Bessie Smith Moulton

next back to artist info back to artists home

Taking the Soup is a collection of stories I have written and illustrated with my photographs and drawings, looking at the origin, myth, ritual or history of foods.

The book is in the form of a recipe box. On the top of the wooden box, 7" wide x 4.75" deep x 2.5" high, is an image of a hand holding a mug of soup under the shadow of a cross. The title and closures are handmade of brass. Inside there are twenty individual stories on 6"x7.5" cards, folded to 6"x3.75", printed on an Indigo press. The front of the card has a photograph illustrating the story inside. The stories are divided by subject cards labeled Food as Metaphor, Connection or Power & Weapon. This book is dedicated to the day when each person on this planet will have enough to eat. Twenty-five percent of the sale of each boxed book in the edition of ten will go to a charity organization working toward that goal.

January 2007