I have been part of bookartobject5 based around the the poems, journals and videos of poet John Bennett.
We were given his words and images and left to our own devices to create an artists' books that would be shown in an exhibition at the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery over summer. We were in two groups and were to make enough to share with our group members as well as one for the poet and one for the exhibition.
I read through all the work and worked thru the imagery and there was just this small fragment that kept pulling me back.
A portion of a poem called overwintering 5, these were the words:
Ruddy Turnstones close on wind's compass bearing
beside circular depressions fashioned by stingrays,
the wind whistles the distance they own,
the sea is having its say in the next field.
I chose these words because the imagery was strong for me – the compass, the stingray memories in the sand, the wind whispering…
I also looked up Ruddy Turnstones and really liked the look them and how they go about their feeding by...turning over stones of course!
I really wanted to work across a range of processes to produce this book, and in the end I did. I created a collagraph plate to emboss the wrap-around cover which reflects the pebbles and stones that get ‘turned over’, and I created a solar plate etching to hint at the stingray’s marks in the sand. The words are hand set and hand printed in a tiny 8pt typeface, and the fragment of the poem is set on round pages, suggesting the compass points, which are also de-bossed by hand.
Sometimes I like to take words and be inspired by them to create something abstracted from them; at other times I like to re-produce and honour the words in a more specific interpretative way, and I chose this latter approach here. In the end, it is a small fragment of a book, with a fragment of words, yet somehow it is whole.
It is only 10cm x 10cm. The cover wrap around is made of 160gsm paper. The book is light as a bird.
The cover
I staged the words down the round pages, and if you look closely you can see the de-bossed compass points...
the colophon to finish
some breathing space (there is also some at the start of the book but I don't have a photo!)
and the back cover.
We were given his words and images and left to our own devices to create an artists' books that would be shown in an exhibition at the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery over summer. We were in two groups and were to make enough to share with our group members as well as one for the poet and one for the exhibition.
I read through all the work and worked thru the imagery and there was just this small fragment that kept pulling me back.
A portion of a poem called overwintering 5, these were the words:
Ruddy Turnstones close on wind's compass bearing
beside circular depressions fashioned by stingrays,
the wind whistles the distance they own,
the sea is having its say in the next field.
I chose these words because the imagery was strong for me – the compass, the stingray memories in the sand, the wind whispering…
I also looked up Ruddy Turnstones and really liked the look them and how they go about their feeding by...turning over stones of course!
I really wanted to work across a range of processes to produce this book, and in the end I did. I created a collagraph plate to emboss the wrap-around cover which reflects the pebbles and stones that get ‘turned over’, and I created a solar plate etching to hint at the stingray’s marks in the sand. The words are hand set and hand printed in a tiny 8pt typeface, and the fragment of the poem is set on round pages, suggesting the compass points, which are also de-bossed by hand.
Sometimes I like to take words and be inspired by them to create something abstracted from them; at other times I like to re-produce and honour the words in a more specific interpretative way, and I chose this latter approach here. In the end, it is a small fragment of a book, with a fragment of words, yet somehow it is whole.
The cover
the title page
I staged the words down the round pages, and if you look closely you can see the de-bossed compass points...
the colophon to finish
some breathing space (there is also some at the start of the book but I don't have a photo!)
and the back cover.
A sweet wee thing.
(((Fiona))) thanks for sharing the details of your delightful book !
ReplyDeleteThanks Mo - it's a sweetie!
DeleteIt’s a lovely wee thing to hold in the hand x
ReplyDeleteThanks C - one of my measures is "it feels good in the hand" so it's nice to hear you think so! Go well.
DeleteOh Fiona, you have such a good sense of space and meaning. This little book is a gem.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dana, that is so kind! I think it is a lovely wee thing...Go well.
Delete