Book Club...

"More than three centuries and a half ago, in the mid spring-time of 1492, we are sure that the angel of the dawn, as he travelled with broad slow wing from the Levant to the Pillars of Hercules, and from the summits of the Caucasus across all the snowy Alpine ridges to the dark nakedness of the Western isles, saw nearly the same outline of firm land and unstable sea—saw the same great mountain shadows on the same valleys as he has seen to-day—saw olive mounts, and pine forests, and the broad plains green with young corn or rain-freshened grass—saw the domes and spires of cities rising by the river-sides or mingled with the sedge-like masts on the many-curved sea-coast, in the same spots where they rise to-day. And as the faint light of his course pierced into the dwellings of men, it fell, as now, on the rosy warmth of nestling children; on the haggard waking of sorrow and sickness; on the hasty uprising of the hard-handed labourer; and on the late sleep of the night-student, who had been questioning the stars or the sages, or his own soul, for that hidden knowledge which would break through the barrier of man’s brief life, and show its dark path, that seemed to bend no whither, to be an arc in an immeasurable circle of light and glory. The great river-courses which have shaped the lives of men have hardly changed; and those other streams, the life-currents that ebb and flow in human hearts, pulsate to the same great needs, the same great loves and terrors. As our thought follows close in the slow wake of the dawn, we are impressed with the broad sameness of the human lot, which never alters in the main headings of its history—hunger and labour, seed-time and harvest, love and death." George Eliot, "Romola"

I recently returned from a month traveling in Europe.. two weeks with my husband and some friends knocking around Antwerp, Belgium and France and two more weeks with a small band of artists, making art and trekking in Cornwall, England, and then rural France. While I spent much time touring galleries, gardens, and castles, I also spent a lot of time with my nose in a book just reading. It was a delight to be in a new and beautiful space and doing one of my favorite things, reading.  During the trip, I often heard my fellow travelers discussing their latest book club read.. this post is dedicated to all the wonderful books (and not so wonderful ones too) that are read in book clubs.

The year was spend with my nose in books... the quote above is the first paragraph of the book I just started reading... 

And there has been book making...

Cord bound book with paste paper and 1930's Japanese game card

and nature wild...

near St. Just, Cornwall, England

and tame,

Cornwall buttercups and heather

and art...

Barbara Hepworth stone sculpture, St. Ives, Cornwall, England

Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth, artist, sculptor, 1903-1975, St. Ives, Cornwall, England

and life...

Hope you have been having some great reads this year!

K

East:West

Happy 2018! I'm looking forward to this year! The New Year in Raleigh will begin with a new exhibition of our local book artists, the Triangle Book Arts Group https://trianglebookarts.wordpress.com. I have two pieces in the show. One is a piece titled East:West. It is a bridge book, created from used tea bags, twigs, walnut ink, string, quotes from the I Ching and paraphrased articles from the NY Times on China. This book was first made in 2011 and recycled for the exhibition of books from recycled things...

sticks and used teabags.... about 40 inches long by 24 inches tall and 6 inches deep

from above the path seems risky...

Close-up of the text; NY Times on the West side, I Ching on the East side

This piece will be exhibited in the group book artists' exhibition Refuse, January 26 - March 3, 2018, at Artspace, 201 E. Davie Street, Raleigh, NC. All works are 70% recycled materials. 

the show card

Participating artists are:

Kathy Bayard                                                              Betty Martinez

Patrick Beggs                                                              Carolyn Maynard

Mary Beth Boone                                                        Laurie O'Neill

Chuck Cave                                                                 Martha Petty

Mary Blackwell-Chapman                                          Audrey Pinto

John Davis                                                                   Dana Palmer

Elisabeth Effron                                                           Melinda Rittenhouse

Lisa Gilbert                                                                  Steven Silverleaf

Steve Godwin                                                              Kathy Steinsberger

Beth Grabowski                                                           Helen Spielmai

Janet Guertin                                                                Debbie Suchoff

Robin Harper                                                                Gwen Van Ark

Betty Haskin                                                                 Louanne Watley

Delia Keefe                                                                   Emily Weinstein

Paul Keene                                                                    Mary Yordy

Susan Leeb                                                                    Andrea Zietlow

Barbara Livingston