Built by Hand

This surreal illustration by Nicole Natri captures the concept of making objects with authenticity and by hand. It was published in The Times Book Review on January 8, 2018. The image is part of our collection of editorial illustrations being offered for the first time ever to the public as unframed or framed fine-art prints.

This illustration accompanied a review of the book, “CRAEFT An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts,” written by Alexander Langlands, a British archaeologist and medieval historian.

In reviewing the book, Michael Bierut wrote, “Beyond the mastery of specialized skills, Langlands is talking about something more holistic: a way of looking at the world. In reconnecting with craeft, he begins to see not just the beauty of an object or a building or a landscape, but the deeper purpose for which each has been created.”

Artist Nicole Natri lives and works in Sweden. Through an all-collage technique, using old paper cuts, Nicole layers images to tell her stories. Her work resembles that of a scenographer, patiently adding pieces to the scenery. The act of play and playing is an important part of her work, and helps to interpret and comprehend the many layers within people. Her clients include The New York Times, Buzzfeed, HarperCollins and Little, Brown and Company.