New Work

Here are some things I have been working on lately. Both are folded from a single sheet in the form sometimes called a Maze Book or a Single Sheet Meander Book. An easy diagram of this folding pattern can be found here. I am using some etchings done by Mr. B's late brother Mike. I didn't love the prints, but that paper was just too good to throw out, so I hauled it all home and I am so glad I did. I have painted, stenciled, and printed over the etchings, but I allow bits of the original black and white prints to emerge here and there for texture. They are the little hash marks and dots you can see, but the original subject matter has been covered by my own painting.

The first, Dharma House, is about 6¾ by 5¾ inches. I beaded the cover and sewed a second little print over some red silk in the center. The hexagon-printed end papers are some wrapping paper I found at a Daiso store. Sewn inside the book are hand-colored prints and more silk. I think I have already confessed my obsession with red kimono silk in an earlier post.

The next book, folded in the same way, will be called Rain when it is completed. This book has more collage, and I have stitched on the pages. I am coating the pages with acrylic wax varnish, and it is giving the paper a nice waxy feel. I haven't figured out the cover yet. You'll see more of it when I have finished.

One more week of school and then  a busy summer awaits. I have so many ideas that most of my spare time lately has been spent in the studio. It's a good feeling.