Frida's Book

We talked about the diary of Frida Kahlo last week so I wanted to post just a few images contained within this beautifully rendered, intimate manuscript. While Frida's diary isn't an altered book per se, it is a mixed media account of her life, and as such, relates to the work we're doing in class. I've always been drawn to this book because I find Frida's images passionate and rich and her handwriting full of spirit and beauty. I also really like how the ink Frida used in her diary soaks through the pages so you get a reversed image of light text on the page you're viewing. (Reminds me of the Medieval palimpsests I mentioned in class as the first unofficial altered books.) I'll bring my copy of Frida's diary to class on Monday.

A New Class!

I am incredibly excited to be teaching Introduction to Altered Books at the Arts Center again. We have a bright class of eager artists positively brimming with ideas. Artists have chosen their themes, prepared their pages and are getting down to the business of making art. As it was with the last class,  being around so much creative energy has reinvigorated my own art making. Tomorrow I will spend the kids' nap time in the studio. Hopefully I'll have something new to share tomorrow evening. In the meantime, I'm posting a couple luscious pieces from two prolific mixed media artists: Sabrina Ward Harrison and Anahata Katkin. I have been in awe of SWH for years, but Anahata Katkin is new to me. I find the images from her art journals especially interesting. I added links to both of these artists' websites over there ------>. Check them out.

 

Guest Artist: Lisa Michelle Parrott

Lisa comes to altered book making with a great deal of art knowledge and skill especially in the realm of textile art. She sews into her pages in very painterly, expressive ways using line to add interest, direction, boldness and unity to an image. Lisa also possesses a very instinctive understanding of color. She creates haunting, mood-rich images that invokes artists like Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, and Anselm Kiefer. She doesn't limit herself to non-representational work, however, as you'll notice in her delightfully rendered self-portrait which nods to Warhol and Fransisco Clemente. The most remarkable aspect of Lisa's work is her process. Her ability to experiment with materials -both traditional art materials and non-traditional (you should see what she can do with corrugated cardboard or a paper towel!) - leads her to create work that is luscious, rich, luminescent and textured... and always leaves the viewers of her work wanting more.
(Click on images for enlarged views. You'll be happy you did.)

Oh My.

I found this sweet biscuit on the Interwebicons tonight and am in love. I found it here. Wonderful!

catching up

Hope in Honest Error

"There is hope in honest error, none in the icy perfections of the mere stylist."
— Charles Rennie McIntosh


When I'm experimenting with techniques, materials or ideas with which I'm not very confident, I think of the above quote. While it may not convince me that the art I'm making has any value whatsoever, it reminds me that the process I'm engaged in does. It's rather uplifting to think that my little artistic struggles connect me to a great many other artists and that this searching for beauty, truth, meaning, new ideas - whatever - in art making, is a noble pursuit. (Even if the product of this process finds its home on the studio floor.)

art redux

One aspect of altered book making that I appreciate is the fact that the final work is essentially a series. This means that the process of making an altered book involves creating a number of small art pieces in quick succession or, if you're like me, multiple works-in-progress happening at the same time. (I actually have more than one book going at a time.) If you tend toward the latter, you have the luxury of working on one page or spread and leaving it for a while to work on another piece. One benefit of this approach is that you can take your leave from a particular work for a little while and return to it later with fresh eyes. There are, of course, times when I begin a page and finish it in the same sitting. However, more often than not, I will begin a page or a two-page spread, lay down a layer or two, fiddle with it, play, experiment, and then say goodbye to it for a while. My return may take hours, days or even weeks. But when I do come back, I almost always have fresh insights and a greater degree of critical distance which helps me make better sense of what I'm trying to say with the piece. There are even times, as happened more than once this week, when I'll come back to a page that long ago I thought I had finished and add/modify/alter something about it. Strangely, I am never disappointed with the results of this process; my artwork is almost always better for it. This post contains some examples of artwork I returned to and changed up a little this week. Some from years (yes, years!) ago and some from even just a few posts ago.