Anna Mavromatis: Artists' Books

unraveling stories...

2012-01-30T19:50:00.000-08:00

Happy to have one of my latest works selected at The American Impressions 2012 printmaking exhibition and awarded a Purchase Prize from The University Galleries - William Paterson University.
Proud to have "unraveling stories" becoming part of the University’s permanent collection.

old traces...

2012-01-28T16:33:00.000-08:00

Shapes derived from symbols embedded in my personal history, memories of what these symbols represented in my childhood, a mushroom spore print marking a special paper -special because of the message scribbled in its back...-, these are the ingredients composing my "old traces" structure I assembled recently.

in small scale...

2012-01-17T19:31:00.000-08:00

and so...
I have continued folding and cutting and slashing and doodling and making ink tracing monotypes and assembling teeny-tiny works while enjoying every moment of it!

give away... conclusion!

2012-01-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

This morning the final step for my very first give away was completed!
In a "cool", bare of emotions but still very much aware of aesthetics mode..., I conducted the draw; and my tiny tiny goes to: Printed Material - please email me your address. Congratulations!
Many thanks to everyone for the kindest and most wonderful comments; I enjoyed every bit of this activity and I plan to do it again...

mini-tiny- small!

2012-01-11T17:14:00.000-08:00

Here is one more miniature structure I've just completed, all fresh and springy despite the cold front approaching... Perhaps is the feel of the just born new year that's causing me to think small and delicate, influencing my design concept at least as far as dimensions go... Anyway, being still in this delicate mini works phase, I am also reminded of the date approaching for my promised give away: next Saturday!
If you have not already done it, it's still time to comment and enter in this new year's "thank you" give away-gift; for details check out the previous post.
I sure hope you'll get it!!!

a Thank YOU...

2012-01-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

new year's give away Gift!

My lilliputian [new] book I named (what else?) "tiny"!

I don't really work in small formats, I actually tend to attempt bigger and bigger structures, but this time I felt like creating a miniature work - perhaps the first of many more to come...

Photographing tiny was fun too, trying out my brand new camera: a super wonderful gift from my son Mark!

And while in this sunny mood, and thinking of all the joy I've received from you all visiting, following and commenting here, I am going to offer one of my miniature works as a "thank you" give-away gift! Please leave a comment here, anything you like to say about this blog, blogs in general, art, paper, friendship, wishes for a creative new year... whatever! On Saturday, January 14 I will let you know who will be the recipient of one of my latest miniature structures, signed and made with love!

give and receive...

2011-12-31T10:02:00.000-08:00

the making/assembling of my cards

2011 has been a super busy year for me and a real good year, too!

on display: cards made by my {artists} friends.

Thank you Suzan Kraus, Sara Bowen, Ronnie Ayliffe!

I feel so fortunate to have had reasons to get on the roll for all sorts of tasks, tasting and celebrating some great highlights in my family's growth and my work's development and recognition.

In responding to a multitude of life's demands, I had to travel to well known and also to new places that fascinated and inspired me, I got to know and learn new ways, and most importantly I met new friends and reconnected with people I had lost touch and now I am thrilled to have found again.

Blogging introduced me to kindred spirits in far lands, art and creativity made the distances disappear and precious friendships have been formed that I hope will grow further in the year ahead.

Just before 2011 ends I want to thank all fellow bloggers, artists, followers, friends for the kind comments, the friendship and inspiration you are giving me and to wish good health, joyful times, friendship and love in the new year about to begin. I hope 2012 turns out to be a great good year for everyone!

calls for...

2011-12-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

my edition for Book Art Object 3

For friends who visit this blog often is probably old news that I participate in art shows around the world. This happens through different paths: sometimes I am invited to submit work to special shows, other times I respond to calls I find exciting, challenging, or even just simply fun!
One of the venues I became involved last year is Book Art Object, an Artists' Books collective whose members respond to specific briefs, create works in small editions, share them among the members of the group, and also have their works exhibited in special shows.
Now Book Art Object has a call for new participants, a great opportunity for book artists to join in this great group based in Australia, and with members from USA, UK, and soon (I think) from around the whole wide world!

An other call which recently came to my attention is Pulp Paper Pages, an exhibition exploring contemporary paper and book arts; it is a joint project from the Alberta Craft Council and the Calgary and Alberta North chapters of the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Arts Guild. Pulp Paper Pages is addressed to Canadian artists with some exemptions. If you are interested to participate all necessary information can be found/downloaded here.

Have fun visiting both Book Art Object and Pulp Paper Pages sites and good luck on all your creative projects!

...unintentional works!

2011-12-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

My only intention was to relax! And relax I did, in the company of a few strips of paper during a much needed break. The following day I noticed these tell tale signs of the previous day's escape, and I continued where I left...

some of my reasons...

2011-11-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

for thanksgiving!

Mushrooms growing wild by the fence, collected and placed on some freshly prepared orizomegami papers.
So much beauty, so much to be inspired, so much to be thankful for...

minimalism...

2011-11-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

as expressed in this paper structure, achieved with a minimum of materials, tools, gestures, time...

2011-10-27T21:30:00.000-07:00

on paper, with paper, from paper...

Some of these objects were made intentionally, some for experimentation, some out of boredom and some in a desperate attempt to make the long hours on a transcontinental flight go by faster.
The last ones, the ones I did on the plane were made from papers at hand: pages from newspapers and magazines, cropped by creasing and tearing (for obvious reasons - no scissors available on the plane ...)
I am happy to say that as by magic, the hours of flying over the Atlantic flew by faster than ever before!

Moral of the story: folding paper on a plane softens the mental and physical misery and speeds up the clock's ticking by an incredible lot...

as seen...

2011-10-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

as felt in hard times Athens...

For the last few weeks I have been in Athens, visiting the city where I was born, where I grew up, where in my dreams I still call my hometown... In these incredibly tense times for my homeland, the city is reflecting the anger, the despair of people; through graffiti expressions and other manifestations of street art, the echo of desperate voices is evident, is loud, is heart wrenching.

ink + water + paper...

2011-10-07T00:27:00.000-07:00

+ having fun with my camera!

Sometimes the "high" of creating [painting, folding, dipping, pressing, structuring, etc.] is extended - sometimes even surpassed - during photo shooting and photo editing time!

These images are examples and proof of this type of "high"..............

summer remains...

2011-09-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

Pressed leaves, folded paper, reminders of the just ended summer...

mounts and valleys...

2011-09-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

...valleys and mounts of the paper kind!

