Bits of Books Produce a Whodunit

Whodunit, is third in this particular series of my found-object assemblages.  Much of the series' content originated from discarded library materials.

Whodunit, 7x24"

 Musty books were sliced-n-diced to create this patchwork drama, including tintype portraits of mysterious ancestors, and a vintage delivery crate from Funk and Wagnals. 

Page curls are due to a wispy bandsaw cut

 The worm-worn timber substrate was salvaged from the dark underbelly of a century-old barn. Its lengthy intricate texture and bronze patina have earned unexpected exposure after a gingerly cleaning and sealcoat of varnish. 

Notice the character in the hat sharing her un-portrait-like hand gesture
---not withdrawn at all.

 A footnote from this gumshoe:  --- Train your eye to spy.  Seemingly tattered and tainted minutia  ---covertly rich in uniqueness, often goes unappreciated by the untrained eye and left on the cutting room floor. Clue in to rough edges, stains and doodle marks; they add character.

Book Art / New Versions of the Reproduction System and Open Heart Surgery

With my recent community art project, Out of Context---The Pulse of The Page, finished and installed in the Goodnow Library's permanent collection, I now have an interest in repurposing old books. A stash stares at me whenever I enter my studio and they need to be moved. Some of the books are spineless and a few are still intact.  What now? 

I chose the new edition's design specifically to go with the book title
--- my condensed version of the reproduction cycle.

  On display at a favorite boutique are vintage condensed Readers Digests carved into alphabet letters. With that in mind, I cut a few letters. Very cute. Of course, I had to go a little further and make it my own.  Neither of these books (published in 1961) looked like they were ever cracked open. Hmm, I guess humanity figured it all out without reading the text. 

The expression on the female's face is so telling ---compared to the male in the shower.
The juxtaposition of the carving was spot-on!

Carving love was much more challenging.  (---aint that the truth?)
Not finished with these new editions;  I plan on editing the insides with my own stories.  

Again, the choice of book makes all the difference in the new version's design.
With a fabric scrap looped and glued in the spin. it can now hang ---like mistletoe.

 Much time and effort went into this open heart surgery ... but I have to try everything once (or twice or thrice).

Enough of getting side-tracked.  I gotta finish the book I am reading and then start my book group's latest title. 
I do like listening to books on tape as I work.  It's nice to hear someone else's voice in the studio.

Community Art Project #2: Out Of Context / The Pulse of The Page

I was invited to create a piece for the Goodnow Library's sesquicentennial anniversary 

---that's 350 years of loaning books to the townsfolk.  The idea of making this a community project was mine.  

It was interesting to watch as kids and adults thumbed through various used books --- poetry, dictionaries, picture books, textbooks, manuals, novels.  All participants were amused, some were even giddy. Their cropped text selections ran from serious to silly. Participants were also given the option to underline, highlight or black-out words. Except for an adolescent's scrawled signature, there was no editing of the anonymous out-takes.

Shims held the words and spines.

I constructed the 2'x4'x1"substrate.

                             

Fitting all the pieces together was tricky in part due to varying book spine widths.

     

                                    Out of Context

The Pulse of The Page

The words we read pulse through us.

These words seep in,

promote laughter, tears, change 

… as does the red, pulsing within us

---providing life.

Cathleen E. Bradley

*I have a memorable relationship with libraries. Aside from borrowing stacks of books since I was a pipsqueak, I can claim TWICE being locked in --- once on the west coast as a teen and then again, on the east coast, decades later. Both incidences were accidental. 
Two points for not letting dim lighting interrupt my ability to focus!