamous travelers. Today the avenue is a different kind of colorful but still vibrant and very much alive. Russell presents a photographic journey down Denver's infamous Avenue. Nighttime and daytime photographs of fast-disappearing vintage neon signs are presented side-by-side to see how the soul of the street transforms day to night.

Laura Russell: "I started taking photographs of vintage neon signs during my years as a graphic designer. I was looking for examples of interesting fonts or typography to use in my graphic design projects. Now my efforts to photograph these signs are not only a study of our graphic history, but also my own small effort to document and preserve our ephemeral cultural landscape. Vintage neon signs are endangered by the development and growth of our urban areas and very few preservation efforts. Most of the signs I photograph were built between 1930 and 1960.

Colfax Avenue was the main road through Denver before I-70 was built in the early 1960s. It was famous as a tourist stopover with kitchy hotels and roadside attractions. And it became infamous through the writings of authors such as Jack Kerouac. Denverite's still claim their beloved Colfax to be "the longest continuous street in America" as it travels more than 20 miles though the heart of downtown Denver from the foothills to the plains. Today, parts of Colfax are enjoying a redevelopment boom, which threatens its aging strip joints, cheap motels, dive bars and liquor stores. Sadly, this intriguing visual and cultural landscape will slowly fade into the sunset.

I shot the photographs for this book during my last few months living in Denver. As we prepared to move to the Pacific Northwest, I became very sentimental for this town that I called home for almost 20 years. I felt a need to shoot these signs as if they were friends I would never see again. I will always miss Colfax Avenue and its vibrant soul."

Deluxe edition with wrap-around Plexiglas hard-backed cover and clamshell box. $375
Soft cover spiral-bound structure with mylar covers. $150

Nocturne
By Laura Russell
Edition of 100.

8.5 x 6.25 x 1” Tunnel book with detachable cloth-covered, three-panel, wrap-around cover. Archival digital printing on Mohawk Superfine paper. Original poem on inside covers by the artist. Original color photographs. Signed and numbered. Presented in a clamshell box.

Feel the sizzle of electricity, the sparkle of a million lights. Neon lights up our skylines and enlivens our nights. The street at night is a symphony, orchestrated by automobiles, pedestrians, sirens and honking horns. Nocturne captures the music of the night in a tunnel book format, forever preserving the romance, the dreamy melody that is the city street at night. Peering into the tunnel, the viewer is transported to the street as their mind conjures up memories and nostalgia for the sights and sounds of bygone days. All original color photographs were shot on Denver’s infamous Colfax Avenue.
$275