Maisie Matilda: Fore-edge book painting

Have you ever heard of fore-edge book painting?

This is the delicate work of painting a scene or image onto the page edges of a closed book. Whilst this was a legitimate art form as far back as the 10th century, it has all but died out now.

There are thought to be only four craftspeople practising this art form left in the world - one of whom is 23 year old Maisie Matilda who lives in the UK.

Maisie loves painting delicate scenes onto unique books, particularly those of her favourite fantasy literature - such as The Hobbit, Lord of The Rings, Game of Thrones and Harry Potter.

Maisie is passionate about choosing a book that deserves to be preserved in this way - perhaps a first edition, or a signed copy, or something beautifully produced. Her scenes are always relevant to the story being told within. She loves the fact that her work then gives these books another reason to be valued and cherished, when they might otherwise eventually end up in landfill.

Maisie has a degree in art history, and is used to working in detail on large canvases. She says that she loves the challenge of creating the same minute detail on a much smaller scale, using fine, tiny brushes.

You might like to look at the following short video of Maisie describing her work.....