Bookish Mary

  This piece was inspired by asking myself, 'how do we use our feet?'  and I looked at the different kinds of activities involving feet.  I landed on the skateboard and then expanded my thinking to how we move through space and life: the pace we move at and the baggage we carry or leave behind.  I added a blank book, called baggage,  to drag behind the skateboard, making this an interactive piece.  One can write about the baggage being carried or the baggage that has been left behind as part of one's history.  Three layers of recycled paper were added to the shoe forms and then covered with fabric.  The skate board is covered with sandpaper on the top and underneath flowers are appliqued to bright orange paper.  The wheels are recycled soft drink cans and each letter of L I F E is added to the end of the wheels.  Street photographs of skateboarders are included in the blank book called, baggage.   The skateboard with the intera...

  Hermes, in ancient Greek mythology, was an Olympian messenger, carrying messages between the mortal and divine worlds.  He was also known as a trickster, and a conductor of souls into the afterlife.   Hermes is the character I chose to create around a pair of cardboard shoe forms.  Three layers of recycled paper  in the Papier mache technique was used on the shoe forms to create Hermes's winged sandals,  which I covered with silk fabric; leather for the sandals and feathers for the wings.  Winged sandals: 6.5 x 3 x 2 inches/16.5 x 7.6 x 10.1 cm Next, I created Hermes's petasos (winged helmet).  Using recycled paper, I free-formed the helmet and painted it with acrylic paint.  Feathers, a leather visor and a brass button depicting Hermes, were added to complete the helmet.  Hermes's petasos (winged helmet): 7 x 5.75 x 4 inches/17.8 x 14.6 x 10.1 cm  Brass button with Hermes  I decorated a shoe box with acrylic paint, and ...

  Autumn is upon us and the ending of another year is just around the corner.  I started the new year (2026) with a very dry, creative spell.  Ideas and the will to create were at an all time low and then I bought a pair of shoes for the spring.  Inside the shoes were a pair of cardboard shoe forms.  As I unpacked the shoes the cardboard forms grabbed my imagination and poof! my creativity was sparked and it hasn't stopped.  At one point I had so many ideas I had to write them down.  To date 95% of the ideas have come to fruition.  What started out t as a very slow year has become a very creative, productive year.   SONOBE BALLS  I like to dabble in origami from time to time and these balls caught my eye when I saw them advertised as lamps.  I still don't know how the light has been added to them, but I certainly enjoyed making them: no glue and self-locking.  I first tested out the ball with Tyvek because it holds a fold ...

  Summer is upon us and the solstice is just a few days away.  May rains have turned June's blooms and trees full of life and colour.  As it goes, inspiration also struck when I saw a different binding being demonstrated on Instagram:  I tried it out.  After posting the video on my Facebook page, I was informed this binding is called, the Flatstyle Australian reverse piano hinge binding.   The binding is comprised of two covers held together with an accordion fold and signatures.  The signatures are affixed to each mountain fold and secured with a tab inserted into the fold.  This creates a thickness at the spine and a thinness at the fore edge, which makes this perfect for photographs.   I covered the boards with chiyogami and made the accordion out of Tyvek.  I learned that Tyvek is not the best material to use for the accordion fold because it is too soft and the book has too much movement in it.  This is the first book...

  Trees are vital to the planet and all who inhabit it.   Humans cannot live in a world without trees.  For them it means a certain death.  On the other hand, trees can survive and flourish without humans. Even in death, a tree provides life through the making of functional objects: homes, fences, bowls and so much more. Rotting, dead trees provide an environment conducive to new life and homes for the forest inhabitants, in the air and on the ground.  The objects made from the wood can be refurbished and modified throughout centuries of use.  Inspired by the novel, "The Overstory", by Richard Powers, I created this collage.  I have photographs of the life of trees through the seasons: new growth, full foliage, slumber and old age.  At the center is a weathered wooden fence still serving its purpose.  Next to it, a human skeleton; consequences of life without trees.  Initially, I left the background unpainted. The more I looked at i...

  Colours and shapes, what would we do without these things in our world.  For me, they are a great source of inspiration for my creativity.  We are surrounded by them everywhere we go; there for our eyes to see, if we choose to do so.   I was thinking about relational and abstract stained glass windows, which consist of colours and shapes.  I decided to create some windows on small pieces of paper, with water colours.  Somewhere along the way I started to channel Mondrian-like shapes and colours.  The final pieces make me smile with heartfelt joy.   What a fabulous way to spend a grey spring day.  There is always colour even in the grey, if we look for it.   Mary