Bionic Hearing Press ~ Ohio
(Aimee Lee)

Every Fall
ByAimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2024. Edition of 3 variants.

7.75 x 4.2 x 0.4" closed, 8.25" wide open. 16 leaves, hanji wrapper with bark lace print. [1/3 in white wrapper, 2/3 & 3/3 in kakishibu wrapper]. Ink (bark lace relief print) and inkjet print on handmade paper, crayon gravestone rubbing on hanji. Materials: handmade paper and thread. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book recounts visits to Korean burial grounds, which not every family is fortunate to still have due to development, construction, and rising costs. The roughness of the pages and the prints refer to the way that these graves are often found, weedy and in need of maintenance. Yet they also reflect the beauty of variations inherent over centuries of different burial styles and stones. These are journeys taken by families every year not only in Korea but across much of the world to honor the dead-and in a way, the living, just a step away from their ancestors."

I’ve only gone one autumn in my life
but millions of families make the trip
                  each year
gathering to weed /tidy /replace flowers / read
names / pray / remember ancestors, close
                                  and distant.
Our burial site goes back centuries
24 generations
headstones and guard stones
scattered across the land
mounds of grassy dirt
at the nook in the highest hill
the old mausoleum is gone
the newest one where my parents may rest already
houses four [4 Korean names]
In harvest times of plenty, we recall
the soil to which we all return.

$750

Feral
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2024. Open variable edition.

4.4 x 2.75 x 0.5” closed, 5.5” wide open. Inkjet on hanji, bark lace. Signed by the artist.

An open edition with each version slightly different based on the lace bark Lee uses for the outer sheath.

I’ve gone a long time on my own
Finding treasure in trash
Collecting dirt and ashes
for gardens and paper
This life is to be survived,
not performed
and every bit made beautiful

$450

Lessons
ByAimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2024. One-of-a-Kind.

4 x 4.5 x 4” closed, 8.5” opened wide. Inkjet on pigmented handmade paper, cochineal on hanji, Habu threads. Signed by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This knitted book is a place for a heart to be held.”

On the wall is a scroll

that I can’t read.

heart  water

woman  mouth

were the words that a

friend deciphered

then she revealed a proverb:

The heart is like water,  

         very pure

Even if it’s hard, in life

you can keep strong—

like water

My heart loves the poetry

My mucous membranes

are slower to absorb it,

unlike water.

I was the teacher, the scroll

from a student.

Who has more to learn?

$2,000

one in 100
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2024. One-of-a-Kind.

Pen on handmade paper, ink on paper, thread. 5.5 x 4.25 x 1.5" closed, 8.75" wide open (insert 12.1 x 25.5" opened). 18 leaves with handsewn binding. Signed by Lee on the colophon insert.

Colophon: “Book & text by Aimee Lee for Bionic Hearing Press, made at Oak Spring Garden Foundation (VA). All paper for leaves made by Michelle Li. Covers by Aimee with help from Michelle. Front insert on calligraphy practice paper by Shim Flyeon-seop and Aimee.”

Aimee Lee: “This book is about meeting an Oberlin student and watching them grow through papermaking. Most of the paper in the book is made by that student; includes an insert by the artist's teacher in Korea and herself to show previous iterations of the student/teacher abilities. The willingness of teachers and students to share space and time to change each other leads to many possibilities and eventually prepares the student to develop their own voice and vocation.”

Each leaf in this book has written on the verso side the date and place created. A lovely sampling of multiple types of handmade paper with different textures, colors, and fibers visible.
$725

Golden Memory
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2022.
Variable Edition of 10.& Variable Edition of 3.

Edition of 10: .5 x 4.75 x 0.13"; 12 pages including covers. Copies 1-5 Inkjet print on persimmon powder dusted hanji, embedded in abaca paper; 6-10 copies Inkjet print on pigmented cotton paper, embedded in handmade abaca paper. Hand sewn binding. Text, paper, and binding by Aimee Lee. Inkjet in Adobe Garamond Pro on handmade paper. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Edition of 3 (yellow version): 6.4 x 4.1 x 0.25". Handwritten text in pen on cotton and abaca paper. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "We so often forget what our bodies actually know until we are compelled to use them, to become part of the world. This book speaks to how powerfully the things we learn by doing become embedded in our bodies. Stories of how heat affects color and strength are encapsulated in the pages of the book itself, available to read but permanently integrated."

The text begins with reminding us that wisdom and memories are not only what we know but what has been passed on to us.

                Grandmothers know
                If you wrap an egg in onion skins,
                Tie them tight, and boil –
                The shell changes color
And ends with reminding us that knowledge comes from doing …
                What you learn in the world by doing
                              You never forget
                Not a stain that washes away,
                              But forever part of the language
                              Of your hands

$475 inkjet printed
$900 handwritten (Last Copy)

The Whole Duck Catalogue
Cutting: Béatrice Coron
Editioning: Aimee Lee
Field Notes: Béatrice Coron & Mick Stern
Deer Isle, New York: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. Varied edition of 6.

9.5 x 8.5"; 18 leaves. Pen and thread on abaca paper. Tyvek paper cuttings. Laid in four-flap marble-paper folder with thread tie closure. Numbered.

The varied edition of 6 consists of four versions that are made to be hung and two that were bound into books.

Aimee Lee: "This edition is a collaboration with Béatrice Coron, who provided the paper cuttings and text. Each cutting is laminated between two thin sheets of premium abaca, and the top and bottom of each sheet sewn to create a sleeve for a dowel. This catalogue of 18 'pages' can be read in any order or displayed hanging on dowels in any configuration, reminiscent of bird blinds."

