Happy autumn.  Tis the season of the great big pumpkin. 



 Pumpkins, witches, warlocks, goblins, bats and cats.  Halloween is just around the corner.  A number of years ago my story rooms and books were accepted for an exhibit.  The theme I worked with was couples.  I chose a number of different couples: The Divine Diva and the Confirmed Bachelor, Venus Fly Trap and the Fly, and more.  The one above I called, The Witch and her Cat.  The witches book of Spells, Portions and Recipes accompanied the story room. 

One of my students gave me some amate paper from her homeland of Mexico.  It is a bit of a challenge to work with, but the end result is beautiful.  The tactile nature of the paper is very pleasing.  I used it on the case of the book and in the interior.  


I used the green amate to line the case.  This green had the feel of nature in it.  

The book was covered with suede leather with a slice of a geode as part of the closure. 



I seasoned the paper to give it a more authentic look. I drew the alchemy and element symbols and wrote the text.  I hand embossed some of the pages with hibiscus flowers. 


The seven metals of alchemy

the elements 


Alchemy symbols 


Food symbols 


Love spells section 


Potions section 


Title pages 




The Witch's Familiar - Cats  


The seasoned edges of the pages 


The stitched spine 

THE SHAPE OF THINGS: A Play on Words  

During the isolation period of Covid I found myself writing in a journal.  When the journal was full I repurposed it, making paper out of the pages and leaving some pieces of the pages with the words in the paper.  I decided to try some pochoir on the paper.  I created stencils with different shapes and then did a practice run on a smaller piece of paper.  

The practice run:


I used a piece of chiyogami for the cover of the little practice run book. 


the practice run in an accordion format 

The Shape of Things: A Play on Words Book 

A couple of months ago I bought this beautiful red acrylic paint and then used it in the making of paste paper.  It didn't look so bright when I first made it, but as it dried, the vibrant red appeared again.  I used two different patterns on the covers to go along with the theme. 


Front cover 


Back cover 


Each page of this accordion book is different.  I wrote the names of different shapes randomly on the pages and in some places the name matches the shape.  When one looks closely,  words from the journal can be seen on some of the pages. 











WHAT IS A FLOWER 

I wrote a poem for my mother, just when I was finishing up my Master's degree.  She has passed away now, and I decided to put the poem into a book, accompanied by photographs of flowers, and topiary. The covers are hand embossed with flowers and I added gold ink to the stamens on each flower. The text is hand written in green ink. 


The cover 


The fly leaf 


What is a flower? 
It is a seed 
planted in the heart 
of Mother Earth. 



Why does it grow? 
Because it is 
Watered, warmed and nurtured 
by Her soul. 



What purpose does it have? 
To share its beauty with 
the hurting heart. 
To bring joy to the ones we love 
When we are apart.



How long does it last? 
Forever my love 
For the seed of the memory 
is the gift in 
each and every flower we see. 


Embossed back cover 


Front and back of book envelope - paste paper 


EXHIBIT 

One of my books was accepted for the Delires de Livres exhibit which was to take place in 2020.  Unfortunately it  was postponed due to Covid.  I am happy to report that it will be taking place at "A l'Ecu de France Art Gallery from March 12 to April 10, 2022.  The vernissage will be on March 12 around 11:00 am. 

That's all for now.  I'm doing research for a couple of new books.  

Wishing you all a healthy, happy autumn.  

Mary 

(All content of this blog is copyrighted.  If you wish to use my photos, contact me and let me know how you want to use them.)   



















Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AUTUMN IS UPON US AND CREATIVITY IS STILL ALIVE

Image
Autumn is upon us, the leafs on the trees have changed colours and are covering the ground with their beauty.  The days are shorter and cooler.  The fog comes more frequently, mingling and lingering over the city, the advent of the long winter sleep to come.  Creativity never sleeps, it moves through the seasons, with me and brings new and exciting opportunities.  Here are some of my new creations that have been brewing over the year and have finally come to fruition.   PAINTED BOOK COVERS  This past spring I tried a new technique for book covers. I used cold wax mixed with oil paints on gesso board.  Using a palate knife I created four abstract paintings.  They have been drying since then and finally they were ready for the books.  Here are three of them, one more to be completed.  Sunrise   Coptic bound using a kettle stitch.   There was a very large product stamp across the back of the board.  I covered it with a piece of the decorative paper I used for the
Read more

Playing: Music, Medieval Times and Shapes

Image
  I finished 2021 with finesse.  I created a book around a piece of music by Joni Mitchell.  She is one of Canada's greatest musical storytellers.  The song I chose is called, Both Sides Now.   BOTH SIDES NOW  Both Sides Now is a song about life.  Joni Mitchell takes us through life as she experienced it.  I decided to create this book using the pochoir technique.  The front and back covers have two masks on them, which is a representation of Jean Lambert Rucki's, ' Double Mask' sculpture, and paste paper.  T  Front Cover  Back Cover  I spent a lot of time creating and cutting out stencils for this book.  It was an incredibly satisfying creative process.  There are twenty-four pages of Fabriano watercolour paper.  The cover page is a combination of lettering and paper cutting.   Cover Page  Rows and rows of angel hair  And ice cream castles in the air  And feather canyons everywhere I looked at clouds that way  But now they only block the sun  They rain and snow on ever
Read more
Image
  We are on the downside of summer, soon the leaves will be painting the days with their changing colours. The air will gently move into a cooler zone and the days will get shorter and the nights longer.  However, bookmaking is a constant adventure in experimenting, playing and creating for me, regardless of the season.   SKINNY DIPPING Skinning Dipping is a tunnel book I created from left over pieces from other projects.   WORKS ON PAPER  I saw a beautiful mosaic floor in a movie I was watching and this inspired me to play with some patterns on paper.  I believe a new book will be in the making dedicated to patterns. I used water colours and ink for each piece.   TO DREAM A while ago I created a book Dream Rooms.  The follow-up to that book was a book called To Dream.  These are the doorways one enters from the awake world to the dream world.  I have donated this book to Maya Lopez Muro's archive at studio d'arte II, in Italy.  The cover has a photo of a full moon among the cl
Read more