Baltimore Sonnets

fixed mark that is never shaken linocut on handmade paper, 2014  My latest linocut on handmade paper linocut on handmade paper, edition of 3  is inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 detail of linocut on handmade paper, 2014 Made paper from cotton pulp and up-cycled papers.  Dyed wet pulp using turmeric and red pigments.  Formed sheets using deckle and mold.  Pressed wet sheets in a drying press for 4 days before printing linocut with high quality ink (Charbonnel).  Untrimmed deckled edges give paper character and highlight the handmade process.

Life moves forward Silkscreen and monoprint on black paper, 2014 when all is dar k Silkscreen and monoprint on black paper, 2014 Edition of 4 prints star-crossed voyager

Stamps Taiwanese Postage Stamps, pre-1911 (Imperial Period) I love stamps.   I appreciate the stories behind them and the craftsmanship involved in creating them.   When I visit the National Postal Museum , there is always a knowledgeable guide or volunteer philately expert to answer any questions I may have.   I t seems the more I know about stamps, the more questions I have.   I was sad to miss the curator-led tour of the newly opened Pacific Exchange: China & U.S. Mail exhibition on March 8th.    So when I recently visited the museum, I was just going to browse around. To my surprise, I met the perfect guide: A young elegant Taiwanese lady named Nana.    A box of stamps at the interactive table. Nana was sitting at one of the interactive displays in the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery . This one allowed visitors to select six stamps from three large plastic containers and take them home.  FREE.  When ...

What do I do with all these prints I've been posting ? Detail image of page from artist's book Voice of Shadow, 2014  I turn 90% of them into artist's books. pages from artist's book Voice of Shadow, 2014 Voice of Shadow :  28 pages, 10 linocut prints, and two pages of original poetry center page from Voice of Shadow, 2014  The cover of the book and its matching clamshell box are gilded with genuine 14kt silver leaf. Gilded silver book inside Chiyogami lined silver gilded matching box.  Voice of Shadow, 2014 I like to buy my supplies from Talas .   When I lived in NYC I visited their store often, now I order online.  They specialize in conservation, bookbinding, and archival supplies.  They are very reliable!

Let Me Count the Ways!,  2014 (inspiration for my new Venus & Adonis artist's book)

Paper making is a highly artistic craft Linocut on handmade black paper, 2014 that has taken me years to understand. Linocut on handmade paper dyed with turmeric, 2014 I appreciate the experiments: Frustrating days of endless trials and errors in order to get the precise measurements and formulas for the perfect paper recipes. Final proof of linocut, 2014 Making the pulp is just as important as making a complex mold, an intricate cast or a linocut. Details of texture -- remnants of text from ex-library book, 2014 I now know how to get the colors I want, the textures I adore, and the durability I need for my prints and artist's books.

Bronze Sculpture by Auguste Rodin, (cast 1909 - 1918) Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) The Hand of God by Auguste Rodin , (modeled 1896 - 1908) The Hand of God, by August Rodin, bronze Inspiration comes from many sources.

by Suzanne Coley They "museum" differently. The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh In the North Shore neighborhood near downtown Pittsburgh is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist,  The Andy Warhol Museum .  The museum is an impressive seven story building with thousands of paintings, prints, drawings, film, sculptures, and videos by Andy Warhol. The Andy Warhol Museum, 2014 Don't look for somber guards in blue uniforms.  Here, staff look and dress like enthusiastic artists who are ready to talk about any art technique, art work, and video in the museum. What I enjoyed most about my recent visit was Warhol's 1940s student art work and his 1950s commercial illustrations.  Currently on display, on the seventh floor gallery, are photographs, documents, and images of Warhol's life growing up in Pittsburgh.  You will see his original report card during his first semester at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now known as Carn...

LYRICAL ABSTRACTION When I look at  Sam Gilliam's  art, I  feel.    I feel emotions that don't have words. Elegy # 2, by Sam Gilliam, 1980 How do I "read" the language of Elegy #2?   (cause it is talking to me!)     Color & Texture Color Gray offers a calm respite from the mayhem of yellow and deep blue fighting for attention.  Reading the work from left to right I see three different panels with somber black painted dead smack in the middle of the left.  Raucous reds and blues in the middle, running, escaping to the right side -- this is what moves me most. This isn't our ideal of  beautiful , instead Elegy #2 offers a glimpse of   the art of the sublime  that philosophers Burke and Kant wrote about. Texture As an artist I appreciate the technical genius of this handmade paper.  In several areas, the whole is  divided into sections by sharply angled embossed te...

Working on a series of silkscreens.   Silkscreen: First color run Letting the prints dry before applying the 2nd color Second color run. I'm not sure if I will print something else on them. created in Baltimore by Suzanne Coley

Even though I love making paper and creating works on paper,  my true love is large scale abstract paintings. silver paintings with handwritten equations,  Suzanne Coley silver paintings placed side by side Large paintings need large spaces:   It is easier to put them on the floor and paint away.

Preserving the beauty of rare books . . .   Johns Hopkins University

A place where an artist can just be an artist.

Mapping my fingers as I draw, 2014  I wonder if it is important to understand  why an artist creates a particular work? What techniques she uses?  Why does the artist choose one technique over another? What were his influences?  How does the art make a person feel?  How does the art make the artist feel?  Does the work of art hold up a mirror to the world and reflect reality?   Is the work more understandable with text attached to it?  What happens to a piece of art when the artist destroys it, leaving only the digital print behind? spatial-temporal reasoning in Baltimore by Suzanne Coley

 Some days, to get to the positive I must go through the negative. Linocut from artist's book Geometry of Chaos (printed in the negative) Art allows me to work it all out.

Saturday was spent teaching book arts to teenagers at the Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore. Only with teenagers can you have this much fun creating inspiring books.  And play with Gesso.   And play a little more as we practice the technical side of making covers. Practice makes perfect.

from Algeria to Zimbabwe from Afghanistan to Yemen from Australia to Vanuatu from Antigua and Barbuda to the United States from Argentina to Venezuela from Albania to Vatican City Happy  international women's day *****  Google's amazing Doodle & Video

scorner of sentiment and emotion Linocut on handmade paper from ex-library book, 2014 When I create paper from discarded books, sometimes the text that survives is the most interesting thing. created in Baltimore by Suzanne Coley