Aimee Lee has a love affair with handmade paper and with ducks. She makes Korean weddings ducks woven out of hanji which are dyed with natural dyes. Béatrice Coron has a love for paper and the wonderful shadows that come out to play when cut. These two book artists brought together their talents and loves to produce this whimsical piece based on texts by Mick Stern.

                Sitting Duck: He can’t Fly and is endangered!
                Duck Soup; The Mick Brothers favorite Lunch.
                Duckster: Shut your beak while I’m quacking.
                Peking Duck: The only duck whose natural habitat is a
                                          Chinese restaurant.
                Duck Ellington: Hot jazz in a cool pond.
                Redux: When ducks repeat themselves.

$1,200 Loose version (Last Copy)

All it takes (version 2)
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2024. Two variants.

5 x 3.4 x 0.75" closed, 6.9" wide open; 10 leaves. Pen on handmade paper. Materials: handmade paper and thread . Signed and numbered by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book revisits a previous version, about what elements are required to make paper. They all seem so basic, natural, and easy, but the right combination and sequence are not as simple as imagined-or are they? The colors reflect the text."

SUN / SKY / CLOUD / RAIN / SOIL / WORM / SEED / ROOT / SHOOT / LEAF / YOU / PAPER

Colophon: “Aimee Lee made this second version of ‘All it takes’ at Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Virginia. The text is based on her previous book of the same name from 2016 and similarly bridled, but instead of bark pages, its pages are made of varied papers made by her Oberlin College students in her Papermaking and Book Art class. She lettered her text with pen on sized cotton, abaca, and mixed fiber paper made by novice papermakers.”

As of June 1, 2024, #1 in this edition is wondering around in the US Postal Service network. We hope it surfaces as this is a lovely book.
(SOLD)

Artifact Sketches
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2015. One-of-a-Kind.

7 x 8"; 18 leaves including endsheets. Materials: Pencil, beeswax, natural dyes on hanji, wire, paper thread, hosta, dogbane, and milkweed papers. Handwritten text. Signed and dated by the artist.

"Artifact Sketches" is a log of two artifacts from the artist's life – one as an artist and the other a personal record. The first artifact is a paper representation made by the artist - segments of a Silla-era gold belt from Korea – with notations as to the characteristics of the belt. The second recording or artifact is a log of blood pressure and pulse rate readings – time of day and notations given.

Aimee Lee: "The book is a sliver of an ongoing cataloging/logging of two activities that could go on for a lifetime. Both of these acts charts only a limited amount of information about the whole (systolic, diastolic, and pulse being important elements but not the only indicators of a person's health). The artifact itself is already fractured, so looking at any one piece can only give so much information on its own.

"The artifact has been sliced, so it was made originally as one large piece that was a paper representation of a Silla-era gold belt in Korea (based on a real gold belt in a museum exhibit at the Met …). There were more ornaments that hung off of the bigger paper piece but they have been 'lost' in 'excavation'.

"I have always been interested in acting like a scientist but not actually being one, the calming process of describing and cataloging, of collecting samples and organizing them, of finding ways of displaying them that inevitably re-tell the original stories of the given scraps of paper or objects that I have been attracted to and kept. Just as some people write daily, or walk daily, or do other things to stay at a good baseline for sanity and health, I do this. I always wondered if I would grow out of it, but now I see it's just part of my process. For my personal health, I've been forced to check blood pressure, which can be comforting and not, yet will eventually become one of those rituals."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

A basket is a reminder (Version 3)
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2023. One-of-a-Kind.

Basket: 3 x 2.5 x 2"; book: 1.5 x 1.6 x 1" closed, 35" wide open. Miniature book in basket. Corded and twined Hanji, thread and inkjet on handmade paper.

Aimee Lee: "This book inside of a basket shares stories about the importance of baskets to early human development and culture. Baskets can so often be overlooked but the techniques of making them, the objects themselves, and their descendants have been a major part our lives.”
(SOLD)

A Basket is a Reminder
By Aimee Lee Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2017. One-of-a-Kind.

3.75 x 4.75 x 0.6" closed, 9.4" wide open. 12 leaves. Pages of handcut handmade paper, laminated. One side is made of iris leaves; the reverse is of milkweed parts (seeds, coma, pods, bast fiber, inner stalk), cutouts, ink on handmade laminated paper (iris + milkweed). Text inkjet printing on handmade yucca paper. Sewn binding. Covers of walnut inked hanji basket rolled onto Arches Cover paper. Laid in four-fold wrapper with title printed on front flap. Plant harvesting and processing, papermaking, writing, and binding by the artist. Signed and dated by the artist.

Colophon: "A basket is a Reminder celebrates baskets and their overlooked role in creating and advancing human culture and life."

Aimee Lee: "The pages and covers of this book are made of plant fibers that could also be used to make baskets, and share stories about the importance of baskets to early human development and culture. Baskets can so often be overlooked but the techniques of making them, the objects themselves, and their descendants have been a major part our lives."
(SOLD)

Concrete Love
By Aimee Lee
Ithaca, New York: Aimee Lee , 2010. Edition of 2 + AP .

6 x 4"; 38 pages. Pen on handmade mulberry paper and cochineal dyed hanji (handmade Korean paper). Handsewn binding with matching paper wraps. Signed and dated.

