Bookish Mary

Books, Books, Books. I find my book making has shifted into making artist books. I enjoy employing my imagination, a thought, an idea and bringing it to fruition through the use of different materials and techniques.

ENDING 2022

I responded to a call that required the artists' interpretation of a section of The Library of Babel by Jorges Luis Borges. My interpretation started out with a drawing which required a lot of custom work, which I discovered would be far beyond my financial means. Back to the drawing board and I found a beautiful glass center piece that would covey the same message. While photographing it, I clipped it with my foot and I was once again required to go back to the drawing board. New pieces in hand and the ten hexagonal books completed and filled with handwritten text. I was ready to submit.

THE UNIVERSE OF THE UNIVERSAL LIBRARY

In his story, 'The Library of Babel', Jorges Luis Borges starts by telling the reader, "The Universe (which others call the Library) is composed of an indefinite, perhaps infinite number of hexagonal galleries." He notes that, "From any hexagon one can see the floors above and below- one after another, endlessly." Further on in the story, Borges states "...The Library is a sphere whose exact center is any hexagon and whose circumference is unattainable...The Library is unlimited but periodic...I declare that the Library is endless...Through this space...there passes a spiral staircase which winds upward and downward into the remotest distance In the vestibule there is a mirror which faithfully duplicates appearances."

The Universe of the Universal Library

One of the books in the Library. There are ten hexagonal books which have incomplete text, as stated in Borges' story. The center of each book has been cut out so that, "From any hexagon one can see the floors above and below - one after another, endlessly."

The box for the two spiral staircases. The brass button in the center has Hermes on it and on the top left corner is a brass moon.

The two staircases - ascending and descending.

CELEBRATING THE START OF 2023

I started the new year with the creation of a couple of photo books:

NIGHT LIGHTS

I did some experimental photography in response to a question, "I wonder what will happen if I do this?" I took the photos at night with the camera on a tripod and used a method of counting.

Front cover

Accordion book with six photos

Two of the photos in the book

SHOOTING FROM SUNRISE TO MOON RISE

I selected a variety of photos that would represent the kind of photos I take when out for a day of shooting. This is a double accordion book which I stitched like a signature. It created an interesting way of looking through the book.

Front cover with a night light photo

sunrise

From left to right: old corduroy road at the bottom of the canal, the ladies (a group of trees that looked like ladies talking), horizon from my balcony (taken through a glass), and clouds over the horizon.

Left: Fire escape, and right: shadows, on the floor, from the water ceiling at the National Gallery of Canada.

Left: bench shadows at transit station, right: reflection on glass

From left to right: March afternoon light, balcony door taken through a glass, evening sky, sunset

Reflection of sunset on the balcony door.

TEA BOX

I buy a tea and the interior of the box is beautifully decorated. After some reflection, I took the box apart and turned it inside out.

Inside of the box turned outside

Outside of the box turned inside with four miniature books, a paper necklace and miniature note book.

Four miniature Coptic bound books.

Paper necklace

The front (and back) cover of the notebook is a combination of suminagashi marbling and paste paper designed over top.

MY DRAWING BOOK

I went through my art portfolio with the intent to clean it out and re-use what I could. After looking through the pieces I decided to put some of the work into a book which covers close to a decade of work. This is a selection of some of the pieces in the book. The drawings are done with pigment pen and water colours.

I used one of my alpaca wool and silk books for this project because the soft covers allow for the expansion of the book when the art work was included. The bird buttons were made by a lady artist in Quebec. The abstract drawings are done with pigment pens and water colours.

LOVE

I started out the year with a wall hanging called Love which includes twelve single booklets (one for each month), with quotes about love. There is a page to write a personal statement or for someone special.

Folded cover: hand designed letters and stickers

Top six booklets

Center section

Bottom six booklets

Hanging on the cupboard door

IT'S ALL CODE-X

This book was inspired by the work of another book artist's work. The book includes three codes: 1: the alphabet; 2: the universal call pilots use to identify their aircraft; and 3: Morse Code. I managed to stitch this book without a knot.

Front cover

Spine

Title Page

A sampling of the pages in the book.

Modern and archaic definitions of Codex.

STRANDS OF MEMORY

This book was inspired by a piece of art in an exhibit. Throughout our lives we meet people and some make an impact leaving us with memories of them. This book is a combination of graphite drawings on mylar and vellum paper with quotes about memory.

The front cover with a recycled map and photo of my friends daughter, Luisa and the goats. I have a lot of fond memories of this little girl.

The back cover with another recycled map and photo of a sand sculpture.

The nature of the paper allows for transparency letting the viewer see images as they overlap.

ABSTRACT WORLDS

These three accordion books are a compilation of photographs, prints and water colour paintings in the abstract. As we look around, we can see the abstract in our world, leaving us to interpret what we see.

Abstract World #3: front cover: tree

Abstract World #3: accordion: water colour

Abstract World #2: front cover: tree root

Abstract World #2: monotype prints

Abstract World #1: Convention Centre

Abstract World #1: monotype and soft ground prints

That's all for now. It has been a while since my last post. I am posting my new creations on my facebook page and on a number of facebook book groups and I forget about the blog. All caught up for now and looking forward to a year filled with lots of creativity.