Handmade papers and book structures

Book of Contents

I finally found a form for my

handmade papers.

artist's book by Suzanne Coley

I have been experimenting with different

forms to exhibit my handmade papers.

Even though the handmade papers

are sturdy and textured,

exhibiting them without frames left them vulnerable.

Exhibiting them with frames really didn't show

their intricately embossed designs

and textures.

This week, I finally perfected the book

binding forms.

In the past, all of my artist's books have

had title pages, prologues, bodies or

"signatures" with stories and poems

colophons, headbands, and

hand marbled end sheets.

These do not.

However, these book structures

really enhance my content and

I am going to call them

Books of Content.

Comments

Born of Love, Shakespeare's Sonnet 151

Over the summer I worked on new artwork, Born of Love , inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnet 151. The book offers a translation of the sonnet to the language of textiles and embroidery. Working on this book allowed me to explore the beauty of textiles from four continents. Its construction is inspired by the poetic structure within the sonnet. This book, along with two other of my art pieces, will be on exhibit at the Folger Shakespeare Library from 16 Sept 2024 - 9 Feb 2025.

Flowers For Mistress Overdone, 2024

Coded Threads: Translating Shakespeare Through Art The following is a page from Flowers For Mistress Overdone , the first of two books that I presented at the Folger Shakespeare Library on Nov 16. The pages for the books are created with textiles from 5 continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America). The textiles were collaged and sewn into various designs. The fabric on the left is a collage of American and Tanzanian fabrics that I combined with one of my linocuts. The fabric on the right was an original mid century modern English quilt top I purchased at London's Antique Quilt Company during my summer in the UK researching Shakespeare's texts. The owner, Christopher, sources the highest quality textiles and it was truly a joy to transform this quilt into pages of my books inspired by Shakespeare's Measure For Measure. It was wonderful to present a few of my original artworks and embroidered books during my talk at the Folger Shakespeare Library....

Flower Power, 2024

2024 was a productive year. I created several different book series of embroidered and embellished books during my 1.5 years as a Folger Institute Fellow. These three flower books are in response to Shakespeare's Sonnet 54. During my artist talk at the Folger on 16 November 2024, I mentioned the power of flowers. "The act of giving flowers is a timeless gesture of deep appreciation, love, or praise. Beyond their symbolic value, flowers serve as visually striking design elements, drawing the eye and creating inviting focal points. Even after a fresh bouquet fades, the memory of the gesture endures, lending a poignant resonance to these artistic choices." /Suzanne Coley, 'Coded Threads,' November 2024

Baltimore Sonnets

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