Aimee Lee: "I made this book for the collection, Let's Talk About Love Baby (which mimics pulpy romance novels). I made the paper at the Morgan Conservatory with excess pulp from a hanji workshop, and called it 'concrete paper,' thick sheets of paper that I pressed and dried directly onto a concrete ramp outdoors. The sheets took on the texture of concrete. The concept is a comparison of love to a man-made material that has affected incredible change and development in architecture, infrastructure, and culture all over the world."

Aimee Lee, also: “Through my study of hanji, I became interested in how certain craft forms have survived in the face of mass production and a culture of cheap and fast excess. Seeing this clash between past and present production values, I have adapted ancient techniques and materials in my art to revive and update tradition, and encourage the survival and evolution of the old ways, while adding layers of meaning to my practice.”
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Covered
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2019. Edition of 10 variants.

7.5 x 7.45 x 0.5" closed (average dimensions) 11 pages. Natural dyes and inkjet print on handmade paper, thread. All covers coated with persimmon juice. Bound with silk thread. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "I wrote and drew 'Covered' after a friend noted that a great many surfaces in my home were covered in some kind of way. I live alone and was completely unconscious of this tendency, though sometimes in the past I had noted how my mother used textiles to cover the piano or the air conditioner wall unit. When I looked at my home with fresh eyes, I was amazed by what I had done. This book is not an exhaustive catalog of all the covers and their purposes, but a window into objects I placed in my home and the stories behind them. Colors and patterns are described but mostly left to the imagination in the accompanying illustrations. From time to time, real color appears as tipped-in handmade paper that I dyed with plant materials. The way I clothe my furniture and belongings is not much different from how I get dressed. Even the covers of the book are coated in persimmon juice: a protective coating, rather than a dye, that protects from moisture, insects, and dust."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Cradle to Grave
ByAimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2023. One-of-a-Kind.

10 x 8.25 x 0.5" closed, 16.6" wide open. Beaten Thai paper mulberry bark covers, abaca and milkweed coma/seed paper endsheets, bark lace and inkjet print on paper thread embedded into abaca paper pages.

Aimee Lee: "Embedded paper thread (whose text is obscured in the process of making) and bark lace trace a universal arc of human life. The text, on translucent abaca paper, has been laced into the same paper for pages."

Colophon: “Aimee Lee made ‘Cradle to Grave’ for Bionic Hearing Press with components that she made by hand. They include covers of beaten Thai paper mulberry bark, inkjet printed text in Gill Sans on abaca paper, pages of abaca embedding bark lace and paper thread (also printed with inkjet text-now obscured), and endsheets of milkweed coma and seed paper.”
(SOLD)

The Drama of a Few Square Feet
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2020. Variable edition of 4.

5.5 x 4.5 x 0.5"; 12 pages including free end pages. Acrylic and gouache on Wake Robin papers, thread, marigold dye on handmade papers (milkweed covers, yucca endsheets, salago pages). Signed and numbered by the artist.

While this book from the pandemic concentrates on the recording of the rhododendron in the artist's yard there is the introduction of a new neighbor in the spring of 2020.

"May 9, 2020 12:42PM Calm
A month later, hands up …
With Spring arrives new neighbors …
And daily, the tumult of the weather
Yet we're still standing."

(SOLD/Out of Print)

Edges
By Aimee Lee
[Oak Spring Garden, Virginia]: Bionic Hearing Press, 2022. One-of-a-Kind.

2.75 x 1.75 x 0.25" closed, 3.6" wide open; 17 pages. Pen and indigo dye on hanji worked with joomchi techniques. Handwritten text with pen and ink drawings. Outer sheets of bark lace and handmade paper by Yuko Kimura. Signed and dated by Aimee Lee.

“Edges” was made in Virginia at Oak Spring Garden Foundation by Aimee Lee for Bionic Hearing Press.

Aimee Lee, “Edges” text: "Could you map the wilderness? a folly to try, but the borders that's another story. Even when searching its edges inside yourself you recoil. But dig a bit more. It's more present than you imagine."

Aimee Lee, Interview Oak Spring Garden Foundation: “I have always been interested in the nature of being human, especially when faced with challenges that range from external societal demands to internal struggles of alienation and finding our place. Over time, I have expanded my view of human to human interactions to include how people operate in the wider non-human world.”
(SOLD)

Either
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2017. One-of-a-Kind.

9 x 5.75 x 0.5" closed, 12" wide open. Materials: abaca and mulberry paper with persimmon juice, pencil, beeswax, paper thread and yarn. Sewn and paper laced binding Signed and dated by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book can be read in either direction, referring to the different ways that cultures read: the binding is a Western codex but the title pages refer to Asian books that are read with the bound spine on the right side. It also asks the reader more overtly to impose and infer meaning through objects embedded in and emerging from the pages, as there is no other text beyond the covers. The covers themselves are made from layers of papers made from paper scraps that include fragments of the text of the oldest extant book printed with moveable type, Jikji, coated many times with a favorite Korean finish of persimmon juice."
(SOLD)

Every Last Grain
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2022. One-of-a-Kind.

2.25 x 1.75 x 0.75"; 30 pages. Miniature. Pen and ink on handmade paper. Handsewn binding with thread. Handwritten text. Signed by the artist. Outer cover paper printed by Yuko Kimura. Pastedowns of indigo-dyed hanji by Lee. Laid in overlapping folder case with colophon printed on the interior.

