Liminal Landscapes

These tiny books, folios of loose pages, 

is a liminal landscape.

A small rod of silver, used like a pencil traces line after line that cannot be erased. The repetitive motion lulling like the ocean, allowing the landscapes to develop from memory.  

All feel familiar, but the edge of memory cannot quite say where, all are unique.

Contained

As part of the 2014 Leeds International Artists Bookfair, Louise Atkinson ran a project called The Imaginary Museum.

These collections were part of my submission, 

hundreds of hand cut butterflies, crammed into jars and sorted by the most basic criteria.  

This is an exploration into what it means to be contained, without individualism or creativity.

(the above image was selected for The Imaginary Museum)

Aurelian

The aurelian collections were again born from a desire to read a book in a different way - I am very fond of the book as a physical object and here hundreds of butterfiles, caterpillars and chrysalis are hand cut and reassembled in the style of the Victorian collectors.

The book cover is converted into a box to house these very personal collections that have a feel of private wonder.

Under glass

Miniature worlds, condensed into a single sculpture that could be held in your palm.  

The inhabitants spill out, fragile and ethereal, not subject to the seasons or decay.

The History of a Tortoise : from the diary of naturalist Gilbert White who was very fond of this tortoise Timothy; allowing him to roam the garden and dig his hibernarium where he wished.

Meadow

rust and salt water

rust and salt water

unravel and darn

decay and preserve

glory and grief

tear and stitch

copper and paper

concrete and rain

oil and blood

memory and presence

linen and steel

enclose and disperse

rust and salt water : hand made book

Beautiful orange eyes ...

A beautiful day in Ljubljana, I bought a book of poetry I couldn't read because I liked the patterns it made on the page.

He wanted to share my lunch, and I did because he had such lovely orange eyes! 

Vestiges

 Linked to the Pyre series, Vestiges too only reside in the memory but are born of a quieter destruction.

The books are again folded and encased in plaster, then soaked with water and released from their entrapment.  

However a ghost of their print remains embedded, 

odd tantalising words and phrases.

The resulting sculptures are strangely familiar, their organic structures at home in the water that created them.

Pyre

So many things are forgotten.

Discarded books are hand folded and encased in plaster.

The book pages are then burnt out leaving only the fragile interleaves of plaster.

The book now only resides in the memory of the reader and the beautiful structure of the ash.

Fragile Diamonds

Diamond folded vintage book

 with hand printed and cut butterflies.

The light shines through the translucent paper 

highlighting their etherial nature.

A different way to read

I found this book discarded at the tip, 

it has the most beautiful illustrations and detailed text 

and I wanted to find a new way of reading it again.

The pages are cut into discs and hand sewn with thread, each on is placed next to another to strike up a new conversation with the illustrations interspersed.  

What had been a gift and lovingly given so long ago, 

deserved to be appreciated again.  

The discs are mounted and framed in a box frame.

Bird Houses

Too beautiful to be caged with the book, the birds are hand cut to release them from the page.

The original covers form the structure of the house.

Vintage music is added to link to their song.

Endless Possibilities

Old maps, tea bags, discarded books, old music scores, scraps of wallpaper, wrapping paper and prints; it is all treasure.

The tea bags are dried, emptied and ironed giving a lovely surface to write on.  

Tiny pages are cut and assembled accordian style to produce a flutter book.  When opened the pages cascade out sparking the imagination.

Little Books of Possibility 

 for your dreams, desires, plans .....

Poem Yarn

For some time I have tried to perfect the technique of spinning paper.  Found poems are cut into paper threads and hand spun with fleece to give some elasticity.  

  

The result is a tiny ball of yarn,

 the length of the poem.  Something surprisingly tactile and comforting to hold in the hand.

Betoken, a collection of love poems, spun with natural coloured fleece and mounted on a vintage print.

In a tiny handfolded boat (a page from The Borrowers Afloat) sails the poem Seahorse.

Vermillion Flight

I found in an unusual vintage book with beautiful red text in a French market.  The butterflies are all hand printed, cut and applied to the lantern folded book to produce an individual book object, there will never be another.