Book Arts: Believe

The Beauty of End Papers

Believe, 2014 Suzanne Coley

Back in November when I wrote the post "Between the Covers" I didn't have a title for the actual series.

First working of Believe (with handmade paper), 2013

I knew I wanted to explore the intimate sensory discoveries (touch, smell, sight) that handmade books offer. So I put the project down and waited, and waited.

Gold cover

A week ago, I revisited this book and saw how the light captured the nuances of the linocut print on the silkscreened Chiyogami paper and whispered, "You have to see it to believe it." In this series I will take the word BELIEVE and explore how we Believe in ourselves. How we Believe in our capabilities. How we Believe in . . .

Linocut in the light, 2014

Believe is such an intense word, and I want the gold on the cover to reflect that intensity.

24k Genuine Double Gold Leaf

I pulled out my prized package of 24k Genuine Double Gold Leaf, and added gold leaf to the bottom of the textured cover.

24k double gold leaf

Gold leaf book, Believe, 2014

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.

Evidence: The Art of Candy Jernigan

Art is Life I was introduced to Candy Jernigan's art and book when I was going through cancer treatment more than a decade ago. Her meticulously arranged collages, paintings, and drawings have had a profound impact on the way I view art, life, and visual storytelling. Before reading her book, I had never seen how powerful art journaling could be -- that it could also be an artistic tool for social commentary. Candy Jernigan (b. 1952- 1991) attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Soon after graduating she became a painter, set and costume designer in Provincetown, MA. In Evidence , Stokes Howell wrote, " By the time she returned to New York in 1980 she was starting to develop the themes and methods she would work with the rest of her life." Candy described the transformative process of taking found objects, "trash," and discarded materials from life and turning them into art: "In 1980, as I set out on my first trip to Europe, I decided...

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....

Baltimore Sonnets

Search This Blog