Nikki McClure aims to inspire more creators with book ‘What Will These Hands Make?’

Nikki McClure’s book “What Will These Hands Make?” — launching Saturday with a reading and art opening at Browsers Bookshop — is an ode to the power of hands to create not only objects, but community.

It’s also a tribute to Olympia, incorporating people and places locals are likely to recognize.

McClure’s signature papercuts, printed on soft tan paper with pops of bright color and bright white, include images of some 45 individuals, including indie musician/writer Lois Maffeo, K Records founder Calvin Johnson and Capitol Florist owner Cynthia Salazar, as well as businesses such as Browsers, Danger Room Comics and Sherwood Press.

“All sorts of people are sprinkled throughout the book,” McClure told The Olympian. “Some are tiny, like one millimeter tall, and some are recurring characters.”

The smallest figures appear on a detailed spread that mixes perspectives to provide an overview of a town that is partly Olympia — in its do-it-yourself spirit as well as in many details — and partly not.

“It’s like my idealized Olympia,” McClure said. “There’s no Capitol Lake. It’s a river flowing into the sea. I’ve gotten rid of the dam,” she said and laughed.

She also relocated her home and some downtown businesses and mixed in a marine lab on Cannery Row in Monterey, California, and a boatyard on Orcas Island.

“And there are no cars,” she added. “I got rid of the cars. You have that power when you are an artist.”

The overview invites close inspection of its boaters and birds, its cyclists and picnickers. There’s activity in windows and on roofs.

Not all of the characters are real. “There are surprise people,” McClure said. “There’s someone who keeps pigeons and this other guy who does bonsai and is a cat fanatic.”

If you’re wondering whether you’ve spotted someone you know, there’s a list of those included at the back of the book.

“Younger readers will enjoy the seek-and-find aspect,” noted a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, “and older readers may find inspiration in its vision of daily life and communal innovation.”

“The idea is that instead of asking kids what they are going to be when they grow up, you’re asking what they are going to make,” the artist said. “A bunch of people who are doing that in a town actually make a community.

“There are a bunch of people here who make amazing things with their hands,” she added. “They contribute a lot to what makes Olympia Olympia.”

McClure’s bold yet intricate papercuts, each cut from a single sheet of black paper, certainly fall into that category.

Her iconic imagery can be seen all over town, on T-shirts, storm drains — and, of course, the calendars she’s been making for more than two decades.

Next up: She’s designing metal panels for the mixed use State & Water building downtown, and working on a book about the Salish Sea.

And with “What Will These Hands Make?” she’s aiming to inspire a new generation of makers.

“This is a reminder to make. Anything. A drawing, a table, a cake, a poem, a party,” she said. “People can also make community. We need more of that right now.”

The book ends with a note about the hands that contributed to its making — including her own — and these words: “My hands made what I always wanted to make since I was a child: a book for you.”

Nikki McClure art show

• What: McClure is showing the original papercuts from her new book “What Will These Hands Make?” The book celebrates the work of many hands and includes images of many Olympia people and places.
• When: The show opens at 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, with a reading, book signing and cake. It’s on view through April 27, and McClure will do another reading at 2 p.m. April 25 as part of Olympia’s Arts Walk.
• Where: Browsers Bookshop, 107 Capitol Way N., Olympia
• More information: 360-357-7462, browsersolympia.com

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 5:45 AM.