Once again I am showing a "structure" I am proud of, especially because it happened on a lazy kind of afternoon, made/composed/executed with papers I had treated, stained, painted, prepared and then totally forgotten!

With those papers discovered again and pulled from "the pile", I formed what I ended up calling: "secrets told in code"; and here they are shaped in their new form, their brand new existence!

art in Philadelphia!

2011-09-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

More than a year ago one of my works was selected for Philadelphia Center for the Book's Bodies of Text performance series*. Last weekend in the final installment, the performance of "in the wings, a study" based on my work was presented and I was there!

In the University area of West Philadelphia, in a park with no stage, Eleanor Goudie-Averill and Beau Hancock carried their dance dialogue on both sides of four transparent panels by Nicole Donnely, in the mesmerizing music played by Chris Farrell. Surrounded by the sounds and vibes of the neighborhood, they performed their sensitive interpretation of what they saw in my work; at the edge of the Park, in front of an audience that kept growing and growing, they delivered their sensitive and lyrical interpretation -a most precious gift of art to everyone fortunate enough to be there...
Following the performance the choreographer and I discussed our views on the work, the dance, the meaning of this collaboration and members of the audience had the opportunity to see my work, to hold it and find out more on the magic of creating with paper, with colors, with music and movement, the multitude of ways artists interpret and narrate stories from the heart...

*site specific collaborative dance performances tied to the book and its interdisciplinary interpretations.

marked and folded...

2011-08-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

reversible (double face) paper forms

Wherever there is a surface in my studio, a fast growing pile of papers spruces up! Painted papers, treated in some way papers, ghost prints, not so ghostly prints, scribbled sheets with notes making sense at the time written and later looking so like coded secret messages... These piles of papers can easily be trashed, or saying it in a softer way "discarded". But I tend to develop certain close relationships with either a whole specific pile or just with some sheets buried there, and I know that some day they will be what it's absolutely needed to complete some future work... So there! I've just confessed this vice of mine, and now you most probably imagine me living/working surrounded by walls made of piles of papers, just like those secluded persons long forgotten...

It's not so; this afternoon a few long discarded strips of 1st grade printmaking paper with brushed ink experimentations done months ago, were pulled from the pile and ended up becoming the multi shaped form in these photographs! And the pile it came from... is still there, but slightly shorter...

stained paper play!

2011-08-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

From the pile of my papers already stained-painted-folded and leftover from past projects...

2011-07-29T18:45:00.000-07:00

Wednesday evening I made a presentation on my work at the Center for Book Arts in New York.
First of all I have to say how happy I am to have "altered neighborhood story II" juried into The [Un]framed Photograph show, how perfectly awesome to be in New York and participate in this wonderful event at the center, how terrific to be among amazing artists and seeing their work in real life...
Presently the Center is going through some serious renovation work and it's truly remarkable how they managed to have two shows going on at the same time and also to host an Artists' Talk that night. I am humbled by this experience and all elements associated with it. Many thanks to Alex Campos (Executive Director), Sarah Nicholls (Program Manager) for the superb communication, technical assistance and gracious hosting despite the construction work going on right there.

works by Tricia Treacy, Aileen Bassis, Paul Clay, Heidi Neilson

paper, inks, folds... thoughts!

2011-07-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

Often my work seems to respond to what I need and want right at the spot! Or is it that I create my work, subconsiously responding to my thoughts at that time or perhaps guided by the energy of my state of being, totally unaware at the time of what my palette, my applying gestures, my motives are all about...
Here is one of my newer structures appearing almost by magic; it was completed without realizing it; maybe that's what being in a state of trance really is...

urban stories...

2011-07-07T11:04:00.000-07:00

opened and closed!

This group of structures is part of a body of work based on photographs I took of a certain Brooklyn neighborhood, and "colored" by the reflections and moods I experienced during the time I spent there last winter.

Archival pigmented inks, acrylics, paste

sticks, no stones...

2011-06-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

and so much more!

What do you do when the stack of monotypes and paste papers grows out of control?
What do you do when a pack of gloriously slick wooden chopsticks comes into the picture and suddenly the content appears as if it's an extension of the colour scheme and "mood" of the pile of previously prepared papers?
I'll tell you what I did! I frantically looked for the right shade of linen cord, grabbed some sheets of Rives paper, opened my bookbinding-sewing box and got to work! I trimmed and folded the papers, formed the signatures, then wrapped each one with a different but totally color coordinated monotype, stacked them, prepared the holes and finally got to stitching while incorporating at the same time the wooden chopsticks.
It just happened that on some papers I had oil transfer drawings together with my usual greek letters and words; understandably I used the paper where the word "telos" (=end in greek) was drawn as the back cover (visible in the picture on top).

more views...

2011-06-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

of my works on show at Bosque Gallery

on show!

2011-06-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Today, from somewhere on cloud nine... I am writing this post!

The reason I've been transferred to cloud nine's heights is because my works' installation is completed, because I love what I see, and because the show where a whole body of my works is exhibited, is "on"!
Today "New Forms in Printmaking is opening its doors, with the official opening reception on June 15. The show being at a College campus has the advantage of being seen by young art students freely, without the intimidating aura of a commercial gallery; so I am even more thrilled to have my works shown at Bosque Gallery, in an educational facility, with perhaps the possibility of having some bright artists to be, inspired/drawn to Printmaking and the genre of Artists' Books.

high...

2011-05-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

...work moments!

It has been a very busy time. Once again I am experiencing first hand the proof to the old saying: If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. Well, the busy person is me(!!!) and for sure I have been doing EVErythING I've set up to do and then some! Like asking myself to do even more, and then more and then some more of this and that because I have to, because I need to, because I want to, and because... I LOVE doing it!

These are "views" of my worktable over the last few days; sneak peeks at different stages of assembling my latest structures to be included at my art exhibit next month!

sorting out...

2011-05-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

In the complete absence of any available surfaces, I had to move to the floor! Now large floor areas are covered with monotypes, sorted out in groups -"mood" being a definite criterion...-, waiting for the next step; and the wonderful smell of still fresh ink is everywhere!

I am happy!!!

so new...

2011-04-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

...some are still drying on the rack!

My newest monotypes incorporating collages from "yesterday's news" series.

These two are among a group of works showing at G Gallery in Houston, Texas.

Folding folds...

2011-04-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

and then some more...

and more.................................................................................................................................................

and more folding and pleating...............................................................................................................

pleating and folding, folding and pleating ..................................................... pleats and folds on paper!

Today's schedule

Morning: fold more of the chinese brush sheets I painted last Monday

Noon: quick lunch and return to more folding...

