Skinfolk: Rationale
Jan. 1st, 2018 09:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shantellSkinfolk is a book for people curious about Inuit mythology. The book pairs objects from Inuit life with traditional stories. Inuit mythology demonstrates the transformative nature of living beings and also shows how allegedly inanimate objects contain life. This animistic nature is illustrated by the pairings of myth and object within the book. The word “skinfolk” is a portmanteau tying together the ideas of kin, skin, and folklore, and the book’s four tales have a central theme of how powerful women interact with flesh.
In order to ensure the topic is treated respectfully, an Inuk elder was consulted at the onset of the book’s creation. She also provided assistance in using consistent dialects for the Inuktitut terminology. An Anishinaabe craftsperson was consulted in order to learn traditional beadwork techniques, giving authenticity to the hand-beaded cover.
The colour palette is a simple one of white, blue, black, and red: common colours for traditional Inuit beadwork. The beadwork is sewn directly into the leather, foreshadowing the central theme of interactions with flesh. The single red bead in the tittle of the letter “i” and the red binding thread slashing across the margins represent the blood from those interactions. The cool silvery cast of charcoal illustrations and black-and-white photography matches the northern climes from whence spring the tales.
The typeface used for the title is Arjowiggins Inuit, chosen because it marries elements of Inuktitut syllabics with Latinate letters. Gadugi, the sans-serif font chosen for the text within the book, offers a seamless transition between English and Inuktitut.
In order to ensure the topic is treated respectfully, an Inuk elder was consulted at the onset of the book’s creation. She also provided assistance in using consistent dialects for the Inuktitut terminology. An Anishinaabe craftsperson was consulted in order to learn traditional beadwork techniques, giving authenticity to the hand-beaded cover.
The colour palette is a simple one of white, blue, black, and red: common colours for traditional Inuit beadwork. The beadwork is sewn directly into the leather, foreshadowing the central theme of interactions with flesh. The single red bead in the tittle of the letter “i” and the red binding thread slashing across the margins represent the blood from those interactions. The cool silvery cast of charcoal illustrations and black-and-white photography matches the northern climes from whence spring the tales.
The typeface used for the title is Arjowiggins Inuit, chosen because it marries elements of Inuktitut syllabics with Latinate letters. Gadugi, the sans-serif font chosen for the text within the book, offers a seamless transition between English and Inuktitut.
