Nikki McClure's beautifully detailed illustrations divide this lovely baby journal into sections celebrating the first 1,000 days of life, from the story of birth to jumping into her first mud puddle. Modeled after the journal the author started when her son was born, the sections focus on recording a child’s interaction with the natural world, including baby’s first tree, moon, and garden.
The perfect gift idea for anyone having a baby. The book has a poetic tone and lots of space for writing in comments far more personal and sweet than the typical baby book.
"A beautiful book that is great for anyone, but particularly nice for gay and lesbian families, single parent families, or others who don't fit the mom-dad norm. I had a lot of trouble finding a baby book that didn't keep talking about "Dad." This is it, and it's really lovely too. " --Online review.
As one of the more prominent visual artists involved with Olympia-based record labels K and Kill Rock Stars, as well as the Riot Grrrl movement in the early nineties, Nikki's work still embodies the fiercely independent fire that fueled the passion and creativity of that time period.
Size 7½" X 5½", $15.95
Nikki McClure is known for her painstakingly intricate and beautiful paper cuts. Armed with an X-acto knife, she cuts out her images from a single sheet of paper and creates a bold language that translates the complex poetry of motherhood, nature, and activism into a simple and endearing picture.
Her work depicts the virtues of hard labor and patience, which is inherent in her process as well as in the images themselves: weathered hands washing dishes, people sweeping, mothers caring for their babies, and farmers working the land. But there is also a large element of celebration, of taking the time to roll around in the grass and get wet from the early morning dew. The need for all of us to lay down on the ground, grab hold of the earth, look at the stars and dream. She magnifies the importance of simple things, like the change of seasons, slowing down the world for a moment so we can actually taste it.
Nikki's images exude a positivity that revolves around community, sustenance, parenting, and appreciating both the urban and rural landscape.
