Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed). © Shawn Sheehy. All rights reserved
However pop-up books are not just for children. In fact, the earliest form of this book was created for adults, not children (Van Dyk et al., 2010). And while we may like to think that pop-ups are a modern-day invention, this format has been in existence for 800 years (Van Dyk et al., 2010).
Shawn Sheehy is an environmental educator and a book artist whose specialty is pop-up books about the environment. Through his work, Shawn brings attention to ecosystems and ecological topics such as population dynamics, resource allocation and speciation.
Shawn has a degree in education and a Masters of Fine Art in Book and Paper Arts. He has taught English to second graders in Mexico, environmental studies at YMCA camp, and various community-level arts and crafts classes.
Shawn began teaching classes in the book arts while in grad school. Over the years, he gradually shifted the focus of his classes to paper engineering because he likes the challenge of teaching this subject.
Shawn’s next workshop will occur on September 27 in Salt Lake City. His workshop will precede the meeting of the Moveable Book Society. In this workshop, Shawn says he will “focus on integrating pop-up structures with movable structures, with the goal of creating a sense of animation in the pop-ups.”
Shawn will also teach two classes about vegetable pop-up cards on October 26 and November 2 at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Then in April 2013, he will teach his wildflower workshop at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Information about these learning opportunities can be viewed in Shawn’s listing at Classes Near You > Illinois.
Join me in welcoming Shawn Sheehy, our featured guest for September!
Literature Cited
Van Dyk, Stephen, Elizabeth Broman, Ellen G. K. Rubin, Ann Montanaro and Elizabeth Periale. 2010. Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop and Turn. Brochure. The Smithsonian Libraries Exhibition Gallery, National Museum of American History. Washington, DC. June 2010 – October 2011. Web. http://www.sil.si.edu/pdf/FPPT_brochure.pdf [accessed 31 August 2012]
ArtPlantae Today 
What is it about pop-up books that captures your attention? What was the topic of the first pop-up book you made?
Shawn:
As a reader of pop-up books, I love the surprise that comes with a well-made pop. As a creator, I really enjoy both the engineering and sculptural challenges of building collapsible, representational structures–and more so if they are based on shapes from the natural world. My first book was Counting on the Marsh. My first attempt was in 1997. (I revisited, revised and revamped the same title in 2000 — this is the book that you see on my website.) I created it to fulfill a requirement in a capstone design class. I chose the topic of the marsh ecosystem as a response to an environmental issue that plagues the midwest — too many white-tailed deer. At the time I made the book, the city of Madison was considering hiring hunters to cull the local deer herd, as it was negatively impacting rare species in a local marsh. It caused me to think about what it means to have a balanced ecosystem, especially in a country where so many of our ecosystems are human-managed.
Shawn has intelligently and artistically focused on one of the best attributes of pop-up books; their unique ability to teach. “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” The interactivity of pop-up and movables allows the reader to “do.”
The-Popuplady
I definitely enjoy enriching the “novelty” in “novelty books!”
I love the contrast I your work between the exquisite detail and graphic simplicity. Can you describe how you distill the elements to achieve this?
Part of the strategy is to establish a finite color palette and stick with it. Most of my pop-up books are made with handmade paper–I make it all in one batch, and then I only work from that batch. It helps maintain discipline the choices. Also, you notice I don’t illustrate at all. All of the shapes and images come from cut paper. That reduces detail and makes me very choosy about where I’m willing to invest time in fussy cutting. Additionally, I’m a professional graphic designer, so it is in my academic training to reduce images to essential graphic shapes.
You say you use pop-ups to “facilitate the delivery of a potentially distasteful message.” What are some of the distasteful messages you have presented through pop-up books?
Shawn:
I think what might be most distressing is the idea that there are too many people for most ecosystems to operate in the way in which they evolved. I personally don’t like to think of myself as part of an “infestation” species — but it’s the name we humans give to other species who are consuming more than their share of supplies, so I suppose we have to own it for ourselves. Also, because of our own numbers, we’re causing an extinction event that is numbered among the largest in Earth’s history (this is the topic I treat in Beyond the 6th Extinction.) Folks don’t like to think about how many other species are dying off to make our way of life possible, if they think about it at all. And then there is the “evolution” thing: Beyond the 6th Extinction is an evolution book. Its premise is based on the scientific principles of natural selection. If folks are uncomfortable with the science of evolution, they might be uncomfortable with the book.
