Robin Hruska ~ Washington

Raven Gifts
Robin Hruska
Indianola, Washington: Robin Hruska, 2018. Edition of 25.

4.5 x 6.5"; 9 pages including cover page. Accordion fold extending from left side of enclosure. Packet-like enclosure with magnetic closures. Linoleum cut images digitally reproduced. Center of enclosure framed forming a shadow box of lichen and moss. Text and images printed on Magnani Cover Paper using an Epson printer. Black frame of Thai Unryu paper. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Robin Hruska: "Raven Gifts is the story of the ravens who visit my friend Wali on his farm."

This story is a much kinder, much gentler, and much shorter version of The Birds (certainly minus Hitchcock).

Wali is a farmer, working land that lies on the edge of the Oregon Coast Range, not too far from where his parents lived in town. For months, while his father was dying, he stayed in town, caring for them.

Hours after his father passed, Wali went for a walk in a nearby park. A raven began closely following him, swooping from tree to tree as he walked. …

Sometimes the ravens leave him gifts on the railing, moss and lichen, wonderful nesting material, things that every Raven knows you need to build a nurturing home. Gifts of food and comfort, of sustenance and spirit, gifts of connection and remembrance.

$400

The Children of Margem
By Robin Hruska
Indianola, Washington: Robin Hruska, 2016. Edition of 5.

5.5 x 8.75"; 10 pages. Accordion structure, modified carousel structure. Picture pocket on inner layer. 3.75 x 2.5" booklet of 4 pages with image of child on front cover, accordion structure, slips into pocket. Photos printed on Red River Aurora Natural Paper. Carousel pages drawn and pochoired on Lenox 100. Booklets printed on 100% cotton paper and backed by acid-free cardstock. Picture pockets constructed from Arches Watercolor Paper and mylar. Microsoft Himalayan font. Book wrapped in a Lama scarf. Laid in 3 x 10 x 6.75" box with removal lid and drop down sides. Numbered.

In 2015 retired teacher Robin Hruska volunteered through 3-Summits Charity to teach school for 3 months in a remote village in the NE corner of Nepal. She was there when on April 25th a massive earthquake hit and devastated Nepal. This book is a "love letter" to her Nepali hosts and students.

Robin Hruska: "Margem is a small, subsistence farming village in the NE corner of Nepal, an hour off the trekking trail to Kanchenjunga. It is a flight, a nine-hour drive, and a two day walk from Kathmandu. I was teaching in a newly opened primary school that was built for the village children by 3-Summits Charity. The children are still too young to walk to the neighboring village of Hellok, where there is a K-8 school, a steep half-hour walk away. Like many classrooms in Nepal, it contains only a chalkboard and benches. The only books, pens, paper or puzzles they had, were the ones I had brought with me. These are children who live in an area with no books, toys, bathrooms; with limited or no access to the modern world. Even though some of them may never travel far, I wanted to celebrate their lives, their successes and struggles and to have them known beyond the boundaries of their corner of the world. Teaching in both English and Nepali and working with such high energy children was challenging. It would not have worked without the love and support of my Nepali family, Lochi Maya and Dil Bhadur. This book is a love letter to them and the children of Margem."

The scarf used for wrapping the book is a traditional white scarf given to teachers as a parting gift. Robin used hers as part of the presentation of Children of Margem.
$575