This little book has pages cut up from Lee's handwritten recordkeeping of day to day expenses. These recordings are on her handmade paper. Interspersed in her handwriting is a brief text about this propensity to record everything.

"at first, a record, lists, then, denser, like quickening snow. This kind of behavior starts early and continues to the grave."

Colophon: "'Every Last Grain' was made in Virginia at Oak Spring Garden Foundation by Aimee Lee for Bionic Hearing Press. ... Pen and ink on handmade accounting pages from 2008-2009 Fulbright research in Korea."
(SOLD)

False calm
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2024. One-of-a-kind.

5.1 x 4.1 x 0.5” closed, 12.5” wide open Inkjet on botanical contact prints by Velma Bolyard, hanji, cotton/abaca paper, thread. Signed by the artist.

Colophon : "Aimee Lee made 'False calm' for Bionic Hearing Press in Cleveland. She printed the text she wrote via inkjet onto Velma Bolyard’s botanical contact prints. Endsheets are hanji made from 'waste' fibers of paper mulberry bast. Aimee made the covers from abaca and cotton, colored with a mix of aqueous dispersed and dry pigments. Special thanks to somatic therapists who work with PTSD clients."

The slightest thing, always unexpected
easily sets the body into a panic
you forget to breathe
you forget
you CAN breathe
any memory of equilibrium
it all disappears
into a pant
a clammy sweat
a racing heart
pant pant pant
cold sweat
frenzied heart
you disappear
Why does this feel so familiar?
and terrible?
As fast as the storm arrived
you remember to breathe.
once you return to yourself
you remember,
it’s over.
It’s over.

(SOLD/Out of Print)

For those left behind
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2022. Variable edition of 2.

4.5 x 5.75"; 6 leaves of varying sizes. Colophon laid in. Pen and ink handwritten text. Beeswax on handmade paper. Covers of pounded paper mulberry bark. Printed silk waste embedded into handmade paper by Pam McKee. Signed by the artist.

Text: "Life is both / fragile / and tenacious."

Colophon: " "'For those left behind' was made in Virginia at Oak Spring Garden Foundation by Aimee Lee for Bionic Hearing Press, in memory of Sarah Kubacki."
(SOLD)

go gently
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2023. Variable edition of 2.

7.25 x 5.25 x 0.3" closed, 10.5" wide open; 14 leaves. Inkjet print on handmade papers. Materials/processes: hanji, abaca, paper mulberry, thread, woven paper thread, silk/hanji fabric, natural dyeing, crayon grave rubbing, paper lithography, suminagashi, joomchi, pulp painting. Note: Version 1/2 is sold. 2/2 has a different colored grave rubbing spread (in this image, it is blue, but in 2/2 it is purple, dyed with gromwell root. Version 2/2's pull-out is on the left side of the verso image, pulling beyond the fore edge).

Aimee Lee, Colophon: "’Go gently’ was inspired by the egregiously mishandled 1971 tomb excavation of King Muryeong (462-523) and his queen. At the time, it was the only intact royal tomb of that period, and had interred the 25th king of Baekjae (18 BCE-660 CE). It was the first solo Korean archaeological project since the peninsula was divided and indelibly affected by war and colonization. After monsoon rains stopped long enough to unseal the tomb, its contents were removed overnight. The junior researcher did not understand his new camera so his photos were useless. Valuable information about the placement of objects was lost in a mad dash to deter the press, which had accessed the tomb ahead of the National Museum team. Ironically, only the press images remain.

“Aimee Lee of Bionic Hearing Press wrote and made the book and most of its paper (tomb rubbed paper made by Shin Hyun Se in Uiryeong, Korea). Covers are of silk and hanji fabric woven in Andong, Korea. Inkjet printed in Gill Sans MT onto handmade paper of two types: abaca and paper mulberry. Pages include pulp painting, sewing, suminagashi, joomchi, indigo dyeing, gravestone rubbing (from the grave site of my paternal ancestors, near Seoul), chine collé with paper lithography of an image by Velma Bolyard, and woven paper thread.”
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Good Neighbors
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2020. Variable edition of 3.

Pen, gouache, acrylic on handmade paper.

Version 1: 1 more lily of valley image, thicker paper. 6 x 8 x 0.4".
Version 2: horizontal image on cover, two leaves of chiri paper. 6 x 8 x 0.4".
Version 3: slippery elm paper throughout (marigold dyed milkweed paper straps) 6 x 5.4 x 0.25".

Each of the "Good Neighbors" books are just a little different just as our communities are.

"it's easy to think it's just us.
But we're not the only ones occupying this land.
While busy multiplying and growing adjacent;
others are doing exactly the same.
US. Them.
Or, we could learn to be better neighbors."

(SOLD/Out of Print)

The Grumpies
By Aimee Lee
Ithaca, New York: Aimee Lee , 2010. One-of-a-Kind.

2.5 x 2.5 x 2"; 16 pages. Inkjet prints on handmade cotton/abaca paper. Ink on knitted pine paper yarn. Covers of handmade cotton paper. Signed by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "The knitted yarn is from Habu Textiles, and then dyed with hand-ground calligraphy ink, the cover made by myself, and the printed poem is on paper made at the Morgan Conservatory. I had intended at first to hide the sewing on the spine but then decided that the messiness was in keeping with the message of the book."

...
The morning deer venture out
And cheer you

As does the message from a friend:
She woke up grumpy, too.

(SOLD/Out of Print)

Hide
By Aimee Lee
Chicago: Bionic Hearing Press, 2005. Edition of 2.