Afternoon: coffee break followed by more pleating, folding, etc.

Evening: if my hands are still functioning... an extended session of more pleating...

Night: sleeping and dreaming of folding and pleating, pleating and folding paper!

thoughts and emotions..

2011-04-09T10:14:00.000-07:00

... reflecting onto paper

The natural disaster and its aftermath in Japan has been constantly in my mind.
My emotions in the company of deeply rooted traditions and customs from my homeland have been influencing my thoughts and are creeping more and more into my work without consciously recognizing it until later...

partial views...

2011-03-25T19:27:00.000-07:00

from the Altered Neighborhoods series

Here is one more "book" from my "altered neighborhood" series. The "story" is based on thoughts and emotions generated during my visits in New York. While walking through the streets of a neighborhood in Brooklyn, I imagined life in those same streets at different times (a century or two ago) by previous generations and the common threads of life with the present owners who live and flourish while inhabiting those same homes.

blue...

2011-03-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

from the "altered neighborhoods" series

When I completed this "book", I realized that although inspired and developed for my New York "altered neighborhood" series, there is a definite Japanese look (mood?) that transpires...
If this is the case, then it's one more instance that our psychological state (our thoughts, our concerns) come to surface in our work even when we are totally unaware...
What do you think?

The last few days the news from Japan have completely permeated my world; my thoughts are constantly there and wish and pray for a recovery in all fronts with the least scars possible.
To Ai-chan's loving family I send all my best wishes, thoughts and love.

images + thoughts + emotions...

2011-03-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

Mind games played during time spent in a certain New York neighborhood

and new works inspired by them!

During the few weeks spent in New York last month, among other things I took some long walks and a whole lot of photographs of the urban landscape surrounding me. Everything felt so new, and although the centuries old buildings show very well their age (in some instances way too well), yet with the ever changing nature of the winter light their facades surprised me with a fresh crisp appearance, as if the lowering of temperatures was having a rejuvenating effect on them!

As the days went by, I felt being drawn more and more to the character and details of certain streets, concentrating on the facades of these old majestic buildings and realizing that I was developing a habit of making up stories played in these surroundings over the course of the last 200 years. As if in a time-lapse movie I was seeing the houses being built, the houses getting old, their owners changing, new generations coming, the renewal - birth, life - death, winters- springs, the endless cycles of countless lives rolling and playing on the stage of this old for some/new for others neighborhood.

Back in the studio I let the strong impressions and feelings generated during the past month becoming voices dictating me this new series of works, based on the echo of stories played in a city's very old and very resilient residential neighborhood.

altered...

2011-02-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

neighborhoods

The last few weeks I've spent them in New York, away from the studio but never far from my MacBook... With camera in hand I explored neighborhoods under all sorts of weather conditions, in the winter light and in the majestic state of fresh fallen snow; later I reworked the images, transforming them into digital collages adding text, fragments of monotypes, and a definite dose of my present emotions and thoughts...

This new work (for the time being) I call: "altered neighborhoods"...

with yesterday's news...

2011-02-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

... today's collages

I must admit the title is a bit misleading; these works are results of much more than yesterday's news! Actually they are an amalgam of all sorts of stuff from many "yesterdays". There are creased papers, pressed leaves, monotypes, photographs and all kinds of patterns -details from prints of some less than perfect sessions at the studio. And then the words that almost by a steady whisper suggest the placement, the direcion the actual mood of the work.

These are samples from a virtual pile of collages and of possible beginnings of future ones...

east and west...

2011-02-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a new structure from a body of work I am developing, where printmaking practices from distant worlds are brought together in the same composition: Japanese paper stained through the orizomegami technique and Rives BFK paper painted in a monotype printmaking application where inks have been separated and markings have been formed with a free hand spontaneous gesturing movement.

These materials carrying two diverse printmaking/painting processes, are brought in close proximity, in a "marriage" of two distinctivelly different entities and yet in what I see as a very peaceful and harmonious union.
(oops! I meant composition...)

paper games!

2011-02-03T17:26:00.000-08:00

playing with paper, passing time, concentrating on the grain, forgetting what and why, keep folding, pleating, the worktable's surface becomes a fantasy valley, the light brighter, the shadow stronger, and the imagination flying hight to unknown territories...
I still don't know why/what for, but I do love the result so far...

from scraps...

2011-01-21T12:10:00.000-08:00

so many scraps, dried grasses, preserved "stuff" from the garden, notes, photos, all miniature reminders of grand times from the past...

and the perfect day with a mood to match; allowing the imagination to ride high while thinking of special times still to come...

and then the urge to put all this on paper, in haste, before the magic disappears...

the many scraps, the dried grasses, the preserved insects found in the garden, the torn old photos cracked and stained and the joy to collage them all together... that's what my day off produced!

unexpected beginnings...

2011-01-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

It often happens, while I am photographing one of my works, to start "seeing" all sorts of worlds beyond the subject, forgetting the initial scope of the session and through the camera begin to explore a new "story"...
So, I keep shooting, changing the angle, bending, reaching, climbing on my two step, following this new way of experiencing my subject while thanking my good luck for discovering a new beginning at the end of a project.
... inspired while photographing the completed edition of a book structure I created for the BookArtObject collective.

from the heart...

2011-01-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

"like a prayer": mixed media triptych, 10 x 10 / open 20 x 10; the latest in the Traveling Icons series

The traveling icon format has once again appeared in my creative space; two of my works from this series have recently been acquired and now belong to a private collector and to an art foundation. Their acquisition was a reminder of something I've learned long ago: when a work is a true expression of the artist's feelings/thoughts, it reaches the viewer in a direct way, evoking a reaction equally strong to the artist's intention.

When I look at work just completed and feel totally unaware of time spent creating it and of a concious analytical thought involved in its process, most of the times this work tends to enter the category of art expression I call: generated from the heart!

Traveling Icons is a body of work resulting from an ongoing internal dialogue I have with persons long gone but still present in my mind; it represents a segment of some very personal “conversations”. The triptych format is borrowed from the old religious traveling icons whose appearance, meaning and purpose has influenced me since childhood.

Bonefolder's Bind-O-Rama 2010

2011-01-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

It happened on the first day of the new year and I am ecstatic: this morning I discovered that the books created in response to Bonefolder's BIND-O-RAMA 2010 call were published, with my interpretation included! To find out more on the project and the 21 bookbinders/artists' interpretation go to the article on line here. It was great reading the interviews comprising the content of Pamela Leutz's The Thread That Binds, being inspired by the individual stories and finally going through the thought process leading to my design and execution of binding the book's loose signatures. Bind-O-Rama 2010 will be included on the next issue of the Bonefolder, real soon!

my favorite things...

