TURNING THE PAGE

Lament, Wooden book by Karen Kunc

With the new year approaching I am ready to turn the page and start afresh. On the inside cover of my journal for 2012 I have written a quote by Carl Sagan.

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known".

What better way to start a new year than knowing that somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known!

Thanks M for reminding me.

Everything/Something by Karen Kunc. Wooden book: screenprint and gouache.

A big thank you to all the wonderful people who visit my blog. The blog world has certainly enriched my life. A few days ago I was feeling a little frazzled as I usually do at this time of the year and after visiting a few blogs where I read many words of wisdom and encouragement I came away feeling refreshed and filled with hope for the new year. Thank you dear friends for your wisdom, enthusiasm and support!

Wishing you all the best for 2012 and many fulfilling hours, days or months of creativity!

Reference by Karen Kunc. Wooden Book, screenprint and gouache.

Also, a big thank you to all those artists whose beautiful art fills my blog gallery. What a joy to feast my eyes on such extraordinary work!

Though many of you have seen Velma Bolyard's amazing Rock Books, I wanted to celebrate them here on my blog. Click here to read more.

Christina Wiese's ceramic book. See website here.

Check out Wendy Kershaw's series of porcelain books on Flickr, here.

I discovered this photo of Anselm Kiefer's Standing Book on Catherine's Flickr photostream. Many more amazing gems to be found on Flickr. Click here.

Arabesque by Dot Krause. A cast iron book with thin sheet of polymer clay. Website here.

Falling in Place. A series by Redredday on Flickr. See here.

A bundle of Elizabeth Bunsen's little books. I check in on Elizabeth's blog regularly because her photographs and words make my heart sing. See blog here.

Book by Carol E McMahon. See website here.

Book from Ronald Chase's Play series. See website here.

Beautiful handmade pages by Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord. Click here to see The Spirit Book series.

"Each page is a meditation that echoes nature with both repetition and variety. "Reading" the book is meant to be a contemplative experience that takes the reader out of the everyday world and into a state of gratitude and reverence". - Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord

Photograph by Helena on Flickr. See more of her Diary of the Book-Lover series here.

2000 year old lead codice. Read about it here.

"May peace and peace and peace be everywhere".

- The Upanishads (c.900 - 600 B.C.)

STACKED

Steine by Einhorn 3. See Flickr photostream here.

I've come to the conclusion that artists will stack almost anything for the sake of art. From rocks and bones to driftwood and tree trunks.

The City. Assemblage by Wayne Chisnall. See Flickr photostream here.

Found objects to furniture, boxes and shipping containers.

Book Tower. Wheeled sculpture by Wayne Chisnall.

Books, newspapers, concrete blocks, glass bottles .... you name it, it's been done.

Gloria's Piece by Kate Hunt. Newspaper, twine and steel.

Kate Hunt's series of work, made with stacked and bound bundles of newspaper is quite extraordinary. Visit her website here to see more.

Detail of Gloria's Piece by Kate Hunt.

Colony 45 by Randi Parkhurst. Website here.

Velma Bolyard's beautiful handmade papers. Blog here.

Sculpture by Tony Cragg.

Tony Cragg is master of the stack. See his impressive website here.

Assemblage by Tony Cragg

Beauty in unexpected places. Photograph of stacked sleepers by Craig Williams. Flickr photostream here.

X MARKS THE SPOT

Natural ochres on paper by Kitty Kantilla

X marks the exact location on maps where treasure is buried. The artworks in this post are all marked with X's so you shouldn't have any trouble locating the treasure :-)

Unfinished. Mixed Media piece by Seth Apter

Seth Apter is an artist, photographer and blog magician from New York City, who we in the blog world have quickly grown to love. Not only is he gracious and charming but he also has the knack for shepherding artists from all over the globe to his blog The Altered Page . Here he organizes exciting projects such as Secret Sunday...... but I digress.

Many of you know Seth's highly layered and textured mixed media pieces. "Unfinished" is one of my favourites. During an interview at Creative Therapy he describes his layering technique .

"After each layer, the still-wet paint was either distressed with sandpaper, wiped away with a rag, texturized with various materials, or dug into with a straight edge. I feel that building up the layers, perhaps to the point where the earliest layers may not even be visible, is the best way to achieve depth and richness in a piece."



Abstract by Jylian Gustlin





Semiotic. Oil and Mixed media on canvas by Ida Kohlmeyer


Yoruba Diviner's Panel at the Hamill Gallery



One of 7 beaded artworks (700mm x 700mm) commissioned for Singita Pamushana Game Lodge.

When Martine Jackson decided to commercialise her beaded artworks she founded MJ Visual, a design company consisting of up to 6o beaders from the townships of Cape Town, South Africa.

" MJ.VISUAL is a result of Jackson’s passion for combining traditional African beadwork with contemporary graphic design as well as creating a platform for less privileged women to reveal their amazing artistic skills. "

Detail of a piece called Rust Moon by Velma Bolyard. Layers of handmade daylily paper, linen, hosta and shifu.

White Rock with Ochre Cross by Susanne Carmack

A Letter to Phil about Dolphins by Allen Maddox. See more here and here.

Piazza. Mixed media by Lennox Dunbar

Felt piece in progress by Fiona Rainford