8.25 x 5 x 2" closed. Van Dyke prints on Rives BFK. In box. Signed by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "’Hide’ is a consideration of the accumulation of bruises. The prints were developed with different exposure times to render a gradual darkening and then lightening of the repeated image of a bodhisattva statue located in Honolulu. The complete image resides in the background and can be viewed through cutouts in the pages or by lifting up the entire book to reveal it.

"In thinking about how bruises appear and disappear, I collected other people's bruise stories. I created a of calendar of these stories and used an image that reflected the nature of bruises. A statue of compassion on the ridge of a drop in a lush jungle, its back is visible to passersby but its front is impossible to see without falling into a deep valley."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Hirsute #1
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

7.5 x 4.75"; 54 pages. Ink on handmade paper. Arches Paper wraps with sumi ink illustration. Title hand-lettered on front cover by artist. Bound with paper tapes and thread. Signed and dated by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book was made with papers of many different types, mostly from plants harvested in autumn in Northeast Ohio. This is the first in an ongoing series of books that are an exercise in drawing, visualizing, and manifesting hair."
(SOLD)

Hirsute #4
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

9 x 7.25"; 24 pages. Ink, crayon, marker, persimmon juice on assorted handmade papers. Pamphlet binding in handmade paper wrappers with hand printed title on front cover. Signed and dated by the artist.
(SOLD)

Hirsute #5
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

5.6 x 4.25"; 16 pages. Ink on tin-lined antique washi and handmade mulberry paper, persimmon juice. Sewn pamphlet stitch binding in handmade paper wrappers with hand printed title on front cover.
(SOLD)

Hirsute #6
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

5.6 x 4.25"; 14 pages. Ink and Suminagashi on handmade botanical papers. Sewn pamphlet stitch binding in handmade paper wrappers with hand printed title on front cover. Signed and dated by the artist.
(SOLD)

Hirsute #7
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

6.75 x 5.2". Ink, beeswax, and natural dye on assorted handmade papers, bark lace. Bound in handmade paper with woven and sewn binding. Title hand printed on cover. Signed and dated by the artist.
(SOLD)

Hirsute #8
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

8 x 5.75". 8 pages with 2 double page insets sewn in. Ink, beeswax, pencil, and natural dye on assorted handmade papers. Pamphlet stitch bound in handmade paper wrappers with hand printed title on front cover. Signed and dated by the artist.
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Hirsute #9
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

9 x 5"; 12 pages. Natural dyes, pencil, and ink on assorted handmade papers. Hand stitching on pages with paper thread. Pamphlet stitch bound in handmade paper wrappers with hand printed title on front cover. Signed and dated by the artist.
(SOLD)

Hirsute #10
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

7.1 x 5.5"; 28 pages. Ink, beeswax, natural dye, and Suminagashi on assorted handmade papers. Pamphlet stitch bound in handmade paper wrappers with hand printed title on front cover. Signed and dated by the artist.
$175

How It Begins
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2018. One-of-a-Kind.

9.75 x 6.75 x 0.25" closed, 10 pages. Inkjet on handmade milkweed and mulberry paper embedded with paper threads and woven paper. Handsewn binding. Signed and dated by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book that reads with the spine on the right side, and explores process, which always involves failure and recalibration. Another in an ongoing series of books whose content is embedded at the vat in wet stages of papermaking."
(SOLD)

In Place Of
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2019. Edition of 6 variants.

5.5. x 8.5 x 0.5" closed, 10 pages (plus 1 endsheet). Ink, natural dye, and inkjet print on handmade papers, woven paper thread, iris leaf, butterfly cutout. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "For the last few years I have felt helpless and despairing, as if any exercise of my agency has no chance of positively changing the world. This book explores things that I have forsaken, like following the news, because that type of media consumption and frenzy makes me measurably sick. I seek refuge in my work and my ability to speak to my distress through paper. Most of the paper is made from the paper mulberry tree, but where I emphasize 'reality' and 'nature', I turned to iris paper made from leaves I harvested in an effort to clear invasive stands in wetlands. There is sadness but in the end a glimpse of real priorities: what actually matters in our day-to-day lives? The title refers to the definition of 'vice', which appears on the first and last pages, and invites readers to imagine how they can change the way they approach and see the world."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Luminous and simple
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2017. One-of-a-Kind.

14 x 8 x 0.5" closed, 16.25" wide open. Inkjet prints on handmade milkweed paper with varied inclusions. Binding hand sewn with paper thread. Signed by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book is made entirely of milkweed paper whose fibers were hand harvested and processed. Another example of recent work where the book content is developed in the wet stages, a host of objects are embedded in each page, from woven paper to bark lace, and silk carrier rods to ink drawings on paper fragments. The narrative looks at our history of fiber and textile arts used for survival, as well as the way that we employ nature to elevate the possibilities of these techniques."

Colophon: "Luminous and simple is indebted to milkweed, which makes stunning paper.

"Made of 100% milkweed paper (harvested, processed, and made in Albion, Michigan) … Pages are made of steamed and scraped bast fiber using ssangbal tteugi while covers are made of late-season stripped and uncleaned bast fiber using webal tteugi. Inclusions: dogbane paper, persimmon juice coated paper thread weaving, mulberry bark lace, silk carrier rods and outer layer silk (some with persimmon juice), and ink on flax paper."
(SOLD)

Meetings
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2022. Variable edition of 4.

