Ellen Sollod ~ Washington
(Grey Zone Press)

Gingko Biloba
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Ellen Sollod, 2024. Edition of 2 variants.

Version 1: An altered altoid tin with a cyanotype printed on the top surface. Box contains two single page folded books - a double sided cyanotype printed on rice paper ; a double sided book of Hiromi Asuka Pure While rice paper.

Version 2: Includes the rice paper booklet but the cyanotype, also double-sided on a watercolor paper so the images did not bleed through. Box painted pink and a cyanotype affixed to the surface.

“Gingko Biloba” is an edition of 2 with each version slightly different in composition and container. The folded booklet contained in the box gives a series of facts about the gingko tree.

gingko biloba
also known as maidenhair tree
a living fossil
genus dating to 270 million years ago
native to China
grows 50-70’
ecological paradox
middle Jurassic Period

Ellen Sollod: “When opened, the text first references the meaning of the gingko in different cultures. The bottom half of the sheet lists the various proposed uses for the gingko in alternative medicine circles and concludes with the statement that none of these uses has proven to be clinically true. I gathered the gingko leaves from a neighborhood tree.”
$175

In Eternity's Garden
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Grey Zone Press, 2024. Edition of 2 variants.

3.75"h x 2.3/8" closed altered altoid tin. Contains prints and pamphlet. 19 loose archival pigment prints on Epson Ultra-Premium Matte. One page folded booklet printed on both sides on Hiromi Askura Pure White rice paper. Pamphlet unfolds to approximately 7" x 8.5".

Ellen Sollod: "I took the photographs in Lyon, France, primarily at the Cimitière Loyasse ancien. While the images were made largely in a cemetery, they are more contemplative than funereal."

On one side of the pamphlet is an image of clouds while the other side has this printed text –

In eternity's garden
in the act of forgetting
fleeting memories remain
like and after image
burned on to my retina
gauzy, indistinct
but emotions always there
lodged in my heart

$200

Our Fragile World
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Grey Zone Press, 2024. Series of 4 Variants.

3.75" h x 4.75"w open; 3.75"h x 2 3/8"h closed. Photos fixed in place and contained in an altered altoid candy tin. Photos digitally printed with a slight sepia tone to give a deep rich black background. Signed by the artist on the back of the tin.

Ellen Sollod: " ‘Our Fragile World’ is a series of four unique mixed media artist books. Each depicts a hand holding a ‘world’ that suggests the fragility of our natural and built environment”
$175

The Book of Small Regrets
all your woes in one place
By T. Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Grey Zone Press, 2022. Edition of 50 + APs.

6.25 x 5.25"; 136 french-fold pages. Digitally printed on Mohawk Superfine by Girlie Press. Includes hand drawn and water color images, photographs and text. Free end page and paste done with “small regrets” printed in multiple lines in white over blue paper. Hard case bound in black linen with a metallic foil stamp on the front cover and spine. Binding by Phil's Custom Bindery. Illustrations, photography, writing and design by T. Ellen Sollod. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Book statement: "The Book of Small Regrets was conceived in response to the forced isolation of COVID when even small missteps could seem catastrophic. As an antidote, Ellen decided to create this artist book to help vanquish these little black clouds that immediately overwhelm, then linger and fade, only to be replaced by another when one least expects it.

“Like getting over anything, admitting your regrets is the first step to recovery. Naturally, Ellen wanted others to be able to be rid of theirs too. So, she reached out through Instagram and Mail Chimp to over 400 people, asking them to contribute their own small regrets (to be presented anonymously) as a way to ‘unburden themselves’ as part of the generative process of making the work. Later she solicited impulse purchases made and comfort foods eaten during the pandemic.

“The responses served as prompts for Ellen’s watercolor paintings, photographs and text, embracing irony, humor and generosity. Neither a literary work nor a graphic novel, it is a sequential visual experience, creating an empathetic and heartfelt journey through these small difficulties we all encounter.”

Ellen Sollod, Introduction, Disclaimer: “This book deals exclusively with the concept of small regrets. Big regrets stemming from large offenses such as participating in an insurrection, embezzling funds or cheating on one’s spouse are beyond the scope of this book. This book offers no magic cures or get-rich-quick schemes. Just the comfort of knowing you are not alone in your own small regrets. It is the spirit of ‘misery loves company; that I share this with you.”
$250

Brush Creek Chronicles
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Ellen Sollod, 2020. One-of-a-Kind.

4 volumes bound in paper or cloth contained in a handmade slipcase bound in paper. Images printed digitally on Arches Museum Rag. Slip Case: 5.25"h x3.25"w x 4"d. Each book extends to 4.875"h x 20.5". Each signed and dated.

Ellen Sollod: "A series of small accordion books document my time as artist-in-residence at the Brush Creek Arts Foundation. Over the course of three weeks, I captured the essence and character of this remote landscape. I created the pinhole photographs using an antique Graphlex 22 medium-format film holder and a Zero image camera."
$400

State of the Nation
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Ellen Sollod, 2019. One-of-a-Kind.

