Artists' Statement: "I wanted to examine what it meant for a book to become a white elephant in someones life. I created the cover page so that the owner of the book would have to sign their name making a contract with me and the book. This makes the book both a blessing and a burden in their life. To underscore the white elephant quality of the book I painted it with thick white paint almost like the skin of the elephant. I then went through and hand painted each elephant illustration in the book with white gesso. I think the effect changes the book without departing from what drew me to the book originally. In a way the final product is a collaboration between myself and those who created the book. We are connected though we have never met."