5.9 x 4.6" ; 12 pages plus colophon laid in. Pen on mulberry paper and woven paper thread. Cover by Wake Robin. Handsewn binding. Text handwritten. Signed and numbered by the artist. Fine.

Text: "Some pass through / and you walk on. / Others loom large, / tear you up, / imprint, / and then go. / You never know exactly / who will do what."

Colophon: "'Meetings' was made in Virginia at Oak Spring Garden Foundation by Aimee Lee for Bionic Hearing Press. Covers printed and made by Velma Bolyard of Wake Robin. Aimee made the paper for the pages from mostly Florida kozo harvested by Amy Richard and a touch of Virginia field milkweed. Embedded pieces woven from spun paper thread."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Mixed
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2024. Edition of 2 variants.

8.25 x 5.2 x 0.5" closed, 10.4" wide open;12 leaves. Materials: Eggshells, lacquer, pen, handmade paper, thread. Paper thread on handmade paper.

Aimee Lee: "This book compares very basic binaries to wonder why we value one over the other, no matter how different or how subtly similar. Inspired by all the different kinds of people in the world as well as all the different colors of eggshells that are pretty much the same inside.”

We often assume there is a “natural” color
But aren’t we all mixed?
What’s the difference between this and this,
this and this,
this and this
this and this (guess what: two sides of the same coin!)
Doesn’t this feel better?
The secrets woven into our DNA
are no longer secret
The most natural thing is to mix
The blend is our best bet for survival.

(SOLD/Out of Print)

More than arithmetic
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: BioCleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2022.
Edition of 2.

9 x 6"; 20 pages. Handwritten text. Pen and kakishibu on milkweed/mulberry paper. Cover papers from persimmon coated handmade paper. Pages from Milkweed and paper mulberry bast, with kakishibu* powder in the wet stages and pen in the dry stages. Colophon laid in. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Text: "What I do / What they do / What you do / all adds up / and multiplies / a pause before all that doing / could create exponential change / Could we pause?"

*Kakishibu, www.handpapermaking.org: "The noun "shibu" refers to the astringent, puckery juice of certain fruits and nuts, such as the outer brown coating of a chestnut, the outer green covering of a walnut, and the juice of unripe persimmons. Persimmon juice (kakishibu) has a very high tannin content, and when this tannin juice is exposed to the air and dries, particularly in a hot sunny environment, it turns a deep reddish brown color in a rather short time. Kakishibu is not classified as either a dye or a pigment. When applied to materials like wood, cloth, or paper, it forms a coating around the fibers, like a film or membrane. It has very important antiseptic properties that prevent mold or corrosion. "
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Moving Through
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2022. One-of-a-Kind.

4 x 4.75"; 16 pages including covers. Materials: ink, paper, thread. Handwritten text in pen. Pen and Suminagashi on kitakata and mulberry paper. Stab handsewn binding. Signed by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "'Moving through' pushes past blocks to flow again."

Some days are smooth but uninspiring
others, all your thoughts thicken
coagulate, almost get stuck
suddenly a sharpness
work through that moment when it
all comes together
and relax.

(SOLD)

Myeongwol/bright moon talisman
By Aimee Lee
Ithaca, New York: Aimee Lee , 2010. Edition of 4.

2 x 2.25 x 1.25"; 16 pages. Dyed and woven hanji (handmade Korean paper). Knit pine paper yarn. Pen and inkjet print on handmade paper. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book references Hwang Jin-I (1520 - 1560c), a famous gisaeng [female entertainer] during the Joseon Dynasty, who was known for her poetry. Her gisaeng name was Myeongwol, which is written in Korean characters on the cover of the book. It translates to 'bright moon,' which is the first English text in the book. I developed a book cover made entirely of hanji, or Korean handmade paper, in the tradition of jiseung, or paper weaving. I dyed hanji with natural plant dyes, cut it into strips, cored it, and wove it into these book covers. Each edition is slightly varied in that it exists in two different colors, one dark, and one light, much like the phases of the moon."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

One rhododendron bush in May 2020
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2020. One-of-a-Kind.

10 leaves; 5 x 4.75". Pen and paint on handmade paper (milkweed paper covers and straps, harakeke pages). Signed by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This one-of-a-kind artists' book cycles through days of looking at the same rhododendron bush in May during lockdown in Ohio, using papers that I had made on different occasions from botanical fibers. I made the covers from milkweed (Asclepias) harvested in Michigan (thanks to a 2019 visit to Pati Scobey's Concord studio) and the pages from harakeke (Phormium tenax) in Australia (thanks to a 2018 visit to Barb Adams' Melbourne studio). The binding, a backstitch structure made entirely from cut and folded paper, was invented by Elizabeth Steiner. I learned it from her book with Claire Van Vliet, Woven and Interlocking Book Structures. Each pen and gouache drawing sits on an acrylic paint background, and this book is one of the few complete pieces that I've managed to create during this solitary time."
(SOLD)

One day: June 8 (2020)
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2020. Variable edition of 2.

5 x 4 x 0.75"; 16 pages (including covers) with only recto being used for illustration and text. French fold. Materials: Paper, thread, pen, acrylic, gouache, handmade paper. Text hand written. Handmade papers by Wake Robin. Paper thread by Aimee Lee. Signed and dated by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "A pandemic book, each page of this book shows a unique drawing from a different time of day on the same day. The cover simply says, "one day," while the final page asks how many more days we have left-this idea of savoring every day, and being grateful for what we have each day. This one also uses a structure from the Janus Press book, one of my favorite ones as it highlights the simplicity, strength, and beauty of handmade paper."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

The Opposite of Chaos
ByAimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2022. Variable edition of 2.

