ROOTS workshop at the DREAMING GODDESS

Many thanks Rhianna of the Dreaming Goddess for inviting me to offer the ROOTS workshop at the September Pagan Crafts Circle.  What a wonderful, spirited group!  Fourteen women let their imaginations dig deep into the world of roots and found treasure to form their books.  It was great pleasure to witness fourteen uniquely expressive books come into being.  Cheers to you all!

Jacqui

Rhianna

Dawn

Tammy

Sarah

Dorothea

Maryalyce

Christine

Sue

Jennifer

Juliamae

Cheryl

Jennifer Jo

Elisabeth

EQUINOCTIAL BOOKS

The EQUINOX held a wide range of significance for September book makers.  Viewed as a portal, for some it was harbinger of autumnal delights, for others, a time of mourning for lost summer.  Some saw it as a sticking place, a balancing act, or imagined a kind of slinky action as the year flowed over into new times.

Here's a peek at what we made.  Some are works in progress.  Two pieces were created by people who have never made a book before!   I always wish that I could pick each book up again and again to enjoy the spirited, rich content and form that continually springs from this happy play. 

Cait Johnson

Donnalynne Lefever

Karin Lempke

Pam Wright

Karen Summerlin

Jo Renbeck

Debbie Stone

ARTIST BOOK GATHERING begins!

ARTIST BOOK GATHERING, a  group for people who enjoy making books together, met for the first time in August.

This month, our subject was Under the Summer Sun.  Memories and impressions brought by members of the group included the smell of hydrangea in the heat, a ginkgo leaf, the bite of a deer tick, visions of the beach, a fleeting whiff of fall in the air, and paper folded like the spreading rays of the sun.   Artist books took shape in great spirit and variety.

One of the exciting prospects of this group, ARTIST BOOK GATHERING, is the opportunity it offers for sharing ideas and supporting one another in finding solutions to the interesting puzzles of book making.  Another exciting prospect is the adventure of seeing wonderful, unique artist books come into being.

And now we've begun.  Such fun!!!

Thursday

Lorrie Fredette

Laura Best-Macia

Cindy Vanstone

Donna Wasilewski

Rose Ann Boyle

Nora Theresa Campbell

Gail  Gates

Saturday

Miriam Frischer

Susan Bissonnette

Karen Summerlin

Pam Wright

Josette Lee

Debbie Stone

PS
Here are two intriguing folded forms that Pam Wright showed us in the Saturday gathering.  She used a third folded form in the book she made that day.

 

VOLVELLES Bloom with Unexpected Surprises in June Workshops

The subject was BLOSSOM.  The book form was the VOLVELLE, a  book comprised of two flat circle "pages" joined at their center points in such a way that they can rotate independently.  During rotation, openings cut into the top page reveal words or imagery on the under page.

The form made our heads spin with possibilities and as always in these workshops, each person brought her own vision to the project and created a stunning adventure of a book.

 
Thursday Group

Karin Lempke

Melanie Gates

Rose Anne Boyle

Gail Gates

Lorraine Hartin Gelardi

Mimi Graminski

Deanna Touhey

Karen Summerlin

Saturday Group

Betty Vera

Lois Linet

Josette Lee

Pam Wright

Miriam Frischer

Rachel Hanka

Congratulations one and all on your inspired innovations with this dizzying book form.  And thanks, as always, for all the fun of making art in community with you.

Cheers,
Jo