Prototypes

Have been working on some prototype book structures which have been rattling around in my head for quite a while.  So glad to get them out of my brain and into the real world - even happier that my ideas actually worked so flexibly in a structural form.  Now to work on some ideas for content.

Contributions to 'An Encyclopaedia of Everything'

Over the past little while I have involved myself sporadically with making a few books for Cheryl Penn's artist book project "An Encyclopaedia of Everything".

I am currently working on another edition for the project.  This time pamphlet stitch books as part of a collaborative trade between Artist Book 3.0 members.  For this latest edition I am incorporating lino prints with the subject of refugees/boat people.

I think this will be the final call of works for the project as the exhibition is imminent and Cheryl will reach her goal of 500 (?) books by the conclusion of this latest collaboration.

The most recent book I contributed was "After All", a concertina fold book about the final silence which awaits us all.  A bit of a dreary subject, but don't we all love a bit of melodrama now and then?! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the cover before I sent it off into the never, never.

A small extract from a well known  Edgar Allan Poe poem "The Raven" weaves it's way across the folds 

(Deep into to that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before) 

along with images of gravestones, dodos, skeletons and the like - all symbols of memento mori and eternal demise.

The other books I have contributed:

You are my everything......

 and

Missing

Daisy Chain - Complete

Project complete 

(apart from making a housing in which to store/transport it).

This is the same structure as 

the Continuum book which I sent to Sheffield recently

(with a different paper cut design) .

I am now looking forward to playing around with

a slightly different construction method 

which I stumbled upon when making this one.  

It uses the same basic template but by

putting things together slightly differently

I can end up with a different looking outcome.

Show you my results fairly soon, I hope.

Latest Paper Cut Artist Book - In Progress

Latest project in progress (albeit extremely SLOW progress).

You Are My Everything

This is my finished book "You Are My Everything"

made for Cheryl Penn's exhibition

"An Encyclopaedia of Everything"

scheduled for next April in Durban, South Africa.

Thought I'd take some photos of it 

before it went off into the world by itself.

Works in Progress

I am currently working on a couple of papercut bookart projects .

The first is going to live in South Africa when it is complete as part

of Cheryl Penn's collaborative book art project and exhibition 

"An Encyclopaedia of Everything" which will be on

display at KZNSA Gallery in Durban next April.

The second item I am constructing to somewhat replace my Continuum book.

I have an embryonic idea for a local collaborative book arts exhibition

for anyone who may be interested (near or far).

Will keep you "posted" on more as it pans out :)

PS:  as I'm working away at my dining table I can hear the melodic
sound of nail guns and hammers building the framework for
my studio - YAY :) So Excited!
(Next thing I'll be painting will be walls - not artworks)

Continuing Continuum

My book Continuum, which I posted about recently, 

is now residing at Bank Street Arts

in Sheffield UK

as part of the upcoming

4th annual

Sheffield International Artist Book Prize.

Exciting to think it will get a showing or two

all the way over the side of the world.

Hope it's happy there.

Only wish I could go and visit it and see the exhibition.

Urchin

Another little concertina fold structure I've been playing around with.

This one is only quite small with a diameter

of around 130mm (5") when open.

Continuum

My latest project complete.

Had fun combining book making with paper cutting.

Had a bit of deliberation with the structure.

The final outcome is quite different to what

I first envisaged (not an unusual occurrence for me).

Quite a lot of cutting and stitching with this one.

Am quite pleased the pattern on the cover of the closed book

replicates the pattern of the pages when open.

For some reason the structure reminds me of

an old (pre-digital) b&w film reel.

I'm feeling confident the completion of this project is a 

jumping off point - not a conclusion :)

Continuum n. (pl. continua)

a continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not

perceptibly different from each other, but the extremes are quite different.

-ORIGIN C17: from L., neut. of continuous

Enjoying Solitude

Have been enjoying solitude whilst quietly immersing myself in the art of cutting paper.