While reading about the history of pop-ups, I learned there are different types of formats. The two general labels, though, appear to be “pop-up” or “moveable book”. Do designers of these interactive books prefer one label over the other?
Shawn:
This one is sticky. Technically, “pop-up” structures are those that actuate at the turning of the page, and “movable” structures are those that actuate after the page is turned and require the turning of a wheel or pulling of a tab. Since there is limited academic treatment of the form (Ann Montanaro, founder of the Movable Book Society, is a notable exception) there is no set of terms that is universally accepted and used. Brits are active in the field (Duncan Birmingham and Paul Johnson are great examples) and have terms that are different from American terms. Many paper engineers come from the trade publishing world, a smaller but notable set come from the book art world (some, like me, bridge the gap) and those two communities use different terms for the same ideas. There has been some effort made in the past to publish an agreed upon vocabulary of terms, but I don’t know the status of that project.
Readers, you may also be interested in knowing about Pop-Ups and Movable Books by Ann Montanaro. It is an index of books published between 1991 and 1997.
You created a pop-up field guide of North American wildflowers highlighting twelve genera and twelve plant families. Where did the idea for a field guide originate? Why did you decide upon these specific plants for the field guide?
Shawn:
I first developed these studies as content for my wildflowers workshop, which I launched in the interest of reaching workshop populations outside of the book arts community. Several months later I bound them together into the field guide–and thought it would be fun (and add literary value) to add additional context to the blooms by writing and including the essay on the “Language of Flowers.” Adding the essay makes the field guide more like my other books — instead of simply being a formal study, it’s an exploration of concept. I’m again holding up biological evolution (reproductive structures that differentiated in a specific ecosystem) against cultural evolution (a shift in the assignment of meaning to symbol.)
Obviously, I had to choose plants that are native to the midwest. Within that set, I was looking to represent as much diversity as possible: in structure, in color, in habitat. Also, because they originated as workshop material, I wanted to use the flowers to teach as many different engineering structures as possible. I chose floral structures that facilitated that intent, while avoiding structures that would be too fussy or too redundant.
NOTE: Thirty copies of this field guide were created. Shawn’s field guide can be purchased from Priscilla Juvelis at Juvelis Books, at Vamp & Tramp Booksellers, LLC, and from Shawn himself.
Also available are handmade flower cards based on the North American field guide. Cards can be purchased from Abecedarian Gallery in Denver, CO and from Kalamazoo Book Arts Center in Kalamazoo, MI. They can also be purchased by contacting Shawn directly. There are twelve cards from which to choose. The six simpler cards are $20 each and the six complex cards are $30 each.
When planning the field guide, did you take a storyboard approach and draw your ideas out on flat sheets of paper, or did you do pop-up sketching? (Readers, pop-up sketching is creating paper models freehand without measuring.)
Shawn:
I typically think through everything in my sketchbook, though much of this is in text and not drawings. I do a number of very rough drawings for each structure to explore possible avenues of engineering, but when I get down to it I’m sketching in 3 dimensions with card and glue.
I can’t help but think that you look at the world through the eyes of a paper engineer. When you look at plants, animals and landscapes, do you think pull strips, flaps and foundation shapes?
Shawn:
You are correct, but it’s the other way around: when I look at an interesting engineering structure, I think about what sorts of plants or animals I could build and move using that structure.
How do you fix a pop-up book? Do you have any tips for parents or teachers? What should one be mindful of when they sit down to repair a child’s book?
Shawn:
Attempting an at-home repair is a great opportunity to explore the structure of the piece, and perhaps reveal its weak points. Using thin, strong acid-free paper (kozo sheets are great and can be purchased from many online retailers) and an acid-free glue (PVA, a.k.a. book binder’s glue or Jade) is best.
Many of these books are ephemeral — they’re not meant to last forever. It’s easier and cheaper to replace most contemporary books. Torn books can be taken apart and explored to learn structure.
However, if one has a book that can’t be easily replaced, or has historical value, then I’d recommend hiring a professional to do the repair. Many home-executed repairs end up doing additional damage in the long run. Online searches for book conservators or repair specialists will yield lots of great options.
Dear All,
I just came across an abstract for an article about volvelles and movable diagrams. If you’re interested, here is a link to the abstract:
http://library.oxfordjournals.org/content/13/3/316.abstract?etoc