Random Library Picks

I love my local library. TADL
Traverse Area District Library. It's a wonderful space to go hang out.
I get virtually every book I read for fun or education from them.
Why buy when you can borrow?

This past year I have created a new ritual on my visits. I go to the stacks where the art, garden, & other creative books live & choose a book at random with a spine that grabs my attention,
or a subject matter of interest. 
Here is a sampling of what I found that amazes me.

Never heard of the Campana Brothers. A design force duo from Brazil. What grabbed me was the cover. A huge book with a bright orange cover with actual embroidery through the book board.
Be still my book binding heart!

"Inspired by Brazilian street life and carnival culture, the Campana Brothers combine found everyday objects - such as scraps of wood and furry toys - with advanced technology to create a vibrant, energetic and specifically Brazilian approach to design."

Their stuff is wild wacky & very interesting.

Check out the links for a trip down their rabbit hole of design.


On to a more controlled choice.

In my struggles to create good proportions in my dolls  this would have come in handy.
 Every body part for men, women & children of varying ages is broken down.
 Just love how the older bodies have guts on them. The truth hurts.
 Graphically it's a fun book to leaf through.

Lastly my favorite of these random selections. A stunner. Seeds.

Up close (very close) views of all sorts of seeds.
Many we encounter every day others more obscure.
Mother nature is an amazing gal. The geometry & intricacy in the images is beautiful.
Lots of fodder for my natural stencil designs.

 There is a newer version as well.

Hoping to find this one at TADL too.

Thanks for joining me on an aimless walk through the stacks. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Pop Up Books #AtoZChallenge

Pop up books have been around a very long time. Some history here.

 Carol Barton taught a class in the construction of pop up components at PBI a few years back.
She brought the old Pinocchio book you see in the 2 pictures above. 

 We learned the intricacies of many of the ways you can make paper

  move & come up off the page. The flower is a students creation.

I have a copy of one of Carol's books with lots of great examples & instructions.

Pop up books are made by "paper engineers".
The link takes you to info about a woman with an amazing collection.

Bruce Foster had an exhibition in our local Dennos Museum.

He has done work for several movies and main stream publications. The castle was in "Enchanted".

  Kevin Steele's creation The Deep, his masters thesis, is spectacular. 

You can watch a video of the book being unfolded through the link.
He was featured in my F post. 

 I went to a link in the Wikipedia History for the Moveable Book Society
Kevin's book was the cover image. 

Do you find the idea of moveable books intriguing?

  

Travel Always Inspires

A recent trip to Asheville NC and the Biltmore Industries art community 

 provided some inspiration.  The message above says a lot. The link takes you to the site of

 Daniel Essig, a book artist I've admired for years. His studio in in one of the historical buildings. The history of the fabric, tailoring & wood carving that took place there in it's heyday is worth a read.

The car museum had wonderful specimens ripe for photos. 

 

 The Grove Park Inn was a masterpiece of Arts & Crafts architecture, furniture, rugs, & light fixtures.

We spent a day in Asheville in galleries, shops & eateries. In a gallery of  the now defunct Black Mountain College they had several pieces by Ruth Asawa.  I had recently learned of  her wire sculptures in an Improvised Life post & was enthralled with her work. To see them up close in person was a real treat!

I have been busy in my studio with more fabric vessels, being a vendor in a local art fair, & an attempt to stay engaged while recovering from a little foot surgery. Photos of the vessels and art fair comments to follow soon.

PBI 2015 Continued

During my final class we learned a few amazing ways to construct multi level accordion structures.
Kevin Steele is an amazing graphic designer and paper engineer. He brought his book The Deep
I encourage you to go to his site and scroll down to the video of The Deep to see it unfold.

 

             The mock ups we started with to get the sewing procedure cemented in our brains.

             Kevin made this wonderful little book for the auction that is held on the final day. 

Show & tell is one of my favorite things at PBI as there is so much inspiration and fodder for talking with other participants about their art. Every evening you can wander into other class rooms to see what they've been up to.

  I could go on & on about my time at PBI. If you care to know more please comment or send an email.

Off to Adult Summer Camp

Oh man, it's been ages since I've been here.  My goal to post more?....life happens.  Broke my wrist in March cross country skiing. Non dominant hand thank goodness. So things came to a halt for awhile. Working for the only Hand Surgeons for miles around in our area I just went to work early the next day & got myself a nice cast. We just don't bounce like we used to at the over 60 mark.

Having nicely recovered I'm off to PBI (Paper & Book Intensive) at Ox-Bow in Southern Michigan in a couple days. http://www.ox-bow.org/  Looking so forward to 10 days of uninterrupted creativity! Plus the vibe and people there are wonderful. Not to mention the food is great. 

                      In the meantime a few pics of more recent endeavors, books, travels. This years Valentines, post cards.

             A trip to Charleston South Carolina with friends. Such a cool place filled with history.
       met the most amazing young man at the library Society. His blog is fabulous. Check it out
                                                         Brien Beidler

                         A little fun book with slip case done with stencils and Akua ink. 

                                     Another with mono prints and bits of hand made paper

I'll be back with lots of thoughts on the inspiration I find at PBI & of course I'll take lots of pictures.