Food for Thought

By Lynn Agnew & Mary Jeanne Linford
Kingston, Washington: Torn Paper Press, 2013. Edition of 6.

11.75 x 5.75 x 5" hinged wooden box containing 26 (3.5 x 4.75") seed packets (fold over envelope style closure) and one colophon pamphlet. One 'tag' information page per envelope: 2.75 x 4" double-sided inkjet printed with hole and string at top. Colophon pamphlet: 3.5 x 4.75"; 8 pages; inkjet printed; sewn binding; numbered. Other materials: glassine envelopes, found objects.

Lynn Agnew: "Food for Thought is an envelope book. Twenty-six 'seed packet' envelopes are embellished with ink-jet reproductions of original collages. Each 'seed packet' contains a tag which names a critical world problem and addresses it through fact, quotation, or original poetry. The 'seed packets' also contain a glassine envelope that holds found-object ephemera related to the issue named on the tag. The envelopes are contained in a wooden box inspired by 1940's-era hardware store display boxes. Also included within the box is a booklet with the artists' statement of purpose and colophon. Most materials used to construct the book and box are recycled or repurposed items."

Colophon: "Food for Thought is an outgrowth of many thoughtful studio conversations about the state of the world. While we can always find problems and difficulties to complain about, as educators, optimists, and artists, we feel that there are also solutions that exist or can be discovered.

"This book is a home-grown attempt to prompt some creative, organic thinking about both the problems that confront the world today and some solutions that are being or could be implemented.

"When making construction choices for this book, we made an attempt to use recycled or repurposed materials as much as possible. Our intention was to cut down on the amount of 'stuff' that is thrown away in our culture.

"The box was inspired by a 1930's seed display box and crafted by Bill Agnew (Lynn's loving husband) and using leftover fir flooring from a local flooring company.

"The seed packets and labels are original collages of decorative papers, stamps, and old dictionary pages which were scanned then printed with soon-to-be-recycled inkjet cartridges. The paper we used for this book is 'end run' cover-weight stock from a local print shop.

"Some of the glassine envelopes were purchased, but many were gleaned from an old stamp collection. The treasures and artifacts enclosed in each packet were culled from the flotsam and jetsam of years of our studio collections.

"The hardware on the box and various adhesives are the only items which are entirely new.

"We hope that our small 'seeds' will inspire the reader to imagine solutions to pressing problems in our world."
(SOLD)