I created this book for my graduation portfolio. The goal was to produce an illustrated book that would highlight my skill set in the areas of graphic design and illustration. I chose to focus on the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens by Albert and David Maysles about the eccentric Edith Bouvier Beale (Big Edie) and her daughter Edith Beale (little Edie), relatives of Jackie Onassis.

I did a lot of research for this project which included reading memoirs and interviews as well as watching the many documentaries about the Beales. I let the research influence my design solutions. I chose to work in layers of collage to reflect the many layers of time and clutter that filled the rooms of the East Hampton mansion where the women lived. I worked with chalk pastel and chose to use found objects in unexpected ways. Overall, I designed through the lens of storytelling.

I am proud of the final. I feel that the illustrations and the text interact in playful ways. I found I was able to take a documentary with iconic imagery and reimagine it in dynamic compositions.