Baltimore Sonnets

This image was printed on re-pulped paper dyed with turmeric. You can still see remnants of the original text  from the novel, Exodus.

design inspiration and relaxation When I am working on a really complex and emotional project,  I take breaks and make these ink blot drawings to relax. I usually discard them after I am done, so I decided  to post this one.

I've been in the studio finishing some books. Hot off the press.

The Process thousands of moments countless pages cut silhouette on antique world map with gouache, 2014 Coley lives and memories captured through one person's lens. My 12" x 12", 100 page process book filled with 7 weeks of research and drawings The process of making an artist's book requires numerous steps and a lot of research, especially when I am trying to capture a particular memory and moment in history that many want to erase. My project is almost complete and I will be posting the process and the finished 22 karat gold leaf book, Gold Teeth.

Conversations with art a conversation in the Psychiatric Ward (detail), 2006 The other side of the accordion book is abstract. a conversation in the Psychiatric Ward (back side), 2006 Using form, color, and texture with acrylic paints, I always created the "other side" of the accordion books a few hours after visiting artists at the psychiatric wards.

When I was director of a program for artists with mental illnesses, I often visited them in psychiatric wards. I must admit, it was never like anything I saw in the movies. It was quiet with spurts of activity.  Moments of reflection. A conversation in the Psychiatric Ward, 2006  I was allowed to bring art supplies and we  would color and draw -- in silence or with conversation.  I would sit at a table and the artist would normally sit next to me. When I first started I would give them a sheet of paper and wait. I quickly discovered that they would talk and create more when I too had a sheet of paper in front of me and would draw. As one artist said, "It is our conversation." This is one of my conversations with an artist at a Psychiatric Ward  East 19th Street, NYC.

Nothing Gold Can Stay Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. Robert Frost, 1923

Not all of my papers get rebound and made into books. Some get framed like this one.

 Permanence and Durability Dyeing paper black isn’t easy.    You can get many shades of gray during the process.   I’ve noticed that ex-library books from the late 1950s, like the one I used for these black papers, work really well.    Printed in London in 1959, the pages appeared (felt and sounded) to be made from cotton, which would explain why they accepted the black dye so well. the water in my town has a neutral pH of 7.1 Another reason I like to use pages from discarded library books is because of the research on the acidity of books in libraries by chemist and paper conservator, William Barrow. Former director of the W. J. Barrow Research Laboratory in Virginia, Mr. Barrow noticed that pages in library books were deteriorating and becoming brittle due to acidity, and he published a paper about his findings in the 1930s.   He is considered a pioneer of library and archives conservation and is credited with introd...

The root of the Curcuma longa plant, turmeric, is a natural botanical compound that has been  used for thousands of years in Southeast Asia. I like to use turmeric as a dye for paper. Paper dyed with turmeric When I want a warm golden hue I add  a few tablespoons of turmeric powder to the pulp. Remnants of the original  text give a wonderful background This is paper from the same batch of pulp before I added turmeric.

to your home. Recently, I came across a wonderful blog  Emily & Jon in Morocco  and I would like to  introduce the artists and their work. Hand embroidered cards by Emily Image: Courtesy of Emily & Jon in Morocco blog Emily is a graduate of Cleveland Institute of Art  with a major in fiber and material studies, and  Jon is a graduate of Atlanta College of Art. They created a wonderful five part tutorial on paper making. I especially love the deckle and mold they made:  It is functional, practical, efficient, and inexpensive! Here are their wonderful posts: Paper making Tutorials by Emily & Jon

Just finished this linocut. linocut proof on vellum The paper she will be printed on is still drying.

from ex-library books the pages of a disbound book shredded and torn -- ready to make word collage pulp layered meaning submerged emotions and sentiments rearranged syntax and language a new voice

haunting memories reveal themselves Linocut in progress, 2014 fragile shadows  bits and pieces shapes and forms stories of lives long forgotten made in baltimore, maryland

My good friend used one of my linocuts  to create patterns for his clay designs. I was thinking of incorporating my linocut patterns into wall paper designs, however, I really like the way  they feel when used with clay.  Thank you Iaeden!

Peace and happiness all year long! sc

 drawing on vellum over map, Suzanne Coley 2014 A Fairy leapt upon my knee Singing and dancing merrily; I said, "Thou thing of patches, rings, Pins, necklaces, and such-like things, Disgracer of the female form, Thou paltry, gilded, poisonous worm!" Weeping, he fell upon my thigh, And thus in tears did soft reply: "Knowest thou not, O Fairies' lord! How much by us contemn'd, abhorr'd, Whatever hides the female form That cannot bear the mortal storm? Therefore in pity still we give Our lives to make the female live; And what would turn into disease We turn to what will joy and please." William Blake from The Poetical Works of William Blake , p. 127 Oxford University Press