Cheryl Olson-Sklar:  The Shape and Color of Research

Shuffling through information and imagery in the Special Collections Department of the Golda Meir Library, I concentrated on a search to locate a unique, personal resource. The power of integration, holding a connection or link for inventive work or image making was immediately evident as soon as Max Yela placed the sixteenth-century Italian text in my hands. The book, small in format, contrasted with the golden patina of the book cloth, the eloquent printing, and majestic insect engravings surrounded by scrolls and elaborate banners. I quickly identified with the shape and texture of these monumental forms. They provided connotations and analogies, which allowed me to recast and reform the resource materials. While remaining open to a visual outcome and getting to know these images, I was completely unaware that what I was attracted to and cherished was a book of poultry lice.