ALL ABOARD FOR WONDER AND DR. FRANKENSTEIN'S COLLECTION OF SPARE PARTS

Wall Mural 

WONDER 

It all started when I was playing with lettering.  Valentine's day was coming up and I decided to try my hand at some illuminated letters.  I water coloured the background.   The left-hand side looked like a waterfall, down which I tumbled some hearts.  The letters are painted in watercolour and acrylic paints. 

and then... I continued to water colour more paper and Wonder appeared 

a piece of decorative paper under a piece of water coloured paper with illuminated letters painted in gold...

and then.... photos of murals on the pylons of an underpass.  A couple of years ago I was in Toronto and I was looking for the Distillery District.  I got off the bus too soon and wandered around for awhile and found these amazing murals.  I think they were part of the decorations for the Pan Am games.  

and then....I was bored one day and decided to turn these into something more, so I wrote a short story using each photo as inspiration for part of the story. 

Each page was separated with a fly leaf of this marbled paper 

and then... it came full circle when I turned Wonder into a book with these images and the story.  

DR. FRANKENSTEIN'S COLLECTION OF SPARE PARTS 

Recently there was a call for artist's books that incorporated the written words from a published book.  I chose passages from Frankenstein and created an artist book. 

I had this beautiful paper of a gold forest on a black background.  It was the perfect paper for this book since the monster, in the story, retreated to hide in the forest when he was shunned. 

The first page of this accordion book has pockets with removable spare body parts: a brain, a piece of spine and a heart. 

I hand wrote the passages and then added the spare body parts that corresponded with each passage. 

The open book

CHECKERS WITH A TWIST 

I had been thinking about this game for a long time and finally it came to fruition.  This is checkers with a twist.  The box is covered with decorative paper and book cloth.  The appliqué is decorative leather. 

The inside lid of the box is covered with black and gold decorative paper. 

The contents of the box include: 2 leather pouches with the markers, two die, and one packet of word inserts.  

All the sections of the board were created from layers of pages from a book that I no longer wanted to keep.  The yellow and purple tabs on certain squares are the twist in this game.  They lift up and little word cards can be inserted and then the square is laid back down.  When someone lands on these squares they pick up the square to see if the word is 'checkers'.  If it is, they instantly win the game, if not, they continue on until the game is won in the usual fashion or if one has found the 'checkers' insert (rules are included with the game). 

The board with the different markers for two players.  Each marker is made from layered pages from a book. 

The closed board with die and little paper inserts with words. 

HANGING AROUND TOWN 

Recently a friend asked me to participate in a photographic project with her.  In my search for a photograph to meet the theme, I was inspired to create another book.  Here are some of the photos that are in the book called; 'Hanging Around Town', featuring Ms Silky Scarf, Mr. Lapointe, Busker, Mr. Liu, from Bejing, China and Mr. Flett, Busker.  Fun was had by all. 

Ms Silky Scarf waiting for the bus 

Honouring the signage in the Market 

Ms Silky Scarf tempting fate - stopping in a No Stopping zone - luckily she moved on before getting a ticket 

Checking out the cost and location of parking 

Ms Silky Scarf stopped in to look at a new piece of real estate 

Always one to be curious, Ms Silky Scarf had to peek behind the closed doors 

She found an alleyway that still had snow in the shadows 

The busker, Mr. Lapointe, a one man band, took her for a musical spin around the market 

Flying with the butterflies on this decorated power box 

Mr. Flett, another busker in the market, had her join his colourful outfit for a bounce or two 

She stopped in at a little eatery to warm up with a bowl of soup and struck up an interesting conversation with Mr. Liu from Bejing, China.  

The full book is now at the printers and will be available soon, without the commentary.  

EXHIBITION

One of my three-dimension books has been accepted for a group exhibit with Association Am'Arts in France.  The exhibit will be in 2022 at Galerie Ecu de France in the City of Viroflay (www.am-arts.com).  There are 130 exhibitors included in this exhibit. 

The Human Condition Game 

That's all for now.  It is starting out to be an exciting year for books.  

If you have any questions about my work, feel free to contact me at: bbinder999@gmail.com or through this blog.  

Wishing you a happy spring 

Mary