OLD BOOKS TRANSFORMED INTO ART

Trawling (detail). Installation by Steve McPherson. See Website here.

Old books with yellowing pages, tattered covers and exposed spines, rescued and reinvented, transformed into art. Whoever would have thought that an artform would arise from a pile of discarded books ..... but then nothing should surprise me when it comes to the ingenuity of artists.

Rediscovery by Joseph Hammer. See more of Joseph's work here.

"I’m a lover of books, and I wonder: will there be books as we now know them in the future? I’m partial to using old, discarded hardback books in collages and am inspired by the varieties of colors and textures on their covers, by how they can be used, like paint, to provoke feelings and emotions, to explore things such as line, color saturation and tension. As a lover of history, I pay tribute to these threadbare, tattered tomes. They provide a look back at the bookbinder’s craft and the careful, sometimes elaborate designs, marbling and gold leaf, of long ago. Deterioration does not diminish their beauty but adds a patina of use, of human “hand prints.” - Joseph Hammer

Collected Letters by Joseph Hammer. See more here.

Cartographic No 1. by Steve McPherson. See website here.

"In my bookworks I use empty old second hand photo albums or scrap books, which I collage and montage straight into with mostly my own images and found objects."

"Taking two to three months to complete each work, the works undergo many changes. Time is spent moving and testing objects, images and text without a single item being fixed permanently in its place. Through editing, re-editing, chance and play, meaningful relationships gradually form between the elements and the layers" - Steve McPherson

"Milieu 4" by Brigitte Riesebrodt. See more of Brigette's work here.

"Milieu 2" by Brigitte Reisebrodt

"Langenscheidt 4" by Brigitte Riesebrodt. See more here.

Jody Alexander "likes to rescue books in distress and give them new life as rebound books, scrolls and sculptural pieces."

Exposed Spines by Jody Alexander. See website here.

Bars (Grey) by John Fraser. See more of John's work here.

"The book is just one component; once it becomes a part of the picture plane I negotiate that plane. Nuance, subtlety, and beauty and all things I think are worth looking at, those all matter to me." - John Fraser

Relief with Rule by John Fraser.

Mixed media using book parts by Roberta Lee Woods. See more of Roberta's work here.

Book sculpture by Jacqueline Rush Lee. See Jacqueline's website 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.