Vasilisa and the Witch's Fire

Recently I have developed and finished a new piece of laser cut book art.  Vasilisa and the Witch's Fire depicts a scene from the Russian fairytale Vasilisa the Beautiful, a story that sees its heroine Vasilisa overcome the obstacles put before her by the witch Baba Yaga.  

Uneditioned version

Uneditioned version

Uneditioned version

The lasercut booklet illustrates the heroine's escape home across the forest at night, armed with a mysterious glowing skull.  It's an eerie tale that has not left my imagination since I read the tale as a child.

Two versions of this piece have just been finished: an unlimited edition fold-out concertina version that comes in a dark yellow dustjacket (seen above); and a limited edition version, which has clothbound hardcovers that fold over the booklet and turn the piece in to a cube (below).  The latter are in an edition of thirty.

This version represents a bit of a departure from the fold-out concertina books that I usually create, as this one folds itself up in to a self-supporting structure.  It took a lot of experimentation before getting the paper hinges just right, but I think it was worth it.  Below is a short video of this new lasercut version:

(if the embedded video below doesn't work on your browser then you can find it on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dqmSRaxryc, or by searching for the title of the book)

Limited edition version

Editioned cube version, seen from above with spotlight

Both versions:
uneditioned copy on the left, and the limited edition 'cube' version on the right

More information on both copies can be found on my online shop at 

 https://joannarobsonillustration.bigcartel.com

Thanks for looking!  If you have any questions, comments or thoughts about any of the artwork then do feel free to get in touch with me via the shop link above or through the comments section below.