Timothy Ely
Encyclopedia
Timothy C. Ely is a contemporary American painter, graphic artist and craftsman, known for creating single-copy handmade books as art objects.
Ely began making his own books at the age of eight; comic books were a major early influence. He earned a B.A. in drawing and printmaking from Western Washington University
(1972), and a Master of Fine Arts
degree at the University of Washington
(1975); he traveled and studied in Great Britain
, Italy
, and Japan
under a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
(1982). He has taught bookbinding and drawing at a number of institutions and venues, from Central America
to Scandinavia
. His practice of the craft of bookbinding has extended to involve metalworking, leatherworking, woodworking, and related disciplines. He exploits traditional and modern techniques of bewildering variety—even making his own inks from caramelized seaweed. He originated and teaches his "drum leaf" binding, a technique for binding single sheets that is designed to suit paintings, prints and drawings, mounted photographs, and other materials difficult for the standard technology of book-manufacturing.
Ely's one-of-a-kind books draw on domains of knowledge and culture, including Western and Eastern religious traditions, astronomy
, particle physics
, cartography
, alchemy
, and sacred geometry
; they employ graphic elements from skeletal structure, UFOlogy
, and the golden ratio
. Ely has described his Spectronomicon (2000) as being "about light portals and spectrum energy." Ely's work evokes a range of thematic material: arcane knowledge, secrets and cryptography, time and timelessness. He has developed a private written language using 366 individual signs or "idiographic cyphers".
Ely has collaborated with the writers David Abel
(Memo 7 and Other Works, 1989) and Terence McKenna
(Synesthesia, 1992). He has also illustrated a small number of conventional or commercial projects, such as the Booklover's Repair Kit (2000) by Estelle Ellis, Douglas Lee, and Wilton Wiggins.
A selective and far from exhaustive list of Ely's works includes Geotryphinities (1981/3), Alectis Ciliaris: Time Stunt (1981/4), Apocryphon (1984), Tetraplanex Cypher (1985), A Very Small Galaxy (1985), Alternate Sky (1986), The Investigation of Alchemy (1986), Sense 9 (1990), Saturnia (1994), Materia (1995), Amalgam (1996), TXC 144 (2003), Amblygon (2005), Compound 12 (2005), and Tables of Aries (2006). Ely works are included in public and private collections, including The Victoria and Albert Museum
and The Library of Congress
.
Ely currently operates out of Colfax, Washington
.
Ely began making his own books at the age of eight; comic books were a major early influence. He earned a B.A. in drawing and printmaking from Western Washington University
Western Washington University
Western Washington University is one of six state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Bellingham and offers bachelor's and master's degrees.-History:...
(1972), and a Master of Fine Arts
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
degree at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
(1975); he traveled and studied in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
under a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
(1982). He has taught bookbinding and drawing at a number of institutions and venues, from Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
to Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. His practice of the craft of bookbinding has extended to involve metalworking, leatherworking, woodworking, and related disciplines. He exploits traditional and modern techniques of bewildering variety—even making his own inks from caramelized seaweed. He originated and teaches his "drum leaf" binding, a technique for binding single sheets that is designed to suit paintings, prints and drawings, mounted photographs, and other materials difficult for the standard technology of book-manufacturing.
Ely's one-of-a-kind books draw on domains of knowledge and culture, including Western and Eastern religious traditions, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, particle physics
Particle physics
Particle physics is a branch of physics that studies the existence and interactions of particles that are the constituents of what is usually referred to as matter or radiation. In current understanding, particles are excitations of quantum fields and interact following their dynamics...
, cartography
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
, alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, and sacred geometry
Sacred geometry
Sacred geometry is the geometry used in the planning and construction of religious structures such as churches, temples, mosques, religious monuments, altars, tabernacles; as well as for sacred spaces such as temenoi, sacred groves, village greens and holy wells, and the creation of religious art...
; they employ graphic elements from skeletal structure, UFOlogy
Ufology
Ufology is a neologism coined to describe the collective efforts of those who study reports and associated evidence of unidentified flying objects . UFOs have been subject to various investigations over the years by governments, independent groups, and scientists...
, and the golden ratio
Golden ratio
In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio of the sum of the quantities to the larger quantity is equal to the ratio of the larger quantity to the smaller one. The golden ratio is an irrational mathematical constant, approximately 1.61803398874989...
. Ely has described his Spectronomicon (2000) as being "about light portals and spectrum energy." Ely's work evokes a range of thematic material: arcane knowledge, secrets and cryptography, time and timelessness. He has developed a private written language using 366 individual signs or "idiographic cyphers".
Ely has collaborated with the writers David Abel
David Abel
David Abel was a cinematographer.David Abel was born on 15 December 1884 in Amsterdam to Russian parents. He came to the United States as a child in the first decade of the 1900s and worked as a portrait photographer before entering films with Flying A Studios in 1913. He filmed a total of 110...
(Memo 7 and Other Works, 1989) and Terence McKenna
Terence McKenna
Terence Kemp McKenna was an Irish-American philosopher, psychonaut, researcher, teacher, lecturer and writer on many subjects, such as human consciousness, language, psychedelic drugs, the evolution of civilizations, the origin and end of the universe, alchemy, and extraterrestrial beings.-Early...
(Synesthesia, 1992). He has also illustrated a small number of conventional or commercial projects, such as the Booklover's Repair Kit (2000) by Estelle Ellis, Douglas Lee, and Wilton Wiggins.
A selective and far from exhaustive list of Ely's works includes Geotryphinities (1981/3), Alectis Ciliaris: Time Stunt (1981/4), Apocryphon (1984), Tetraplanex Cypher (1985), A Very Small Galaxy (1985), Alternate Sky (1986), The Investigation of Alchemy (1986), Sense 9 (1990), Saturnia (1994), Materia (1995), Amalgam (1996), TXC 144 (2003), Amblygon (2005), Compound 12 (2005), and Tables of Aries (2006). Ely works are included in public and private collections, including The Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
and The Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Ely currently operates out of Colfax, Washington
Colfax, Washington
Colfax is the county seat of Whitman County, Washington, United States.The population was 2,805 at the 2010 census.It is situated amidst wheat-covered hills in a valley at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Palouse River. U.S...
.