2010-12-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

on display!

I see bookshelves as one more area where the "collage" approach can be rather meaningful...

So while rearranging stuff around my home for the holidays, I couldn't resist adding a hodgepodge of objects representing not only christmas ornaments from the past, objects collected during travels, photographs, etc., but also favorite books and a few of my artists' books as well!

I ended up using a similar approach on the images, including a segment detail from one of the works on the shelf.

to all my friends...

2010-12-25T09:12:00.000-08:00

best wishes for a healthy, creative and joyful season!

Happy Holidays!

Special Choice: encore!

2010-12-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Special Choice Book Arts Part I & II

If you are in the New York area and interested in artists' books, here is a must:
Special Choice Book Arts Part 1 & 2
December 4, 2010 - January 9, 2011
Curated by Yuko Nii, Founder/Director of the WAH Center
Shown at the amazing main gallery of the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, this is an excellent show, beautifully presented, with the most amazing examples of book arts. I am truly proud to have two of my artists books shown here!
On the above photographs I tried to include the new works that have been added to the original Special Choice of the Tri-Fold: New Perspectives on Book Arts I wrote about on a previous post.
A truly breathtaking display of talent, inspiration, craftsmanship from both participant artists and curator!
I was sad I missed the opening, but viewing the show a week later with no crowds turned out to be truly special. A special thanks to the newly appointed gallery assistant for welcoming us so warmly!
Some of the works pictured here by:
Jeffrey Allen Price, Jeanine Satin, Long-Bin Chen, Gulsen Calik, Irwin Susskind, Jean Fitzgerald, Yasuyo Tanaka, Anna Mavromatis

turning point...

2010-12-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

A turning point in our lives is usually initiated by a challenging, dramatic event; sometimes we recognize the power of that "event" only when it has been sealed in our conscience, its effect subtly established and the memory of its occurrence beginning to blur.
"From now on" is one of my most recent works; it presents a visual narrative of an important personal change, its wavy structure holding parts of the story that gave me a precious turning point... The drama, emotions, love, sorrow and promise are told through gestures, marks, shapes, symbols and images incorporated into mixed media; monotypes and digital images are then attached on cylindrical segments and finally joined together by rows of multi color waxed linen stitching. The anniversary of what I believe was the reason for a turning point in my life is tomorrow: two years from my mother's passing.

my "views"...

2010-11-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

from a weekend at the Texas hill country!

Pictures do speak 1,000 words, but sometimes the time captured it's so charged with emotions, that I feel a certain amount of editing and a little bit of after hours' touch ups are needed in intensifying the sentimental content.

These "collages" are composed by photographs taken during a visit at

my dear friends Weihong and Paul ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

a good day's work...

2010-11-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

... at the printmaking studio

shown details from two of three works, 22 x 32", monotypes - pigment inks on Rives BFK

window into autumn views...

2010-10-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

inspired from autumn scenes, as I remember them from long ago.

Once again these prints are accomplished at the end of a long creative investigation.
They are an amalgam of many techniques, applied at different instances, under different "moods".
While immersed in this "theme" I took different paths seeking solutions through different techniques; sometimes this was achieved through complete awareness, other times subconsciously.
The conclusion was reached through the use of digital technology.

a (very) old fashioned...

2010-10-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

paper decorating technique

In the past the art of paste was practiced in the bookbinding industry, mainly to produce patterned papers for use as endpapers in books! Now days there is a revival of all types of old fashioned paper decorating/painting techniques and I am thrilled!
I love working on old tried methods, I love researching them, trying ancient paste recipes and when I get in the mood... well, experimenting by devising my very own! Of course as the saying goes: nothing new under the sun, so most of the time when I am sure I am forming a very "new" twist to the old tried paste recipe, it turns out it has been used before!
Here is my latest batch of autumn inspired paste papers, result of a day's session producing them, photographed in the company of some mineral formations, my Arabian desert roses, part of my stone collection.

"sampler": mixed media collage, example of the most recent paste papers' use in my work
12 x 12", various papers, mount on canvas

digital collages...

2010-10-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

narrating a seasons' change

Periodically, as an exercise (or should I say reminder that there is always more to explore in something previously considered "done"), I revisit past works and with a new approach and attitude I see them as a source to draw from and develop something new!

Here is one more example of work resulting from bringing together fragments of cyanotype/photograms done this past summer and "marrying" them with details from mixed media/monotypes.

The resulting "collages" were developed in Photoshop while listening to Leonard Cohen songs...

cyanotype/photogram, bleached and toned: one of the "sources" for the above digital collages

reporting on...

2010-10-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

Tri-Fold: New Perspectives on Book Arts

Tuesday evening was the opening of Tri-Fold: New Perspectives on Book Art, the Artists' Books exhibit I am so happy to be part of and so fortunate to happen to be in New York and able to attend. My two books on show are among some incredibly wonderful structures, by some truly talented and inspired artists. When it comes to art, I believe words are not necessary... Instead here are some of the photos I took of the books on display and also a glimpse of the actual gallery housing them in such grand style.
The show will be on until November 27; if you are in New York and interested in viewing a great show on Artists' Books in a bursting buzzing arty energy neighborhood, then you MUST get to Williamsburg and to the WAH: you will love it!
in the photos works by: Carolyn Thompson, Joseph Lappie, Julie Dodd, Silvia Japkin, Valerie Hird, Seth Apter, Anna Mavromatis
I apologize for not having all the artists' names whose works are shown here.

showing and...

2010-10-10T09:47:00.000-07:00

... a bit of bragging?!?!?!

SAO Select, Tradition Bank, Houston, Texas - September 2010

Photo Book Works

international exhibition of artists’ books incorporating photography as a primary element.

Juried by Mia Semingson, in view at the Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO through October 30

and coming up in Williamsburg-Brooklyn, NY:
Tri-Fold: New Perspectives on Book Arts
and what a GREAT coincidence! This is happening while I am visiting New York to meet and spend time with my first and very beautiful grand baby! The other day while delivering my selected books for the show, I met with the wonderful art director/founder Yuko Nii and had a glimpse of the other participants' works; I am truly proud to be among such amazing group of artists!
I will be posting more on this after the opening...

when a drying rack...

2010-10-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

takes gargantuan proportions...

Drying racks are not among my favorites "things"; I don't consider them as the center of a universe nor an integral part of my art making landscape, unless of course we are talking about THIS drying rack!

