Collage Artist Mary Delany of The Paper Garden

***Congratulations to Cindy deRosier, Yani, Njeri, Karen Hornsten, and MB Isaac!***

While reading Alicia Paulson's beauty of a blog recently, she mentioned a book that sounded utterly fascinating... The Paper Garden by Molly Peacock.

The biography details the art and life of Mary Delany who lived in England in the 1700s. Married twice, most unhappily the first time, she became interested in - no, wholly dedicated to - paper sculpture at the age of 72 after the death of her beloved second husband.

Mrs. D created nearly one thousand botanically correct and remarkably dramatic collages from white rag paper and paint over the next sixteen years. The book is not just about the artist however, as the author intertwines her own challenging life story.

Originally published in 2010, it was released this past spring as a hefty paperback in the U.S. and the UK. The book includes examples of the brilliantly colored paper mosaics, a few of which you see here. Yes, they look like paintings, but they are not! The existing collection, by the way, is housed in the British Museum's Department of Prints and Drawings Study Room in London and may be viewed upon request.

I wrote to Bloomsbury USA and asked for a review copy that I've just begun. From the positive reviews, I'm quite sure it will be an enjoyable summer or winter read, depending on where you happen to live... I'm delighted to say Bloomsbury has offered to send a copy to five readers worldwide as a giveaway!

To enter, leave a comment on this post by Sunday, July 15. If there is no easily found email address on your Blogger account, include it or your Twitter name or Etsy name within the text of your comment. If you don't, you can't win. The winners will be chosen by random number generator and announced on this post and the All Things Paper Facebook page. Good luck!