TO BE

 

Around this time last year, a call was posted for the Vilnius Artist Book Exhibition.  The theme was, "To Be". While thinking about the theme, I kept asking myself, 'what did I always want To Be?'  The answer is, I always wanted to be an artist and I made an agreement with myself that when I retired I would become an artist.  

To Be An Artist, is an artist book with a culmination of techniques I have taught myself over the years: leather work, illumination, drawing, painting, embossing, photography, and cut paper work.  I submitted the book to be considered, however, it was not accepted for the exhibition. 

 While the book was away, I created a second book, which is a lot alike and a little different from the first one.  This is the book I am displaying here. 

The cover for this book is a patent leather that behaves like a suede leather.  It has a nap to it: brush it one way and it turns light, brush it in the opposite direction and it turns dark.  

The fly leaf is red bristol paper with three circles of decorative paper.

Page one: playing with decorated typography.

The left page has two definitions: artist and inspiration.  The following page is embossed with two hibiscus flowers.  Two abstract drawn figures are painted with water colours and ink.  The text describes qualities of an artist. 

The left page is a photograph of an artist's hands.  I met her at an

artist trading card meet.  I visited her at her home in Hudson, Quebec and she showed me these unique finger-things.  She had no name for them or project for them at the time.  As she showed me how they fit her fingers, I asked her to pose for the camera.  We had a lot of fun with them.  The right page is another play with the decorated typography.  

The left page text contains the definition of different forms of rhythm. I find when I am in the 'creating zone' there is a certain rhythm to my work.  The right side of the page is a figure I have used in my bestiary books.  It was inspired by an image I found in an illuminated medieval manuscript.  The text around this image describe characteristics of an artist. 

The left page has two definitions: creativity and imagination.  The right page has cut paper work around lettering painted with copper coloured ink. 

The text on the left page is one of my thought s of what an artist must be.  The right side are two animals I included in a book I made for my friends' daughter.  

The definitions on the left page include, experience, curiosity, wonder, and question.  The text on the right page are painted with iridescent orange and 'An Artist' is written in each circle, in different directions. 

Definitions on the left page include: introspection, analysis, and critical.  The abstract drawing on the right page is a visual representation of the definitions, painted with water colours and ink. 

The definitions on the left page include: freedom, intuition, responsible.  The play with typography is surrounded with text: 2B An Artist and To Be An Artist.  The bees are painted with water colours and iridescent ink for the wings. 

Another photograph of the finger-thingy's.  The hand drawn dragon and water are painted with iridescent ink and water colours.  

The last page with a photograph.  

Book l: has small differences in it: the same leather for the cover but decorated differently.   Some pages have different colours, the abstract drawing is different and the last page is different from the original page.  I had a large moon behind the dragon done in gold leaf.  For some reason one portion of the synthetic gold leaf tarnished.  I have only seen that happen when someone with acidic hands touched it.  That was not the case here.  I remade this page and changed the image of the moon to a gold sun, coloured with gold ink.  I lined the cover with a beautiful green and black decorative paper and did not use a fly leaf.