My one-of-a-kind artist books are containers exploring the human body, memory mixed with reverie, fantasy, emotions, the world of growing things, the human body, and the need to remember places of significance. Created in series of two to eight pieces, I use drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, stitchery and three-dimensional found objects incorporated into various book structures in different ways. Text is gathered from my journal writing, the graphics on sewing patterns, charts, maps and diagrams, from web research, and responses to questions that I asked individuals. The expressive poems of Mary Oliver, May Sarton, and Anne Sexton are “woven” into some pieces and inspire others. Many books have “belts” that emphasize the ritual of opening, entering and “reading,” and most are two-sided three-dimensional objects.
FELT AND STITCHERY
ANXIETY JOURNAL
accordion binding, felt, embroidery floss, monoprints, cover: 14 x 7″, inside: 18 x 25″, 1993
BROOKLYN NIGHTS: GUN STORIES SERIES I
accordion binding, felt, embroidery floss, collage, acrylic, cover: 10 x 12”, inside: 12 x 30”, 1994
BROOKLYN NIGHTS: GUN STORIES SERIES II
accordion binding, felt, embroidery floss, marker, acrylic, cover: 14 x 12”, inside: 14 x 31”, 1994
HEART STORIES
double accordion binding, embroidery floss, marker, acrylic, cover: 18 x 11”, inside: 18 x 25”, 1994
MEMORY AND EMOTIONS
PORTRAIT: MOTHER
concertina binding, rubber, photo copies, acrylic paint, postcards, twine, cover: 10 x 9”, 1992
PORTRAIT: MY MOTHER/MY SISTER
concertina binding, photo copies, acrylic, cover: 8 x 10”, 1992
THE MIRRORED ROOM
series of six books, double concertina binding, photo transfers, book cloth, plastic, twine, 12 x 12” each, 2005
TIED IN NOTS: BOOKS I AND II
acordion binding, series of two books, acrylic, collage, twine, 12 x 10″, 2007
THE WIFE BEATER: BOOKS I AND II
series of two books, accordion binding, acrylic, collage, 14 x 10″ each, wall panel, paper on wood of all pages (42 x 50″), 2009
THE BODY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION
DENTAL ANXIETY
accordion binding, acrylic, collage, found objects, 12 x 9″, 2007
GALL STONES/ROLLING STONES BOOKS: I & II
accordion binding, series of two, acrylic, collage, found objects, 10 x 7″ each, 2009
INTERIOR STRUCTURES: A TRIPTYCH
single page binding, acrylic, paste paper, 10 ½ x 7 ½” each, 1997
WRIST WRECK
accordion binding, acrylic, fabric ink, 12 x 10”, 2008
BODY LIQUIDS: WATER
concertina binding, series of six, photo transfers on book cloth, 10 ½ x 10 ½” each, 1997
THE SPINE: WEAR AND TEAR
series of four, concertina binding, twine, photo transfer on book cloth, collage, 13 x 13” each, 2010
PLACE
THE SHORES OF PAUMANOK, “YOU FISH SHAPED ISLAND“
Acrylic, watercolor and transfers on paper, panorama structure 9 x 12″ closed
The shore was a touch point for Whitman, a setting for many poems about family, relationships, emotions; a muse where he could reflect about the cosmos, sea history, and the ocean as an enduring and essential life force. I too have spent much time on Long Island’s shores, and been fascinated by the configurations and complexities of this flat landscape. My photographs were taken years ago for a series of books I created to document this environment which was new to me and its ever changing moods of light, color and season. The panorama structure that surrounds the environment while still beautiful, is fragile, environmentally challenged and fast disappearing.
LONG ISLAND LANDSCAPES: SUNSET, ROCKY BEACH, and OCEAN VIEW
series of eight books, concertina binding, photo transfer on book cloth, paper, found objects, all 8 ½ x 12”, 2000
RUNNING THROUGH BROOKLYN: THE NYC MARATHON
concertina binding, photo transfer on paper and book cloth, found objects, 8 ½ x 12″, 2000. Brooklyn Museum Collection.
ALONG THE HUDSON
series of two, double panorama binding, acrylic, photo transfer on paper, cover: 9 x 12″, opened: 9 x 45″, 2006
ALONG THE HUDSON
double panorama binding, edition of 14 photo lithographs, 5 x 7″ closed, 2009. Printed at Kathy Caraccio Studios.
NATURE
LAKE OF THE STARS
accordion binding, ink, acrylic, 11 ½ x 4 ½”, 2003
SILVER LANDSCAPE
accordion binding, paste paper, acrylic, 9 ½ x 3”, 2003
MORNING AT GREAT POND: REFLECTIONS ON MARY OLIVER POEM
double accordion binding, acrylic, photo transfer, twine, 10 x 9 x 1″, opened: 40″, 2004
BLACKWATER WOODS: REFLECTIONS ON MARY OLIVER POEM
single folded binding, text on edges, crayon, paint, metal, front and back covers: 12 x 9”, opened: 12 x 42”, 2004
ROSES
single page binding, acrylic, metal, collage, cover: 12 x 10”, opened: 48 x 12”,
wall panel piece of pages (40 x 46″), 2004
FEMINIST CONCERNS
The New Tijuana Bible
4 small accordion books, each 5.5 x 4 “, inside a wrapper of 6 x 4.5”, book cloth, transfer on paper, ribbon, metal, 2006