Tag Archives: art

Miniature Worlds

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This spring, the Arts Council of Princeton and the Cotsen Children’s Library presented  “Miniature Worlds: An Artistic Collaboration of Tiny Libraries,” a unique and innovative exhibition of local artists. To begin, we gifted twelve creative individuals the same unpainted library diorama set…

Then, we invited them to create their own wild, wonderful, and whimsical libraries. From cozy nooks, to gorgeous collages of color, to clever twists on what a library is, the results are absolutely stunning.

The miniature libraries were displayed in Firestone Library at Princeton University, and celebrated at an accompanying event featuring activities and special collections that I will post about next week.

Below artists’ name is a link to their bio and/or vision statement. We would like to sincerely thank each and every person who was so generous with their time and talents. Thank you so much for creating such powerful and imaginative inspiration for future readers!

BRITTANY NORWOOD
Artist’s statement

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PARI HAZAVEH
Artist’s statement

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NISHANT THELAKKAT

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HANNAH HADLEY
Artist’s statement

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ARLENE GALE MILGRAM
Artist’s statement

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MAREN JOHNSON
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MICHELLE IGLESIAS – HOLLAND

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BETH KUSHNER
Artist’s statement

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SARAH REIFF CONELL
Artist’s statement

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GENEVA ANASTASIO
Artist’s statement

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META DUNKLY ARNOLD
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HOPE VAN CLEAF
Artist’s statement

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Coloring Cotsen: Tigers Sis Boom Ah!

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The weekend before Princeton’s commencement, jovial alumni return to town for Reunions and to reminiscence on their time spent on campus as students. To commemorate their annual return and celebrate the Great Class of 2026, we wanted to share several iconic tiger images from our Special Collections for Coloring Cotsen.

The tiger is a common mascot for many schools, colleges, and professional sports teams in the United States, but Princeton University is the first academic institution to officially start using the tiger nickname. In the early 1880s, Princeton’s football players would wear orange and black striped jerseys, socks, and knit caps during their games. Sports writers at the time began calling the team “tigers” and the moniker was quickly adopted across campus.

Tigers are now a regular part of life at Princeton. Tiger sculptures appear on and around campus buildings, magazines and publications have tiger related names, and university cheers and songs include tigers in the lyrics. Princeton’s fight song, “The Princeton Cannon”, was written in 1906 by J. F. Hewitt and A. H. Osborne, both members of the Class of 1907. Hewitt and Osborne incorporated “And Nassau’s walls with echo with the Princeton Tiger’s roar” in the song’s intro and the verse lively proclaims “Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Tigers sis boom ah!”

We extend our heartiest congratulations to the Class of 2026! Rah! Tigers sis boom ah!

Studio Snapshots: Adriana Saipe

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Our Studio Snapshot tours have taken us far and wide, but today we’re introducing an artist who is local to lovely New Jersey! We recently discovered Adriana Saipe when Princeton University commissioned her to create the cover of the Princeton Alumni Weekly‘s 2026 Reunions Guide. You can read the PAW interview with her here.

Adriana’s original piece, “Tiger Crossing the Delaware,” is an absolutely breathtaking feat of paper engineering, It will be on display in Firestone Library lobby (right outside of Cotsen) through July 12th. In the meantime, let’s visit Adriana’s studio for a personal tour!

Images courtesy of Adriana Saipe

I’m very lucky that my studio is in my house. This is great for being able to work after my three daughters are in bed. The downside is that my three daughters like to sneak in and get creative with all my supplies. And they are always ALWAYS stealing my tape.

I hoard bits of colorful paper like a squirrel gathers nuts. A few years ago, I bought a large metal flat file set of drawers from another artist. I’ve since filled all the drawers with colorful scraps of things which I then use in my paper cutting and collage projects. I also really like to make paper flowers, so I often have bins of those lying around.

I collect prints and original artwork from some of my favorite illustrators. The bottom piece here is one of my favorites – it’s an original graphite and gouache study by the great Carson Ellis for her amazing book Du Iz Tak?. I find it so inspiring to see what her process is like up close. And I get to enjoy the company of these small, charismatic bugs while I work.

When I’m not paper-cutting, I often work on digital illustrations for clients. I draw on a Wacom Cintiq. It’s big and heavy, so I can’t take it on the go, but it’s one of my favorite studio tools. What I can take on the go is my sketchbook, which comes with me just about everywhere. With three small kids at home, finding time for fun drawing is a challenge, so I try to sneak it in during swim lessons and soccer practice.

My commercial work often involves large format printing and laser cutting, and for that I rely on my Epson P6000 and my Epilog Fusion Edge respectively. I’m not very technologically-competent, but I’ve had to learn quite a bit in order to service and maintain these two big machines.

Working from home wouldn’t be the same without my trusty studio assistant, “Scribbles”. He helps by eating small bits of paper off the floor, and sighing loudly when he thinks I could benefit from getting outside for a walk.

Psssst did we mention that Adriana wants to try illustrating children’s books???