Lark books is owned by Barnes & Noble and produces many of the art and craft publications for sale at Barnes & Noble stores across the country. I worked in conjunction with Lark Books and its creative staff several years ago. It was truly a joy to be a part of the arts & crafts publication world. It was one of my favorite jobs. I worked with some of my favorite people there! I felt very much at home at Lark.
I arranged the cover shots below, except for the two with cover models. I arranged most or all of each book's interior shots by hand. The set design was a combination of effort between the creative director, the photographer, and myself.
My specialty, which over time became especially appreciated at Lark, was in jewelry placement, an intricate and incredibly challenging endeavor. As a jewelry artist and metal smith, I had developed a natural understanding of the properties and challenges of my subject.
My specialty, which over time became especially appreciated at Lark, was in jewelry placement, an intricate and incredibly challenging endeavor. As a jewelry artist and metal smith, I had developed a natural understanding of the properties and challenges of my subject.
Jewelry placement requires a great deal of care. Because of the apparent nature of smudges and blemishes on high-shine surfaces, it must be kept meticulously clean, and it must be handled with gloves. Each small component must be tediously place and secured with wax or other adhesives. The shadows and light must be just right and must remain consistent throughout the body of a given publication. The product, however small and intricate, must remain in its place as intended, even on vertical or uneven surfaces when gravity is working against its placement. Jewelry arrangement is a very time-consuming and tedious endeavor.
This incredibly meticulous, ever-changing, and challenging undertaking was a great joy for me. I enjoyed the constant and intense problem solving required and was able to work very effectively with our creative director to design or trouble shoot challenging shots.
It was an honor to work with Lark Books and Stewart Oshields, the photographer whom I was assisting on set. Dana Irwin was my primary creative director. The top left-hand photo was her project and I was asked to be on the other side of the camera as her cover model!
