365 Handmade Books: Painted Songs, Day 110

Movement "i": Math, Science, Life

Original poster for Movement "i" 

Sudden and fast, the century changed and so did my life.  My doctors could diagnose my life threatening illness, but they couldn't explain what triggered the mutations of my cells.  Genetics.

Original poster (2002) and handmade books (2015)
for Movement "i"

I felt like a bomb had imploded inside of me, and as I aged, the damages would be revealed.  I decided to keep a journal and write about my experiences.  The more I wrote, the more "language" as I knew it couldn't capture the plethora of emotions I experienced in cancer hospitals.

Signs and symbols were not enough.  I was surrounded by the foreign and complex medical terminology and devices.  Grids, coordinates, mathematics: I became fascinated with this new language.

Painted Songs, Book 110 by Suzanne Coley

At the time, I was part of a theatre group and very much involved with dramatic art.  One day I let someone read my journal and she said it would make an interesting dramatic play -- thus the beginning.   It was performed at the University of Colorado and Mercury Cafe in Denver.

Materials

1. Maps
2. Music sheets
3. Handmade decorative papers

4. Vellum

5. Charbonnel inks

6. Acrylic paints

Binding & Cover

1. Book binding board .087

2. Archival adhesives

3. Acrylic mediums

4. Linen thread

Techniques

1. Paintings

2. Mixed Media

3. Linocuts

Text

excerpt from original play about cancer Movement: i