Isaac Salazar has no formal art education, but stumbled upon his outlet by way of a book of origami art. This book, he recalls, made him wonder if it was possible to create word-based designs, akin to the Reader’s Digest Christmas trees he had seen and admired.
He began with simple letters and then moved on to increasingly more complex typefaces. Depending on the intricacy of the letters, each artwork takes anywhere from a day to two weeks each to complete, using only basic arithmetic and an exacto knife as he does. He derives his inspiration from the content of the material he is working with. For example, he carved a recycle symbol on Robert Lamb’s A World without Trees.
An advocate of alternative energy and recycling, he rarely uses new books, but opts instead for books that may otherwise go to waste. He cuts, folds, and slices carefully, so as to preserve the books’ integrity. Recently, he has ventured into logos and symbols—an area he would like to pursue further.