'Renewal' for Lucas Parklands

I am down to the finishing and finalising part of the works for the ArtsConnect exhibition at Lucas Parklands.  I bent the pages of my metal books and stitched them on Friday - and Saturday was a clear sunny day so I photographed them outdoors.

I have in mind a burnt out tree stump for the setting of this trio - hence their title 'renewal'. I have engraved three Latin words that are linked to the concept of renewal - renovo, reparo and resumo into the front covers, one for each book.  I have made a copper book, a rusted iron book and a steel book.

I chose a light and free style of writing for the covers - hoping to gave a sense of life and new beginnings, rather than a staid and grounded formal hand.

I feel the three of them need to stay together as a set as strangely enough I am uncomfortable about them being separated!

Notes to self - bending steel is hard; engraving with a broken finger is tricky and I still love the look of rust.