From the time I took my first book arts class -- at the John C. Campbell Folk School during a week's vacation more than two years ago -- I've been interested in the book as a whole, both form and content. I knew virtually nothing about artists' books at the time, and the more I learned, the more fascinating I found the concept and the books themselves.
It's too early to know how my own style will evolve. I love language too much to exclude words, so text will play a part. But what else? Who knows? I'm clearly attracted to paint and color and abstract forms. Art & Soul was a way to did my toe in this pool, in ways unrelated to book arts. The Penland workshop was a perfect next step, an opportunity to work on new book structures, but with an equal focus on creating imagery and working with paint.
Our instructor, book artist Laura Wait, has a bold, vivid style that attracted me to her work and to the class. She has a background in conservation, too, so she made it clear first thing that "books have to work!" In other words, technique matters. I knew at that point that I'd come to the right place.
2 comments:
Hi C,
Great description of Laura's work and approach. There is a book I love in regards to artist's books/journals: "Making Journals By Hand" by Jason Thompson. The author owns the Rag and Bone Bindery in Providence, RI. Not a lot of complex binding info, but great images of artists journals...inspiring imagery.
Love reading your posts: you write beautifully and so clearly!
E.
I own the book you refer to, E. It'some of my favorites. In my post-Penland daze I've been doing little but straightening up my studio and looking through my book arts books, including this one.
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