"Without a shadow of exaggeration, the most beautiful book I’ve ever laid eyes on." - Brainpickings.orgSelected as featured title at the TED2012 Bookstore.Waterlife features Mithila art, a form of folk painting from Bihar in eastern India. The artist Rambharos Jha grew up on the banks of the legendary river Ganga, and developed a fascination for water and water life. In this visually sumptuous book, Jha creates an unusual artist’s journal, adapting the motifs of the Mithila style to express his own vision. He frames his colorful images of octopus, crocodiles, birds and shellfish with a playful text that evokes both childhood memory and folk legend.Art is inseparable from the lives of the people of Mithila, and traditionally the walls and courtyards of the houses were painted during festival times. In the late 1970s this art traveled from the walls to paper.Waterlife is silk-screen printed by hand on handmade paper, and hand-numbered to indicate the limited print run. Comes...