Last Friday was the opening for “Expressions in Book Arts” at the Mesa Library in Los Alamos. I went with a group of friends, and the best part was watching Bebe, a printer who is new to book arts, get very excited by the altered books she saw in the exhibit. The ones she liked the best were books that had been cut up in strange ways. I’ll be interested to see what she comes up with!
The gallery space at the library is long and narrow with only a few pedestals, and is configured for hanging wall art. Barb, who put the show together, was successfully inventive in using the space. On one wall, she hung a long white rain gutter to display the books. This past spring, I taught a workshop on woven bindings, and one attendee, Phoebe, submitted a book to the show using one of the weavings we learned. This is her book in the “gutter display.” The books might have a tendency to fall off a more conventional shelf, but the lip on the gutter kept them in place.
Julia and Dana collaborated on a book that didn’t require you to turn the pages, as all the pages are displayed at once. It’s a homage to TS Elliot’s The Wasteland and James Joyce’s Ulysses (both were published 100 years ago in 1912).
This one is Barbara’s “The Magic of Light,” a start book with hand painted papers.
The show is up until the end of October.