12.5" x 9.5" x .75" closed,12.5" x 19" open. Altered book: "Hammond New Supreme World Atlas" published by Garden City Books, 1953. Signed and dated by the artist.

Ellen Sollod: "All the states in the union featured in the atlas are torn and rearranged to call attention to the fractured state of the nation in 2019. Black and white photographs of particular sites, previously in the index, have been collaged into the body of the book. It is a call-to-action to knit our country together."
$400

The Autocrat's Playbook
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Ellen Sollod, 2018. Limited Edition.

5.5"h x 4" w. 36 pages. Cover: Letterpress on Stonehenge Pale Blue. Interior: digital printing on Classic Crest Natural. Card: silkscreen and watercolor on Strathmore Mixed Media Heavyweight.

Ellen Sollod: "As Ellen watched our democracy under attack from within, she believed it was necessary to take every action that she could as an artist to foster and protect our democracy. She wanted to ring the “5-Alarm fire bell.” Inspired by Timothy Snyder’s On Tyranny and Road to Unfreedom, Ellen began The Autocrat’s Playbook in early spring 2018 and delivered it to the target audience’s hands prior to the November 2018 mid-term Congressional Election."

The Autocrat’s Playbook concisely describes the steps autocrats traditionally take to achieve their dictatorial aims. It was a call to action in response to the very real jeopardy that the U.S. democracy faces under the Trump Administration. The pocket-sized pamphlet references both a coach’s football play book and a pocket Constitution. The Autocrat’s Playing Card tucked in the back references both the Joker in a common deck of cards as well as the collecting of both football and baseball cards.

Each book was accompanied by a personal letter, explaining why each person was selected to receive it, along with a list of other recipients.

Following the tradition of the Mail Art movement of the 1960’s and 70’s, Ellen elected to take control of getting the art to her intended audience, rather than waiting or hoping for the audience to come to the art. She relied on friends-of-friends and the US Postal Service, for the completion of delivery. She received personal responses by letter or email from nearly one-third of the recipients. One copy is in the permanent collection of the University of Washington Suzallo Library Special Collections.

The work was exhibited at Atlas Arts in Seattle in November 2018 as the mid-terms elections unfolded. Democrats retook the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The threat to our democracy continues today.
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Field Study: Ice Crystals of Antarctica
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Grey Zone Press, 2020. Edition of 2 variants.

Closed: 8.25" x 6.75". Book cover is cyanotype on Canson Montval with a brad closure. Individual cyanotypes are printed on Canson XL Aquarelle. Composition book is bond and newsprint, digitally printed. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Ellen Sollod: "This nontraditional artist book was inspired by the research of Steve Warren and Von Walden who photographed ice crystals through a microscope over a three-month period in the early 1990s. Professor Steven Neshyba at the University of Puget Sound (UPS) introduced me to their work while we were working on a collaborative project for the “Science Stories” exhibition at Collins Library. I was immediately fascinated by the beauty and mystery of these source images and, with the scientists’ permission, endeavored to translate them to cyanotypes. I chose this medium because of its ephemeral nature which seemed in keeping with the depiction of such fleeting elements as ice crystals.

“The book consists of 14-double sided folios contained in handmade glassine sleeves (a reference to how laboratory slides were stored) and a “composition” book that contains both my commentary and field notes of the scientists, along with an abstract describing the study."
(SOLD)

Lake Washington Palimpsest
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Grey Zone Press, 2009. Deluxe edition of 25.

10 x 8.25"; 77 numbered pages. Hardcover with illustrated dust jacket. Illustrated throughout with reproductions of original pinhole photographs by the author. Accompanied by an original archival carbon print. Signed and numbered by the artist. Laid in paper folder with twine closure.

Northwest Museum of Art: "Ellen Sollod explores Seattle's Lake Washington and the effect upon its shores, wetlands, and tributaries due to the 1916 construction of the Ballard Locks and the digging of the Montlake Cut. Like a palimpsest, different environmental histories were written and erased, and new ones inscribed atop and around the Lake. Sollod uncovers these layers in an exhibition that charts the history of the massive project and its ripple effects over decades, with large-scale pinhole photographs, maps, statistics, and sound recordings. The exhibition is held in conjunction with the release of Ellen Sollod's book, Lake Washington Palimpsest."

Ellen Sollod: "The 1917 completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and the Montlake Cut dramatically lowered Lake Washington. Shorelines were created; the Black River disappeared; routinely flooded places became dry and dry places, wet. Over the last year, I began researching this transformation, fascinated by the impact of man on the landscape. Like a palimpsest, the lake and wetlands were partially removed to make room for another text. Today, wetlands are reclaiming some of those areas and returning them to their earlier form. In others, man's encroachment remains.

