Baltimore Sonnets

"New York Bound: International Book Art Biennial" Curated by Dorothea Fleiss September 22 - December 29, 2013 Two of my books were selected for this exhibition at Islip Art Museum , New York.  I am excited that my newest book structures and handmade papers will be on view.   This is one of them. Book of Contents, 2013 (cover)   Book of Contents, 2013 (opened)

I HUNG my verses in the wind, Time and tide their faults may find. All were minnowed through and through, Five lines lasted sound and true; Five were smelted in a pot Than the South more fierce and hot; These the siroc could not melt, Fire their fiercer flaming felt, And the meaning was more white Than July's meridian light. Sunshine cannot bleach the snow, Nor time unmake what poets know. Have you eyes to find the five Which five hundred did survive? The Test by Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1861

Today someone asked me how it felt to have cancer.  Was I afraid?  Was treatment painful? How do I stay positive? I was all smiles and positive energy.  Then I came home and found this image in my old diary. I guess I stay positive because I purge  all  the anxiety, all the pain, all the fear, all the disappointment, through my art. Art is therapeutic.

When Marni, the nurse who took Leif's blood pressure, asked her what type of worries artists have, Lief looked up at the hospital ceiling and tried to hold back the tears. Page from Notebook: Blood Pressure 155/98 Marni inflated the cuff to restrict Lief's blood flow,  keeping one eye on the sphygmometer, the other on Lief.  "ABC news showed that painting of the man screaming on a bridge.  Sold for 120 million dollars.  Imagine, 120 million dollars for a piece of art?" "I can't, I mean, I can . . . " Lief coughed. "My husband said only dead artists get that type of money.  Oh, um, it's going up." Marni takes the cuff off. "I am not sure why it won't go down.  The oncologist will be with you in a few minutes.  Put the gown on with the opening to the front." Blood Pressure: original   art and story by suzanne coley

An artist's life The doctor told Lief to keep a record of her day.  Try to calm down.   Not worry too much. Page from Notebook: BP 155/99  "What type of worries do artists have?" the nurse asked as she wrapped the  inflatable blood pressure cuff around Lief's arm.

A few years ago when I was in NYC  I fell in love with a rubber stamp of  a woman  wearing a vintage  leopard print  coat and little booties,   and I bought it.   I made 50 small cards (2.5" x 3.5") with the stamp and gave them out.  My name and email were printed on the backside.   To get the background, I made an  11"x14" collagraph plate  from cardboard,  fabric, gesso, string, lace and glue.   Using a brayer, I randomly  inked the  collagraph plate  with oil based inks. When the plate was completely covered,  I placed the cards on top, and pulled the prints on a printing press.  When the cards were dry, I used a black archival inking pad and stamped  the lady onto the cards.   This summer I lost the stamp and I only have these five cards left.  I really like using  them as business cards and will probably make some s...

Letter from a homeless man To Whom It May Concern, page 1 From my series: Letters from a Broken Heart To Whom It May Concern, page 2

linocut and embroidery, detail from my artist's book Soliton The more I make  paper, the more  I like to create textures   while  making the pulp. handmade paper with texture and thread  Even though I have been embedding thread into the pulp, embroidering the finished print creates interesting effects. Linocut with embroidery in an Artist's book by Suzanne Coley

I tried to capture Taz's beauty, but it wasn't as good as the real thing. So I imagined him on the NYC trains. Taz takes NYC, orange line, 2013

In the woods, you never know who you are going to meet... Introducing 14 year old Taz. Isn't his fur beautiful?

When I moved to Baltimore, my books (aka research library) took up more space than my bedroom, living room and kitchen. Actually, I needed one Uhaul truck  just for my books and art work. Inside one book were these notes. An Anatomy of the World, John Donne An Anatomy of the World, John Donne

Poetic Lines,   2013 Suzanne Coley Making paper alone in my studio is very meditative.  Perhaps too much.   Thoughts  of Euclid and John Donne kept going  through my mind.   Euclid's concentric circles and elements of geometry.  Donne's Holy Sonnet " Death be Not Proud" How I relate to Margaret Edson's , Wit, 1999 Pulitzer Prize Drama about mortality.

  Yellow Blues  by Suzanne Coley When experimenting with handmade papers I have left over pigments and materials and  I try not to waste  anything.  I never know what is going to happen and I go with the spirit of the night. Tonight it was all about texture  and embracing the unpredictable nature of waste papers.

A few weeks ago, I promised a friend  I would paint her beloved dog. I really wanted to give her something special and I decided to do a linocut carving and print on handmade paper. Shredded paper ready for the crock pot. I always add pigments to the pulp. This time I didn't.  I wanted to see what color  this batch of recycled paper would produce.  Shredded paper soaking in the crock pot.   The final paper was grayish with a touch of blue, perfect for my artist's proof.   linocut print on handmade paper (artist's proof)

From the outside the stone is a riddle: No one knows how to answer it. Stone , Charles Simic (b. 1938)

before the purple storms came front yard scents  of lavender Shadows of a purple heart under the inner city sun, 2013 hid backyard bruises

Can love be locked away and kept hid? Yes and it gathers dust and mildew and shrivels itself in shadows unless it learns the sun can help, snow, rain, storms can help -- Honey and Salt, Carl Sandburg Moonlight and Roses (acrylic on canvas, 12"x12")

Many people have asked  why Baltimore?  I think this picture tells why. Painting I Never Thought I'd be the One (created and destroyed, August 2013) far away from skyscrapers and concrete pavements the breeze of Life and bird songs guide me down nature's luscious roads painting my dreams and daymares

with colored layers 15 layers of poverty spread across the city

Dear Time, I have tried to reconstruct your beauty. All that appears is the  last word you  shouted at me . . . 

Labor day weekend has always been my favorite time of the year.  Even though I have been out of school for years, the first Monday in September fills me with  hope  and expectation.  Being open to  life and  learning new things. A few years ago I came across these classroom rules created by Sister Mary Corita , Art Department Director  at LA's Immaculate Heart College. 10 Rules for Students and Teachers by Sister Corita I really like the way Sister Corita encouraged her students to focus on the creative process over the final product. It seems that each month, one of her rules stands out. For example, when I was making paper, Rule 4 was great: Consider everything an experiment. Right now, Rule 8 stands out: Don't try to create and analyse  at the same time.   They're different processes.