These pictures were taken at the end of a 7 hour continuous work day; the prints produced are drying on several trays, my hands are stained with ink, I almost feel drunk from the experience AND the results, the work area is still waiting to be cleaned and I have this urge to record THE moment! My iphone complies, and this end of a day at the studio that just happened to be all mine, all quiet and still filled with the day's art producing energy is recorded for... posterity!

rapid gestures in ink!

2010-09-24T22:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes while working in the printmaking studio, I get to a state where all structured plans for work fade away, the sense of time disappears, and I lose myself into something beyond any specific mental or physical working mode... Suddenly I realize the closing time is right NOW, the work I've produced is drying occupying an incredibly high number of racks, I need to clean up because the whole building is shutting down, and I still feel ready to go for at least a few more hours!

The above images show details of works done in the kind of state I've just described. They "speak" of the unique multifaceted experience as an artist I have the fortune to call: work!
monotypes on Rives BFK, VanSon rubber based inks, charbonnel etching inks

in so many ways...

2010-09-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

in so many colours!

The time I have dedicated into cyanotype printmaking the past few months, has resulted into a pile of blue prints reaching embarrassing to admit volume... I had to do something about it, and here is one of the most successful results: a dos-à- dos concertina solution, holding a number of prints developed on several types of paper and gone through a variety of colour altering methods and experiments.

The images represent snippets from collections of my favorite things, some true to reality, some transformed following my own imaginary narrative, culminating with a digital portrait imprint of my Christiana superimposed on the toned cyanoprint of the same photograph.
title: recollections in the sun
dimensions: 10 x 10 x .5" extending to 60"
materials: variety of printmaking papers, PVA, cotton thread
mood: ecstatic!

poetry in folds...

2010-09-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

The three books in their folds contain verses written by two of poetry's greats: Odysseus Elytis and Yiannis Ritsos.

I could have called this post "final destination" (as an obvious continuation of the previous post), but as I have learned through my art practice, nothing can be called "final"!
So for the time being... that particular leaf's wonderings have come to a certain "rest station"!

the journey of a leaf...

2010-08-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

to immortality!

above: destiny of a print

below: stations in the life (or should I say after life... ) of a leaf

I used the pressed leaf for a cyanotype and the cyanotype for the basis of a series of digital prints. One of the prints found its purpose in the binding of the above "book" containing a poem by Yannis Ritsos.

digital patterns

2010-08-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

It all started from my collection of pressed leaves; then this summer I got obsessed with the infinite possibilities of printmaking in the sun, making cyanotype prints and photograms and getting bitten by clouds of mosquitoes... (they love me!)
The following images show the results from some fun time I had indoors, in my usual intense concentration and with a little help from photoshop! Leaf patterns immersed in the light of summers past and the mood generated from their memories...

and now...

2010-08-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

...green!

"a summer's friend"

I love animals! As long as I can remember, I was drawn to “creatures” large and small… I have had dogs and cats but I never considered having a toad as a quasi pet!

And yet it happened sometime last summer when my encounter with one resulted into a daily morning meeting routine involving tender moments of definite interaction with photography sessions of the greenest kind!

And now all this is narrated in my latest book, my way to show and convince some that my “relationship” with this special friend really happened!

I chose the flag structure because it translates best the quality of the movement and the jumpy personality of my friend. Needless to say I enjoyed designing and constructing this book as much as photographing the subject.

if not blue...

2010-08-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

how about brown!

It's getting to be an obsession! Actually someone I trust, love and admire -a true mentor to me- once speaking on the subject of obsession she pointed out to me! Then she said that I have the right/necessary amount to produce the kind, amount, type, quality(?) of work I do, not the amount requiring medical intervention...!

I am not exactly sure of the role of obsession in my case, but if getting deeper and deeper into a process, wanting to learn more and more, experimenting non stop while watching the weather predictions and praying for sun shine have anything to do with that.... well then yes! I am totally obsessed with cyanotype, or at least with trying tiny insecure child steps into the process and some of its variations...

Here are some samples of the prussian blue becoming yellow, brown and OMG the very dramatic chocolate black which I LOVE!!!

in the SUNlight

2010-08-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

blueprints of things I love

My newest book: a selection of cyanotype prints presenting some of the things I collect (old lace, pressed flowers, grasses from my garden) and some of the things I find, photograph and eventually transform into imagery through digital and other processes...

Title: in the SUNlight

size: 5.4 x 8"

summer notes...

2010-07-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

in blue!

One more in a series of Art Journals I completed this past month.

For this one too I used "ghost" prints, cyanotype botanical photograms, exposed hinge stitching, hand torn Rives BFK and as always a lot of attention to detail. To me the colors of this book scream summer! The most suitable use would be notes and sketches from arty days by the sea...

hot summer prints...

2010-07-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

details...

exposed!

2010-07-18T09:34:00.000-07:00

Exposed hinge stitching, ghost prints for covers, hand torn paper signatures, waxed linen cord, and a good excuse to use/show some of my new cyanotype photograms!

This art journal was made for a very good friend and fellow artist; I know it will be filled with the most wonderful drawings and thoughts...

a Japanese album!

2010-07-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

When I was learning certain book bindings, I had no idea how perfect this knowledge one day would be for certain very important and very personal projects; like the photo album for Mark's and Ai's traditional Shinto wedding ceremony in Tokyo. I just completed this Japanese stub binding structure that very appropriately holds the fairy tale images of a very special and very beautiful event!

The above images show stages of this book's making: scoring pages, pasting the covers, stitching/binding with ribbon. Below: book ready to be assembled; holes have been drilled, hidden hindging holes filled and pounded, work table, floor, surrounding area is a mess, my hands hurt but... Oh! I am so happy!

unfolded!

2010-07-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

For someone who loves paper this book is the ultimate possession: "unfolded" shows how artists, designers, architects and material scientists approach paper, how it is transformed in their hands, and at the same time how paper use is evolving through incredible applications in useful, and not so useful areas or objects.

I have found this book a source of immense joy and inspiration.

I even play a game with it: I flip a random page and then I look around me and see if I have something that I either made, have or I am in process of structuring; I then place it near the page, (on top or by the side ) and marvel at how it becomes an element of style, a complimentary companion deserving to be photographed! Some of these photos are just that: flexagons, paper models, structures I am experimenting with, becoming harmonious companions to my treasure book and in synch with my work table's landscape! Every now and then I do question: am I too old to play? But not tonight! Tonight I feel this game is pretty grown-up, that's why I am sharing it here.

Goodnight!

The book I am talking about: "Unfolded: Paper in Design, Art, Architecture and Industry" by Petra Schmidt and Nicola Stattmann

store fronts...

