SCROLL, SCROLLING, PAPER ROLLING

Library of Alexandria (detail) by Ania Gilmore. Read post by Catherine Nash here.

My fascination with scrolls began when as a child my Grade 3 teacher told us the story of a young sheperd boy who discovered a cache of ancient clay jars in the back of a cave near the Dead Sea. I can still feel the butterflies in my stomache thinking back to that day .....when sitting crosslegged on the floor of a chalk scented classroom.... my teacher came to the part of the story where the lid was removed from one of the jars to reveal ....... a scroll that had not seen the light of day for more than 2000 years. 2000 Years!!! A simplified, condensed story of course but it made quite an impression on me.

Library of Alexandria by Ania Gilmore. See website here.

Many years later I read a short magazine article about the healing scrolls of Ethiopia. I had a fit of the butterflies again which sent me on a fact finding mission.... but my search came to a very disappointing dead end until I began working in the University library. Thrill of all thrills, I found a book.... a whole book! ..... about these amazing artefacts . When we finally had access to the internet and Google, several years later, one of the first things I googled was Ethiopian Healing Scrolls.

Long Ago and Far Away by Dot Krause. See website here.

This post however is not about the ancient scrolls of long ago but rather about contemporary scrolls or paper rollings that artists incorporate into their art.

Who Owns the News by Joan Giordano. See website here.

Who owns the News, detail by Joan Giordano. Website here.

Mixed media collage by Leslie Avon Miller. See Leslie's blog here.

Mixed media collage by Donna Watson. See Donna's website here.


Tribal Offerings Series # 7 by Joanne Williams. See website here.


Stairs to Mauthausen by Robbin Ami Silverberg. See website here.

Reeds of Knowledge by Rosie Huart. See website here.

I've featured these scrolls by Mary Ellen Long in another post but I love them so here we go again. See Mary Ellen's blog here.

Crush by Vadim Katznelson. Acrylic paint and mixed media on board. See more here.

. . . . . . . FOR THE LOVE OF PAPER . . . . . . .

Exciting work by Catherine Nash, here.

At the Conrad Wilde Gallery website I have discovered many innovative artists whose love of paper is apparent in the work that they do.

Handmade paper by CJ Shane

CJ Shane collects beautiful paper on her travels.

" I've been to China several times, and I always visit the paper markets there. I return home with rolls of lovely delicate papers in subtle colors, often with flecks of gold and silver. When I'm home here in Tucson, I make my own paper. I like to experiment with different fibers, especially those native plant fibers from our desert bioregion. One of my favorite summertime pleasures is to go into the washes before a rainstorm and cut the grasses which grow there so luxuriantly during the monsoon season. In the morning sun, the grasses capture the sweet fragrance of water and life. I like to experiment with paper pulp to make one-of-a-kind sculptural pieces or to create small editions of artists' books. When I make paper, I enjoy knowing that I am participating in a tradition that dates back two thousand years to China's Han."

Torical Series. (Mixed media, books,wax) by Roberta Lee Woods

There are many more works in this series by Roberta Lee Woods. If you are interested, click here.

Rhapsody by Roberta Lee Woods

Reading our remains by Jessica Drenk

Jessica Drenk's inspiration comes from nature and she manipulates man-made materials according to similar patterns and principals.

Artbook 3 by Beata Wehr

I was delighted to find the work of Beata Wehr again since first discovering her link in Leslie's sidebar.

Book-ephemeris by Margaret Suchland

I love this piece by Margaret Suchland.

"For many years, collecting old books, maps, found correspondence, found objects, printed ephemera and other of life’s artifacts has been of interest to me....... The effects of time on these everyday items - the worn edges, random marks, muted colors and subtle evidence of the human presence inspire me. They portray a “presence of an absence”.

Paper sculpture by Daniella Woolf

Gradations 2 by Mary Ellen Long. See more, here.

Burning revised by Joan Giordano

Joan Giordano draws inspiration from archeological ruins and excavations .

Thanks everyone for all the kind, supportive comments and emails you sent during our little upheaval. You have no idea how much they helped. Normality is returning! We had a peaceful nights sleep last night thanks to our newly installed burglar alarm system.