ALY KAY TIBBITTS
Author • Photographer • Book Artist
SCATTERED THOUGHTS
June 8, 2021
Scattered Thoughts is a collection of poems, short stories, and photographs by Aly Kay Tibbitts in the style of an Artist Book. There is no pre-determined plot or narrative, but is rather an abstract look into an author's mind. While even the author warns that her mind is not a place to get lost, the book lends itself to the interpretation of the reader, not just the author, creating a piece of art that can be visited over and over again.
NATIVEGAS
December 2019
Combination of Letterpress printed, hand set metal type, and photopolymer line images, with digitally printed photographs and recreated sketches, with various color being added using oil and water color paints.
As a third-generation native of Las Vegas, the artist is familiar with the many aspects of city life, apart from just the famous Strip. Drawing on the inspiration of the artists and writers in her own family tree, she tells the story of the city that most tourists never see. This book operates on one level as an abstract representation of Vegas, and on another, a personal narrative. It explores the concept of claims of nativity, the role of genetics on who we become, as well as facetiously criticizing the claim “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
L'OMBRE
L'ombre is an artist book which explores the idea of ghosts in their different forms. It is presented in the form of a story, and follows the inner thoughts and journal entries of a young woman as she moves from Utah, to France, and eventually London. Using both English and French, the book is intentionally designed so that not all of it is accessible, indicating an inability to communicate between the dead and the living.
ABOUT ME
I was seven when I wrote my first book. I used paper from my mom's scrap bin, crayons, and staples. Had you told me then that I was going to be an author, majoring in English and minoring in Book Arts, I would have argued, and told you I was going to be a doctor.
Since then, I have fortunately gotten better at storytelling as well as book design and construction. I published my first book in 2016 as a Freshman at the University of Utah, where I graduated in 2019 with a Bachelors of Arts in English and a Minor in Book Arts.
