Landscapes | Bookspine Patchworks

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The patina of aging and weathering can reveal a deeper beauty of impermanence and imperfection.  I see this in the covers of discarded hardcover books, showing age from exposure to the elements and in their handling and use by the people they have lived with over the years. 

 

The “Landscape” series is reminiscent of quilts made from scraps, the compilation of time and memory, pieced together to become whole. Preparing the books is a meditative process in and of itself.  On a warm day, I uncover the books to wash the spines in a bowl of water, sitting in the sun, to remove the glue and paper and in washing, an “undying” also takes place as the color also washes away and the lettering on the spines begin to fade. The strips are then pinned to dry, like garments on a clothesline and then handled to flatten and soften to use as fabric.  Without a plan of how to proceed, I begin exploring the colors, pairing and adhering two hues together, choosing which will be the main color and which will partner to it and peek out from the edge.  The pieces are sewn into small patchworks then joined together and stitched by hand into one piece that evokes an aerial view of a landscape from high above.

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Presentation: floated for slight shadow inside white wood frame behind glass..