Ruth Laxson's artists' books are beautifully crafted ruminations on language as a visual medium.

The dark grey paper cover boards of 'Measure, cut, stitch' enclose pages in various combinations of black, white and grey. The typically monochrome palette is relieved only by a splash of exposed red stitching on the spine.

The work, through various cut out pages and notations, has the feel of a sewing pattern book. The text, both handwritten and typeset, is made up of an array of partial stories, unfinished sentences, letters shaped into diagrams, musical notation, mathematical symbols, and algebraic formulas, that are rich in interpretative possibilities, both playful and profound.

In three sections, Part I: measure, is printed black on white in a free, naïve style that includes scribbly drawings and pseudo-scientific diagrams. Part II: cut, is printed white and black on grey in a more sombre, consistent layout. Part III: stitch, is more focused, dwelling on the word 'stitch', mulling it over typographically.

NAL copy is no. 40 in an edition of 75 copies, signed by the artist.