4 x 5"; 11 pages. Two pages with quarter page fold out. One foldout includes a popup. Text handwritten in pen and ink. Materials, ink, natural dye, beeswax, handmade paper, bark lace, thread. Colophon laid in. Bound in patterned paper covered boards with thread binding. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Text: "The wilderness / is actually / quite organized / Everything has / its place. / Some obvious / for others / you have to / search / for directions, ask a tree. / They've seen it all. "

Colophon: "'Opposite of Chaos' was made in Virginia at Oak Spring Garden Foundation by Aimee Lee for Bionic Hearing Press. Cover papers are made from milkweed bast and dyed with marigold blossoms. Bark lace and handmade paper pages are worked into with pen, natural dye, beeswax, and PVA."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Peculiar & Commonplace
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2018. Edition of 10 variants.

11.5 x 7.5"; 14 pages. Pen, pencil, and inkjet printing on hanji, handmade papers, thread, manipulated papers and materials (including but not limited to natural dye, beeswax, ink, suminagashi, woven and knitted paper, ribbon, and fabric). Paper covers with title handwritten by the artist. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book combs through observations from various people's lives (anonymous to protect privacy), and pairs these stories with quotations from books and media that I have read or consumed for almost 15 years. These quotes are included in the spirit of commonplace books, and reflect my lifelong practices (and/or obsession) with compiling inspiration, organization, and filing.

"A mostly silent but omnipresent narrative accompanies the text through drawings and objects. Aside from obvious illustration, they mimic an instruction manual on how to create and sew paper garment, which appears at the end of the book. This dress is constructed from discarded prints that accumulated in the making of the book. These tip-ins balance the tension and anxiety of the stories; these sewing scraps attempt to be neutral, a safe location for the reader to place their own biographies.

"A year or two prior to finally constructing this book, I saw an auction image of a book with a real dress sewn into it, folded to fit within the pages, with instructions on the verso with smaller examples of sewing. I was captivated by this very simple way that I could finally synthesize my previously distinct work of making paper dresses and making paper books. Of course, I wasn't going to write a manual for sewing because I taught myself how to make paper clothes as artwork, not actual clothing to wear, but I was drawn to the idea of instructions (perhaps because so many people ask me for 'how-to' books without understanding how incredibly difficult they are to make - but a pretend instructional manual would be much more fun, and probably even more instructive!).

"Since grad school, I figured out a system of taking notes during and after reading books, to help me hold onto the most compelling quotes. This has also been instrumental to my research, so it has served me well. For this book, I went through almost all of my files to pull the right quotes for the array of stories I wanted to highlight. It felt exactly the same as making and compiling all of the physical materials I needed to tip in: bits of thread, ribbon, tape, paper, and so on.

"As always, the specific becomes the universal, and what we think is so peculiar in our lives is replicated around the world countless times. We feel so apart from others and anxious, and this book was a way for me to reconcile some of those feelings. It is also a wonderful way for me to combine so many things that I love to do: make paper, make books, make dresses, write, and draw. The edition is varied because so much of the work is done by hand using what I had in inventory; this includes the paper for the pages, which will vary throughout the edition."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Resilience
By Aimee Lee
[Hastings-on-Hudson, New York]: Bionic Hearing Press, 2011.
Edition of 10.

5.5 x 4.25 x 0.75"; 10 leaves. Pencil on handmade paper (cotton/hemp/dak). Non-adhesive strip woven binding. Words, binding, paper by Aimee Lee. Numbered and signed by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "This book is made completely of handmade paper, hand lettered in pencil, to explore the edges of grief and its transitory nature. The paper contains cotton, hemp, and hand-harvested dak from the Korean countryside. The binding is one that Janus Press developed that involves no sewing, simply folded and cut paper, to showcase handmade paper."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Right Now
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2021. One-of-a-Kind.

3 x 1.86 x 0.3" closed, extends to 14.75"; 8 pages including pastedowns. Miniature. Accordion structure. Gouache on acrylic/methylcellulose on Mohawk Superfine. Boards in metallic silver with title handprinted in black on the front cover. Housed in silver paper slipcase. Signed by the artist on the case and in the book.

A miniature book constructed during the pandemic. Across a watery blue background in blue is a hand printed text.

We are barely holding ourselves together
but we can still hold each other.

(SOLD)

Savor
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2018. Edition of 2.

3.75 x 2.25 x 0.5" closed, 7.6" tall open. 8 leaves. Inkjet printed with typeface Avenir Medium. Bound at top edge with thread. Text by Aimee Lee. Printed and bound by Aimee Lee. Text papers handmade by Velma Bolyard. End sheets handmade by Aimee Lee. Signed and numbered by Aimee Lee.

Aimee Lee: "The entire book is made of handmade paper, almost all made by a papermaking colleague. This partnership supports the entire premise, of a shared love of paper and all of the discoveries we continue to make as we make it. The text has been chosen for the appropriate colors, and the covers are hand dyed."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Savor
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2018. Second Edition of 10

3.75 x 2.25 x 0.5" closed, 7.6" tall open. 8 leaves. Inkjet printed with typeface Avenir Medium. Bound at top edge with thread. Text by Aimee Lee. Printed and bound by Aimee Lee. Text papers handmade by Velma Bolyard. End sheets handmade by Aimee Lee. Signed and numbered by Aimee Lee.