2010-07-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

in Tokyo when the stores are closed!

blue as in cyanotype

2010-06-22T20:52:00.001-07:00

For two days now I've been experimenting with cyanotype.
A couple of weeks ago I took a workshop on this process, I started reading everything I could find on the subject, ordered the chemicals and here I am now smiling on some of the resulting prints.
The main and most important ingredient for this type of art print is the sun! A cloudless sky offers the optimum condition, while trying to move fast in between clouds can be very challenging to one's mental well being and the results are mostly questionable...
So yesterday morning I started practicing and after a few tries with rather OK results, I became ambitious and at the same time addicted to the high a certain blue tone and a certain level of print quality gives... As of the sky, I had all kinds which really gave me various ways to practice calmness and at the same time exercise the level of patience sometimes I lack. I printed from transparencies I had previously prepared for this, and then I printed by placing actual objects on the paper. The above two prints are photograms; I placed the actual leaves on the paper, covered/secured with glass and after having them exposed in the sun, uncovered/removed the leaves, rinsed the prints in clear water, dipped them in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water, rinsed again, dried them on a rack and here they are now gloriously blue and beautiful! The single leaf is my very favorite one; somehow I succeeded in having details of the actual leaf structure visible and I am so thrilled!
I hope for a cloudless sky tomorrow...

Linhas Iluminadas- Illuminated Lines

2010-06-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

visiting an exhibit and immersing into the joy of art creation and friendship!

Visiting museums, checking out galleries, going to art show openings it is always a thrill and it becomes even more so when the artist is someone I know, a friend. That's the case of the show I went to last night: Linhas Iluminadas.
In a rather new and quite beautiful space, the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts, Rosane Volchan O'Conor showed her incredible talent, craftmanship, sensibility and artistry through a selection of her amazing monoprints, culminating with the installation: Linhas Iluminadas.
Rosane's ecology awareness, knowledge, quest and contributions towards its preservation was evident and inspiring; her philosophy and beliefs very much present in the way she is telling her stories by illustrating different "paths" with strength and beauty. Truly a wonderful show!

Linhas Iluminadas is on until August 8, 2010 - Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts

folded paper forms...

2010-06-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

Influenced by the charm of origami items given to me while in Japan, I decided upon my return (and while still in my jet lag state), to spend sometime studying, researching and experimenting with folding paper. I decided to stay away from the obvious japanese origami papers, and I used papers leftover from past projects and also from the recycle bin. The forms shown here are made by folding square shaped papers, and then joining them by inserting the folded edges of one into the other's. Depending on the number of modules joined, the resulting forms may also rotate. In case you wish to try this, I hope the photograph below showing the different stages of the folded square will help. You may also find diagrams for some of the above forms here.

found in a Kyoto antique book store

2010-06-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

I have designed and made several albums using the various stitches of the Japanese Stub binding method; it is a simple and rather elegant way to create a book and by choosing from the variety of the traditional stitch patterns and the myriad of yarns, ribbons, threads available, the statement regarding the contents of the "book", its style and purpose becomes very clear. Being so familiar with this binding I would have never guessed the excitement I felt when a few days ago, while walking in the streets of Kyoto I came face to face with a number of old books bound this way and waiting for their next owner! There was no way I could resist the sight and ended up touching, opening, closing, admiring, almost forgetting everything else over the striking and at the same time humble presence of these books. I am so glad I left the shop carrying one of them and having it now right here with me!

found posted in streets around Japan...

2010-06-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

found in Tokyo!

2010-05-25T01:20:00.000-07:00

I am visiting Japan and I am in total bliss every time I see promotional material spread on tables, displayed on stands available for passers by to take. It's so difficult to resist such dream come true stuff! I am collecting them and stacking them and the piles are becoming taller and heavier and my mood lighter and happier! For the last week or so I have been collecting all sorts of ephemera, printed on wonderful papers and promoting stuff that most of the time I have no clue what is all about! What I know for sure is that I will soon be using them for a series of paper structures inspired from this special visit to Japan.

on exhibit!

2010-05-21T03:15:00.000-07:00

in Houston, Texas - New Haven, Connecticut - Athens, Greece

Book show + book arts + Hedi Kyle = happiness!

2010-05-19T02:49:00.000-07:00

Connecticut is beautiful this time of the year and it seamed even more so last Friday afternoon during the opening of the exhibit Inventive Structures: Books beyond the codex.
"Apparitions" one of my artists' books was included in the show and the fact that the exhibit was juried by Hedi Kyle made this inclusion so much more special!

Hedi Kyle has been a great inspiration to me as to so many other artists, and meeting her, talking with her and having my work being selected by her is and will be one of the greatest highlights!
Also an other treat was meeting Paulette Rosen and feeling so much connected!

Well, I loved visiting New Haven, the Arts Center and meeting with other artists and some truly special people involved with the arts and the Gallery. I very much hope to visit CAW (and exhibit there) again some time in the near future.

run out of paper?

2010-05-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

re·cy·cle
1. To put or pass through a cycle again, as for further treatment.

2. To start a different cycle in.

a. To extract useful materials from (garbage or waste).

b. To extract and reuse (useful substances found in waste).

a. To use again, especially to reprocess: recycle aluminum cans; recycle old jokes.

b. To recondition and adapt to a new use or function: recycling old warehouses as condominiums.

re·cycla·ble adj. & n.

re·cycler n.

Well, I did just that! Scavenged into the recycle bin, refrained from trashing used hemp string, etc. and here it is: "waste revival"! A Hedi Kyle inspired blizzard fold book with nesting newsprint lined magazine pages, sewn and pleated for achieving the desired fullness and stiffness effect! A box constructed from newsprint was made to hold the book. I got so involved and enamored with this project, I kept experimenting with different box structures, used a stack of almost trashed papers and ended up with a whole lot of boxes I love!

floats, folds and then...

2010-04-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

"moments" from different stages in the process of one of my book structures coming to being...

creating the floating ink circles on the water's surface

suminagashi marbled papers folded and ready to be inserted into the concertina folds

........................close-up of the finalized structure

...................................................."motion traces"

traveling icons...

2010-04-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

I have been working developing a body of work with images resulting from an ongoing internal dialogue I have with certain figures long gone but still very present in my mind. Inspired/influenced by the old "practice" of traveling icons, I sometimes use a similar format in presenting segments of these very personal "conversations" like the triptych above:

"thoughts"

closed: 25.5 x 25 cm. - opened: 25.5 x 51 cm.

