from the artist hope christopherson and page street publishing, Laureland Bestiary: Illustrated Myths of the World’s Most Fantastic Creatures Beautiful, quirky, and educational. Filled with lavish watercolor illustrations of over 75 creatures, supplemented with mythological stories from each culture, this book is perfect for fans of myths and fairy tales.
In fact, when I learned about this book, I immediately requested a press copy. love I love fairy tales and knew exactly which books to put. Laureland Bestiary Next to it is a shelf of fairy tales and related books!
The decorated pages, in the style of medieval manuscripts with full-color pages and gilt text, are organized by where creatures are most likely to be found. Above the clouds, beneath the waves, among the trees, across the plains, and on top of the mountains.
As Kristofferson explains in his introduction, naturalists have attempted to organize myths using evolutionary taxonomy and etymology. Of course, that’s impossible because mythical creatures follow neither the rules of the “real world” nor our taxonomy. As such, “Laureland is a new attempt to catalog the essence of mythical creatures, lest they swim away into the abyss of the past.”
Organizing the creatures by areas of the environment rather than by areas on a map that we’re all aware of keeps the whole project as fantastical as it should be, but it still manages to keep the main As such, it reveals how so many creatures and myths exist across cultures. Creatures to find are listed. A world map is also drawn on the back cover. Can I count the number of creatures found in the map?
it’s obvious Laureland Bestiary It is not only a labor of love but also a time-consuming labor. When asked about her favorite creature, Kristofferson explained that it takes a long time to create just one.
“My favorite creatures, all these paintings were done during my travels and having some sort of experience made me want to focus on learning more about them. One of my best memories One is that I made a doll, a Japanese siren known for shedding pearly tears.I drew her in 2022. It was during the summer of 2016 when I was living on an artist residency in Denmark. I had just graduated from college and was on my own for the first time, so connecting to my childhood through mythology was great for me to gain purpose and direction. It was a method.
The place we stayed was a quiet place nestled in a quiet forest in the countryside, next to a seaside town. Denmark is the home of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale The Little Mermaid. Numerous public sculptures pay homage to the fantastical beings he brought to life. It was very inspiring to see how, given enough time and attention, imagination can grow from an idea in a storyteller’s head to a shared cultural experience. So I got a little homesick and sometimes cried like a doll, but those tears became the pearls of expression that later blossomed into Laureland. We must make pearls from sand and love all living things in the sky, sea, and land. ”
Each creature is given two pages. Laureland BestiaryTherefore, the second page of the doll lists the main regions where the doll can be found, its lifespan, diet, size, and habitat, followed by a description of the characteristics it shares with the doll. The only downside to the style of this book is that there are no real footnotes, but if you want to learn more about some of the creatures, check out the list of other books.
Bestiary is only as good as its art and Kristofferson’s watercolors. nice. Each creature is carefully and uniquely depicted.
I had prints of all the illustrations hanging on the wall. That was exactly the goal Kristofferson had in mind.
“Da Vinci said that art is never really finished, it’s just abandoned. I feel that way about all my work. You can always make it a little more sophisticated. Yes, but for this project, we understand how much each part needs to be resolved in order to keep the overall feel of Laureland constant across the page. As with any commercial project, the more it develops, the more the aesthetic becomes clearer and what was loose becomes a little more rigid. I like to ask myself if I can live frozen in time, and then I know it’s okay to walk away and dance with other ideas.”
I love reading bestiaries and looking at art, and I knew this was something I could share with my friends and loved ones. you can get a copy bookstore And at any bookstore.
Kristofferson also Etsy An original fieldnote version of the Loreland beast art print, podcast.
Images and review copy courtesy of Page Street Publishing
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