Originally Lee made an edition of 2 of "Savor" but it was so well received that she found she had enough of the handmade papers to make more copies.

Aimee Lee: "The entire book is made of handmade paper, almost all made by a papermaking colleague. This partnership supports the entire premise, of a shared love of paper and all of the discoveries we continue to make as we make it. The text has been chosen for the appropriate colors, and the covers are hand dyed."
(SOLD/ Out of Print)

Shatter stories
By Aimee Lee
Canton, New York; Gapyeong, Korea; Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2011. One-of-a-Kind.

6.25 x 4.25 x 0.25" ; 14 pages. Handmade gampi paper, hanji, St. Armand paper, thread. Inkjet print and pen on handmade paper, creped and textured. Sewn binding. Printed and bound at Wake Robin Studio (Canton, New York), hanji made at Jang Ji Band (Gapyeong, Korea), gampi made by Aimee Lee at the Morgan Conservatory (Cleveland, Ohio). Images from illustrations by Patricia L. Thomson in Introduction to Women's Gymnastics by Drury and Schmid.

Aimee Lee: "This unique book reviews the text of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha's Dictee, in a section that revealed names given to women who were ranked in a particular hierarchy by the Japanese conquerors in occupied Korea. The paper pages alternate between paper made in Korea from dak (Korean paper mulberry) and paper made from gampi (a fiber traditionally used in Japan). The traced images come from a manual on gymnastics for women, another prescribed and precise behavior."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Steady
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2021. One-of-a-Kind.

8.5 x 5.75 x 0.75"; 20 pages including cover pages. Pen, acrylic, and gouache on handmade paper. Bound in Virginia, completed in Ohio. Small papers by Velma Bolyard of Wake Robin in New York. Signed and dated by Aimee Lee.

Aimee Lee: "The final rhododendron book created through a grant and residency at Oak Spring Garden Foundation, which uses plants as a way to create perspective about our own lives as humans in an attempt to glean some wisdom that the plant world has always offered to us."

Each day we attempt some kind of equilibrium Could today be better than yesterday?
Or just not as bad?
I could settle for about the same.
The, something shifts, unexpected
And another quick change
Runs onto the stage …

That you can navigate even more changes
As fast as they come
You stay steady.

(SOLD)

This is the start
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2017. One-of-a-Kind.

4 x 4"; 8 double-sided panels. Accordion structure. Materials: Ink, pencil, onion skin prints, gold thread. Handwritten text. Panels sewn together with gold thread. Signed and dated by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "A book that circles back around on itself about the nature of creating new work."
(SOLD/Out of print)

Vocabulary lessons (Version 2)
ByAimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2023. One-of-a-Kind.

2.25 x 4"; 8 woven leaves. Inkjet in Minion Pro printed onto hanji, persimmon juice on thread spun from recycled hanji taken from books. Sewn binding. Colophon pamphlet (2.75x4.25"; 6 leaves). Book and Colophon laid in archival four flap folder. Signed by the artist on the colophon.

Aimee Lee, Colophon: "The English translations in 'Vocabulary lessons' are of Korean words that I wanted to remember during this sojourn. I wrote the text in 2007 while feeling inadequate about my language abilities. We are told that language learning takes best when young, but my Korean was the strongest it had ever been, in my 40s. Later I heard a new truth: older language learners do better because they understand the context behind the words.

“Each woven page provides structure, the context with which I approach lifelong language study. The threads are spun from pages of my old sketchbooks; though the message of these marks is lost, they are part of the paper-thread-page as a new foundation for future words.”
(SOLD)

We used to go to water
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio / Albion, Michigan: Bionic Hearing Press, 2017.
One-of-a-Kind.

11 x 7"; 16 pages plus endpages and covers. Materials: pencil, handmade paper, paper thread, natural dyes. Handwritten text. Handmade paper of flax, mulberry, gampi, and prairie cord grass. Covers: Japanese gampi hanji. Endsheets: ink on prairie cord grass paper. Text pages: pencil and cutouts on flax paper with embedded mulberry hanji and paper thread. Contained in a hanji envelope. Signed by the artist.

Aimee Lee: "About our changing relationship with water over history, though our need for it remains the same as it ever was.

From the colophon: "We used to go to water repeats the image of a tipped gourd, the precursor to water bottles."
(SOLD)

Weight of the Moment
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

12 x 8 x 1.5". Inkjet and calligraphy ink on handmade mulberry paper. Other materials: paper thread, miscanthus.

Aimee Lee: "This scale, inspired by an ancient Peruvian woven fiber scale seen in the Pre-Columbian Museum in Santiago, Chile, will always weigh more heavily in favor of one side (it would be even more uneven if not tempered by an extra support cord). It recognizes the human reaction or desire to crawl into a safe space to hide from unpleasantness, terror, and fear of a future worse than the present. On the other side is the message that draws people out of the hole, because heads in the sand are not as useful as hands at work."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

What now?
By Aimee Lee
Cleveland, Ohio: Bionic Hearing Press, 2016. One-of-a-Kind.

4.25 x 4 x 1.5" closed, 27" open.; 8 panels. Accordion structure. Knitted and dahlia-dyed paper. Ink on washi. Signed by the artist.

A book of knitted handmade paper about reaching a crossroads.

when everything has unraveled
you don't recognize yourself
in the grasp of demons
seemingly stronger
than you

(SOLD/Out of Print)