Rives BFK, Van Son rubber based inks, archival pigmented digital print, Davey board, waxed linen thread, PVA adhesive.

"from memory"
monoprint with chine-collé, 16 x 20 inches
Visual Arts Alliance 27th Open Juried Exhibition, April 29 - May 28 -Houston, Texas

entering a dream world: literally!

2010-04-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

To have the intimate format of an old fashion tunnel book translated into a "modern" art installation, while maintaining the delicate charm of a fairy tale... this is pure magic! This absolute magical transformation has happened at the Rice University's Art Gallery by Andrea Dezsö, offering the viewer the sense of truly becoming part of this dreamy tale of creatures inhabiting faraway worlds. Andrea brought her too real looking world of dreams into life and made me feel ecstatic and thrilled feeling part of it.
I have always liked this particular gallery, admired the choice of artists showcased there and now my respect for their selection process has grown even more. Thank you Rice and thank you Andrea for "sometimes flying in your dreams " and bringing those dream scenes to Houston!
Rice University Art Gallery

make believe!

2010-03-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

"in search of make believe" is a triptych dedicated to a companion of many years ago, a doll that is still very present in the little girl's memories, dreams, attempts of planning a grown-up future and all sorts of make believe games...
The little girl that played with this doll is now a grown up woman; she has lived in several places around the world with this doll always in close proximity! The doll has witnessed magical times and some of the dreams becoming reality; meanwhile time for make believe games has become less and less necessary...
So here is this tribute to a special friend; the hinged panels open and close, reminiscent of the rituals of putting out the toys to play and back to their place for a rest or a good night's sleep!

The three panels are hinged together with a hidden coptic stitch.
Monoprints done especially for this project are mounted on tubular segments.
Rives BFK, archive pigmented print on xuan, linen waxed cord, PVA adhesive
Patience and love for the craft in putting it together!

in the wings...

2010-03-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a preview of one of my latest "book" structures; the wavy shape is achieved by joining segments/cut-outs from cylindrical cardboard boxes and stitching them together.

Every two segments are joint by a hidden stitch, and the pairs are joint by a simple modified coptic stitch. The wavy pages present the "story" of this young lady in wait for her "future" to begin. I see her as if she is waiting patiently in the wings of a theatre stage, to be called for her life's role. The photograph is a portrait of a distant aunt, taken indeed in a turning point of her life just before getting married. I did the photo montage in photoshop, and then printed it on a handmade japanese fine paper, using an Epson printer with archival pigmented inks. The colored rhythmic patterns completing the "collage" are monotypes printed with rubber based inks on an etching press. The photograph has been incorporated on the monoprints by the chine-collé method, at the time they were pulled.

Title: "in the wings"

each panel: 12 x 21 cm, 12 x 55 cm when extended.

Materials: Rives BFK heavyweight, Japanese fine art paper, wheat starch glue, waxed linen cord, VanSon rubber based inks.

orizomegami!

2010-03-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

The tradition of paper decorating is very old and pretty much developed by all cultures as soon as they started using paper. Depending on the weight and texture of paper at hand and the dyes and tools used, a great variety of approaches were developed in the quest of changing the appearance of a blank surface. The common element of course is the interest we all share in trying to alter a blank surface, to somehow leave our mark; through this effort our different traditions, symbols and meanings are expressed, finding a place to be displayed by permeating the surface and binding with the fibers of the paper.
Orizomegami is the Japanese art of decorating papers by a method of folding and dipping them into pools of natural dyes. By a variety of intricate folds, patterns reminiscent of stained windows are formed and depending on the number and placement of the folds more complex patterns appear.

For the orizomegami examples pictured here, I used very fine hand made chinese paper dipped in sumi ink (diluted to various degrees, thus giving several shades of color) and chinese mineral watercolors. After the papers dry and pressed flat the folds' creases remain visible - one of the characteristics of orizomegami. It is a rather simple method and my papers shown here -being result of a beginner's attempt- showcase just that. With practice and skill though, tremendously sophisticated patterns can be created and that raises this craft into a true art form.
I am planning to attempt a tutorial on this, so check back soon and let me know if you are interested.

metamorphosis through a collagraph plate!

2010-02-28T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here is an example of what a simple pvc plate, some scraps, some marking tools, ink, rollers, brayers and paper in the hands of a master printmaker can achieve! The above prints were created by Suzanne Manns during a monoprint demonstration using the pvc collagraph plate at the Glassell School of Art. The result: true magic and powerful inspiration boost to all attending!!!

Victorian collages

2010-02-11T08:32:00.000-08:00

The other day I read about the new exhibit at the Met: Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage and not being able to resist I went ahead and ordered the catalogue published by the Art Institute of Chicago in conjunction with this exhibit. The collages presented in the book come from "albums" kept by the fashionable ladies of the time and present a magnificent example of the mixed media photo collage genre flourishing in the hands of the 19th century fortunate few. These wonderful albums often richly bound in leather, give us a taste of those amateur artists' skills, a good understanding of how photography entered their everyday magic, and a close-up of how - along with the other necessary for their status activities (music, drawing, reading, embroidery) - those collages filled their days with whimsical and fantasy charged content! Oh, how much I LOVE this book!!!

A book kept by modern young ladies for show,
Of which their plain grandmothers nothing did know;
A medley of scraps, half verse, and half prose,
And some things not very like either, God knows.
Charles Lamb on the album of the day... (1830)

botanicals...

2010-01-31T11:15:00.000-08:00

I love those old botanical prints! I love collecting, looking at them, being inspired by them...
Here is a sample of a new work I am developing based on the "idea" of collecting, preserving, recording life; just like those old botanical prints were all about...

my "apparitions"...

2010-01-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

I find the suminagashi method of marbling papers a most relaxing and meditative exercise.
While preparing the papers that later formed the "figures" for this book, I spent -or should I say devoted?- hours and hours over the water bath I've especially prepared for this task. At first, I randomly created the movement and shapes of the ink circles, ending up with papers totally covered with the resulting marbling/suminagashi impressions. Later, once I started shaping the forms and the"story" for this book, I went back and did a whole stack of more suminagashi marbled papers directing exactly the forming patterns, and feeling rather proud for my recently accomplished skill...
The folding and shaping resulted in a series of forms that I eventually attached to a folding concertina structure made by monoprints created at the studio the last few months.
I almost forgot to say that sometimes trying to photograph these works ends up being as labor intensive as the creation of the actual piece! So here it is my latest Artist's Book: "apparitions".

some stars!