"This is my attempt to reveal the illusive story of this intervention: my research, and a selection of pinhole photographs and soundscapes I composed in response to this altered landscape."
(SOLD/Out of Print)

A Meditation on Human Rights and a Woman's Life
By Ellen Sollod
Rosendale, New York : Women's Studio Workshop, 1990. Edition of 60.

ß27 x 675 cm folded to 27 x 23 cm, extends to 21”; 24 leaves. Accordion fold structure. Rives Heavy weight paper. Lithography, relief, hand coloring printing methods. Bembo typeface. Printed by Charles Matson and Sheila Coppola at Ink on Paper. Hardcover bound. Signed and numbered by the artist.

Artist statement: “Ellen conceived of this project as a way to communicate powerfully with people in positions to affect public policy relating to reproductive rights. She selected 50 people around the world in the fields of politics, art, the media, science, education and religion who held positions both sides of the abortion issue to receive the piece. The work juxtaposes 12 images to 12 questions, beginning with ‘Who casts the first stone?’ and ending with ‘Who has the right to choose?’ She arranged for simultaneous personal deliveries to the majority of the recipients, including every member of the U.S. Supreme Court and sent the remaining by registered mail. She wrote personal letters to each, explaining why he/she was chosen and, in some cases, she requested specific actions. Over two-thirds of recipients replied.”

Ellen Sollod, colophon: "I began to work on this book in September, 1989, out of a conviction that it was a way that I, as an artist, could make a unique contribution to the debate raging over a woman's right to choose. It is my hope and intention that it will provide those who oppose personal choice in matters relating to reproductive freedom, a new light in which to reconsider their position and those whose favor this right, a reaffirmation of their commitment .

With freedom comes choice,
with choice comes responsibility.

1990 Art Release 1990 statement about the project: “This project began more than a year ago when artist Ellen Sollod determined that the timing was critical that each of us take action to protect and defend our personal freedom of choice and our rights to free expression. Noting the slim margin in the Supreme Court for continued support of Roe v. Wade and the escalating action on the state level following the Supreme Court's decision on Webster v. Reproductive Rights last summer, Sollod contemplated what would be the most effective way she could work on behalf of a right she fully believes rests solely with the individual. Reflecting on her past work, she determined that by drawing upon the traditions of mail art and book art she could make her case.”

Additional information regarding the project:
             ·Distribution list of public figures receiving the book
             · Exhibition History

Over 30 years later and this right is still in debate and having to be defended.
SOLD/Out of Print))

Resist
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Grey Zone Press, 2017. Editions of 25 + 1 AP.

9.5 x 6.5". Two book set in a hand silkscreened slip case - "Ribbons of Resistance" (hardcover) and "100 Days/100 Postcards" (Softcover). Digitally printed. Signed in the book and the slipcase.

Ellen Sollod: "'Ribbons of Resistance' chronicles the artist's project making and distributing 1500 embroidered ribbons at marches and demonstrations through 2017, including the Women's March, Science March, Immigration March and Tax March. It also features her 'I Resist/I Embrace' portrait project. '100 Days/100 Postcards' includes facsimiles of the postcards the artist sent to the White House during the first one hundred days of the Trump Administration."

Project Statement Ribbons of Resistance: “Beginning in November 2016 immediately following the Presidential election, Ellen initiated a “resistance art” project titled Ribbons of Resistance. Through this, she sought to mobilize people to protect our democracy. Over the course of the next year, she made and gave away nearly 1500 hand-embroidered ribbons through the U.S. mail, at The Women’s March, March for Science, Tax March, Climate March and the Immigrant March and through chance encounters. In giving away each ribbon, Ellen posed the question: ‘Of particular concern to me are civil rights, the environment, women’s reproductive rights and public education, what are yours?’ She beseeched people to ‘wear this ribbon as a reminder to stay informed, be vigilant and to take action.’ As she gave ribbons away, she encouraged people to post a picture of themselves on Instagram using the hashtag #ribbonsofresistance. She documented the ongoing project through a tumblr site.

“The project had several components: the ribbons, 100 Days/100 Postcards, and the “I Resist/I Embrace” portrait project. Through the 100 Days/100 Postcards project, she penned and mailed a postcard to the White House each day for the first 100 days of the administration. Through ‘I Resist/I Embrace’, she made portraits of 50 people each holding a sign saying what they embrace and what they resist.”
(SOLD/Out of Print)

Source Code
By Ellen Sollod
Seattle, Washington: Grey Zone Press, 2019. One-of-a-Kind.

5.5"h x 5.5"w x 1"d closed; 5.5" x 154" open. Accordion-fold structure. Printed on Hahnemuhle Rice Paper Fine Art Rice Paper. Laid in cloth covered clamshell box with image tipped on. Colophon separate sheet laid in. Signed by the artist.

Ellen Sollod: "This book was created with photographs taken at Brush Creek Artist Residency. Using the fractal forms of nature as building blocks, the photographs are derived from the idea that the alphabet is the source code for all romance languages."
(SOLD)