An Artful Eye
Web designer and recreational art engineer Jamie Hannigan excels in producing unique and innovative book sculptures, jewelry and photography. Her book sculptures remain her main focus these days and it’s no wonder really. They are something not too many people can say they have seen in their lifetime. They are ornate sculptures derived strictly from the pages of the books in which they stand on.
Hannigan has completed many book sculptures on familiar books, including two Harry Potter books, The Hunger Games and multiple fairytales. People can scroll through her website, jamiebhannigan.com, to search for and discover books they love. Or, if people cannot get a book they would like on her site, Hannigan encourages them to contact her on her site for custom orders of particular books they may desire fashioned with certain images. Her imagination is boundless and she truly enjoys what she does, both as a web designer and an artist. Meet Jamie Hannigan …
Talk about your life growing up.
I grew up in Clarks Summit and went to school at Abington Heights. As far as my creativity goes, my mother is an artist. At a young age, she allowed me to get my hands on real art supplies as opposed to the child stuff. For instance, she let me use actual professional paint and good, durable paintbrushes. When I was young, my favorite art was Jackson Pollock’s paintings. I’ll never forget my mom setting me up with supplies to drip and splash paint on various objects. She didn’t want me to attend art school. She wanted me to have a different career and I could do art on the side for fun. I went to the University of Delaware to obtain a BA in mass communications and English with a concentration in creative writing. I ended up adding a minor in art, because even with a large class load, I missed creating art way too much.
What prompted you to set up your own personal website for your art?
I’m a web designer by day, tasked with web and graphic design. I work for JVW Inc. (jvwinc.net) in Scranton. We’re an advertising agency. Particularly, I’ll do logos, different illustrations, all of the stuff for the websites I design. Also, I do a lot of print media, including business cards, flyers, brochures, posters and pop-up displays. I love it! It’s great working with websites and graphic design. It’s a different type of accomplishment in contrast from physically creating my sculptures with my hands. I enjoy switching things up — having both the digital and real world to create my works in. After receiving numerous comments and compliments on my first enterprise — jewelry — I decided to find somewhere to showcase all of my work. People were constantly asking to see more of my stuff and I told myself “This is stupid. I build websites for a living. Why not make my own?” So, I did.
Tell us about your book sculptures.
Right now, I’ve ended up selling mostly book sculptures. What I do is take an actual, physical book and I cut up its pages and reassemble them into a three-dimensional representation of that particular book’s story. Usually, I’ll start by breaking the specific book’s spine somewhere towards the middle, ripping out a chunk of pages so that the book itself will lay flat. Then I’ll go through the remaining pages to see if there is anything I want to incorporate. For example, if there are interesting illustrations in the books, I’ll bring them into the sculpture by tearing out the pages they’re on as well before beginning to sculpt. I do have set rules for myself throughout this process. I’ll only use the paper from that book I’m working on along with glue. And that’s it. When I complete the sculpture, I finish up by sealing it so that it’s more durable.
Tell us about your jewelry.
Primarily, I began making jewelry for just myself. Once again, people showed interest and I launched my website to showcase all of my work. I do sell my jewelry occasionally and make gifts for people with it, but the problem is I want to keep it for myself half the time. I love making it; I just never want to part with it (laughs).
Was there anything that motivated you to start your sculptures?
Yes. As for my paper sculptures, a more personal event sparked my interest in cutting up books. Our class had a project in high school where we had to make a reliquary (an object made in memory of someone or something). I chose to use an old book that belonged to my grandfather. I cut out areas and pictures that reminded me of him to form a sort of time capsule in his memory.
Where can people see and buy your work?
People can check out my website — jamiebhannigan.com to see my work. They can visit my Etsy Shop page directly from my website to buy various pieces I have available. I aim to make everything more affordable for my customers. I love it when local people buy stuff, because then I don’t need to ship items as far. It’s scary really, especially with the sculptures. Although they are durable from sealing, they are still made out of paper. Paper is delicate. I have gotten orders from states as far away as California, Colorado, Texas and Florida.
Do you take requests from customers? And if so, do you have any limitations on requests?
I do a number of custom orders. The only thing I normally try to gear my customers toward is to request a thicker book for a sculpture. I recently finished Where the Wild Things Are for one customer request and it came out really cool. But it was tough because there are not many pages to work with in that book. So, I like when people choose a longer book, since it makes it better for me to give the sculpture the justice it deserves.
Are there any books you personally want to sculpt?
Alice in Wonderland! I’ve done it already, but I plan on doing it again because it’s my favorite. Of course, I have a long list of books that I would like to do, but normally, I’ll strive to work with books that are well-known and are filled to the brim with imagery. They just work better. People can relate better when they can immediately recognize a book, as opposed to having to stare at the piece for hours on end. I like to choose fairytales or anything with a magical sense to it as well, because the story works more effectively for the sculpture when it feels as if it is coming to life.
When do you find the time for your art with web designing and everything?
I really only get to do my art when I have a few chunks of time to spare, which is kind of rare. Sometimes I’ll get a few hours when I get home from work around 7 or 8 p.m. But honestly, I only get a few hours during the week for my art. I’ll find time on the weekend every now and then. For instance, last weekend I started a new project where I’m cutting a hole in an encyclopedia book’s cover so that people will be able to see layers of illustrations through the book itself. It’s easier to show than explain it. But I worked on it last weekend for 12 hours straight, while binge watching Netflix — a much-needed necessity — since I’d go crazy working in silence. Yet, unless I have a show coming up whereby I have to set time aside to get everything done by a specific date, the hours I can spend on my art work are usually very limited, especially during the week.
— katelyn english
