Book Works

marbled book boards, Japanese lacquered box lid, porcelain angel, vintage doll arm, bone, shell,  fossil ammonite, bone buttons, shelf fungus, glass, metal, paper text

We all know there are certain objects that possess a kind of life of their own, a value beyond the merely intrinsic worth of materials. Works of art are obvious examples of a "thing" invested with the special energy of human hopes and creativity that can elevate paper and ink, steel and limestone, found object and wooden box to the realm of the numinous, to become truly "something". And in a similar soulful universe there are musical instruments and books, things I have since childhood felt to be among those objects most deserving of careful preservation and reverent handling.
There are currently so many wonderful artists creating evocative work with altered books, successfully appropriating the power that a book shaped vessel carries in human consciousness. Although I've admired and tremendously enjoyed many of these pieces, when it came time to try my hand at my own version I've always felt a slight pang at the idea of destroying a book--- regardless of its apparent lack of merit as literature, etc. Maybe I'm just a hopeless, old fashioned librarian at heart (or was in my last incarnation). Lately, though, I've been especially entranced by the beautiful gold embossed covers and marbled endpapers that exist in abundance in the used bookshops of France (but covers, I rationalized, that often garb the most mundane of ideas in sumptuous clothes...). So I purchased a couple of inexpensive lovelies thinking I would finally have a go at creating something with them---Instead they've become a part of the "decor" wherever I happen to be working but remain untouched thus far. I was finally able to begin playing with the ideas they sparked when I made the happy discovery (literally just inches ahead of the sanitation workers) of a cardboard box filled with gutted vintage covers. There was no time to be particular or grab more than a handful before it all disappeared into the roaring maw of the garbage beast, but it was enough to begin work (guilt free!).
These are untitled as yet, still a bit in process, nothing set in stone...(or perhaps hot glue ..)

fabric covered book board, metal, wood, glass, bumblebee, pine cone scales, moss, poppy pods, acorn cap, buttons, paper text, shell