2010-01-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

The first day of the year is such unique type of day... Unstructured, most often unplanned, with a grand mix of conflicting moods and feelings, thoughts and dreams mingled with feelings of exhaustion and awe! Where did a whole year go? Is it truly gone? What do these landmark dates do to our minds and psyche? Does the Auld Lang Syne nostalgic sound affect the way we bid goodbye to the gone year and influence the way we approach and welcome the new? Does the repeating moody and rather sad tune influence the kind of dreams we have when we finally go to sleep, that first sleep in the new year?

Well, there is nothing unstructured, unplanned or randomly done about these "star books" I constructed a year ago. From the type of paper used, measurements, color scheme and dimensions to the thread they are sewn, and the selection of ribbons and paper used for their covers, all these steps are extremely well planned and executed! As well planned and with such joy created as we should plan and live every new year. Happy new year!!!

lace remnant...

2009-12-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

"lace remnant" monotype with chine collé, on Rives BFK, November 2009

this year's christmas theme!

2009-12-24T23:15:00.000-08:00

for this year's Christmas card I revived a santa I doodled years ago on a note pad;

I scanned and positioned him in a snow land I staged by introducing a few old newspaper snowflake cutouts; eventually he became as real as I wanted him to be! While holding a Christmas tree, he carried my family's Christmas message/wishes to our loved ones. For our holiday party invitation and party favor card I used the snow flake background "scene", suggesting the peaceful landscape after santa has passed through...

Happy, peaceful and full of love Christmas to all!

2009-12-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

"Ariadne's spool", monotype chine-collé, on Rives BFK

one more for today...

2009-12-17T17:39:00.000-08:00

"from a window", mixed media on Rives BFK - November 2009

one more print from the "hide and seek" series; in this one the crochet lace work of my mother's later years played a role in defining the hint of the open/closed window of the composition.

hide and seek!

2009-12-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

"hide and seek", mixed media on Rives BFK - November 2009

This is one of a series of monotypes I created about a month ago. Using rubber based inks on an acrylic plate I transfered textures from textile scraps, spontaneously adding/drawing linear shapes, thus creating the maze world for the subject's hike and seek game...

on a New York sidewalk...

2009-12-12T21:48:00.000-08:00

all things I love!

Where else can you find treasures of this kind, so beautifully displayed, so very reasonably priced but in this fantastic city! A true sale of incredible books and prints, some of them old, some new and some very very old and all incredibly beautiful. Just the joy of suddenly being faced with this display, warmed up my frozen face after having been almost torn by the icy cold wind. Oh, how much I love New York!

artcrawl(ing)...

2009-11-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

Artcrawl: one day's showcase of artists' work
spread around the old warehouses of downtown Houston.

It was a gray afternoon, rainy and bleak, but I decided to go , mainly to support two friends exhibiting there. Later, I felt that my going was the ultimate proof of friendship! Oh well...
Although the weather was kind of miserable, it seems that I was the only one to notice it! On one hand the traffic, the crowds, the total lack of parking space, on the other me, THE only one needing an umbrella, a rain coat, and a scarf around my neck, desperately circling one way streets, trying to be at the right split second at the right place, to claim the tiniest space to park my car! I had to demonstrate my super parking skills, while trying to look cool and parallel park in a just about the length of my car gap in between SUVs and monster pickup trucks... Well, I succeeded, I showed my face where it counted, I was totally impressed and proud of my friends' art presence, and on the way back to my squeezed tight parked car, I took these photographs of art generously displayed for all (or a few like me... ) to see: graffiti on a metal wall, and weathered walls of just about to collapse old dwellings, covered with rust, mold and peeling paint, glistening in the afternoon's cool and windy rain. Oh, how much I love these so unexpected simple, beautiful sights!

ink + paper + folds = ...

2009-11-13T19:18:00.000-08:00

my latest artist's book!

I was inspired by Hedi Kyle's "blizzard" book structure; I modified it slightly, mainly by simplifying the structure and shape of the cover. Although this book can be constructed by one single sheet of paper, I used four self hinged sheets I had already marbled following the suminagashi technique. The cover is a left over mono print, lined with a very thin oriental paper, same as the envelope shaped signatures. I used the functionality of the "envelope" pages to insert imprints from my collection of Chinese seals.

unexpectedly... art!

2009-11-06T06:39:00.000-08:00

on the wall at Omonia station: "Queue" by Nikos Kessanlis

During my last month's visit to Athens, Greece, I experienced once again the multi faceted power of art in our everyday existence! And yes, of course Athens offers a multitude of art finds of tremendous importance and also historical milestone examples of the human creativity presenting the visitor with a multitude of reasons for reflection... But what I am referring in this case, is the gift of art so generously spread around all of the city's metro stations, a true art show including representational works of contemporary artists, as well as relics from times past found during the metro's construction excavations that the rich in history soil of my birth city unveiled.

For the metro passenger the hussle and bussle of getting from point A to point B becomes a dignified journey rewarded with the art find at the next destination. Truly fortunate the Athenian commuter, to be surrounded with such treasure of creativity spanning a period of over 2,000 years.

as included in The Bonefolder!

2009-11-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

I am so happy and proud to see one of my Artist Books having been selected and included in the latest issue of The Bonefolder.

cover ups...

2009-10-29T14:05:00.000-07:00

... hiding a construction site by Amsterdam station centraal

I guess some may see these as samples of what it's considered street art(?), a "cheep" effort to cover an ugly site with a forced cheerful collage of images. Well, these amazing illustrations are presently covering a construction hiding wall by the entrance to Amsterdam's Central Station. They are so incredibly effective not only in camouflaging an eye sore, but also in causing a disappearing effect to the noisy and amorphous surroundings by pulling you into a world of red mystic beauty and exotic fairy tale. At least that's how I felt and that's how I will always remember the spot where this wall stood for a while...

on display...

2009-10-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Since yesterday I am back in Holland. Despite today's dreary weather I did go for the usual walk that always results in amazing finds!!! In this morning's misty rain, holding my camera and an umbrella I ended up walking around the wet, cold and buzzing street markets and then stopping at this small and full of early 20th century books. I LOVED looking at them, photographing them, and on the wet and miserably cold walk back to the hotel smiling at the thought of my dear book loving friends Suzanne, Erica, and David sharing on this discovery through this blog. Thinking of you all with love.

Suminagashi

2009-10-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

Always wanted to try and learn the ancient Japanese art of paper marbling: suminagashi. I finally did! These are examples from a pile of different types of paper I experimented with...

It is such simple principle: accepting the nature of water, the behavior of the floating ink, the receiving qualities of paper and then allowing the water movement resulting from blowing air on its surface, to mark that moment permanently...