February 2021 | Unbound: The Altered Book

Bonnie Kuhr, How I Feel, 2021, Book pages, aluminium mesh, 12"H 10"D 8"W, NFS. This piece was just recently completed. It represents how I have felt during the past year. One side show anxiety regarding everything that has happened in the past year. The other side show open space where I would go to walk to regain my sanity. I used the iconic Edvard Munch the scream to represent anxiety and Vincent Van Gogh the wheat Field with cypresses for my sanity. It was made by hand forming perforated aluminum. I used a 1959 book on modern art and then shredded the color plates. I then needlepointed them into the aluminum.

Bonnie Kuhr, How I Feel, 2021, Book pages, aluminium mesh, 12"H 10"D 8"W, NFS. This piece was just recently completed. It represents how I have felt during the past year. One side show anxiety regarding everything that has happened in the past year. The other side show open space where I would go to walk to regain my sanity. I used the iconic Edvard Munch the scream to represent anxiety and Vincent Van Gogh the wheat Field with cypresses for my sanity. It was made by hand forming perforated aluminum. I used a 1959 book on modern art and then shredded the color plates. I then needlepointed them into the aluminum.

Bonnie Kuhr, How I Feel, 2021, Book pages, aluminium mesh, 12"H 10"D 8"W, NFS. This piece was just recently completed. It represents how I have felt during the past year. One side show anxiety regarding everything that has happened in the past year. The other side show open space where I would go to walk to regain my sanity. I used the iconic Edvard Munch the scream to represent anxiety and Vincent Van Gogh the wheat Field with cypresses for my sanity. It was made by hand forming perforated aluminum. I used a 1959 book on modern art and then shredded the color plates. I then needlepointed them into the aluminum.

Bonnie Kuhr, Snake & Egg, 2017, Mixed media, H-36" W-36" D-42", $12,000. Created from The Book of Earths by Edna Kenton, publication date 1929. It is a compilation of theories and lore that surrounds the beginnings of the cosmic universe. My sculpture was created from one book, with the pages becoming the body of the snake and the many mythological images making up the “cosmic egg.” Dissecting the book I removed the fabric cover from the book board, I then formed the tongue and eyes from the book board and covered them with the fabric. The fabric was also use to simulate the diamond shape marking of the snake skin. Because snakes are basically one long tube I wanted the wire form of the snake to be one continuous piece.

Roger Boulay, Volume of Periodicals, 2016, Archival inkjet print, 16x24", $750. I use books to investigate notions of instability and erasure. I am fascinated by the way stories form integral parts of larger cultural structures; how we consume and discard them in an endless cycle. Each book is altered or erased, creating passages that speaks to the decline of print media. Marred and distressed surfaces imply a loss that occurs from damage and aging. These images speak to the mutability and ephemerality of language. The marks and scars create a history of wear and disintegration. The paper in these photographs has a palpable texture; a fragile skin in the process of being shed and renewed. In this work I am exploring literal and metaphorical entropy at the intersection of language, architectural forms and texture.

Roger Boulay, A Confederacy of Dunces, 2016, Archival inkjet print, 30x40", $1,000. I use books to investigate notions of instability and erasure. For this piece, I "erased" the book's content with gold leaf. I was interested in replacing the potential value of the text of the book with a particular material that connotes value. Yet, how much gold begins to connote tastelessness or a lack of value? The economic value of cultural production such as fiction has become increasingly unclear as print media begins to disappear.

Stephanie Damoff, Eviscerated Reality, 2021, paper, wire mesh, 13” long, 8-1/2” high, 5” deep, $300. This accordion book is made of hardware cloth and handmade paper—hemp and pulped pages from a damaged copy of The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. The novel is an account of the two elusive leaders of the visceral realism school of poetry and tracks their adventures in Mexico City and Europe. The two seem to spend more time scoring marijuana to sell than writing poetry. One narrator, an aspiring young poet, who seeks to tell the story through journal notes spends his time stealing books and pursuing women. The pulped pages—the viscera of the text—are caught by the metal frame and reconstituted into a sculptural artist book. The surviving fragments of the original text form concrete poetry that can be read according to the choice of the reader or in an act of bibliomancy: “end/meant/something/in and ourselves/silent/and yet,/have/but/discovered that/would’ve/with my/multiplying/complete/resigned/possible” is one reading.

Stephanie Damoff, Eviscerated Reality, 2021, paper, wire mesh, 13” long, 8-1/2” high, 5” deep, $300. This accordion book is made of hardware cloth and handmade paper—hemp and pulped pages from a damaged copy of The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. The novel is an account of the two elusive leaders of the visceral realism school of poetry and tracks their adventures in Mexico City and Europe. The two seem to spend more time scoring marijuana to sell than writing poetry. One narrator, an aspiring young poet, who seeks to tell the story through journal notes spends his time stealing books and pursuing women. The pulped pages—the viscera of the text—are caught by the metal frame and reconstituted into a sculptural artist book. The surviving fragments of the original text form concrete poetry that can be read according to the choice of the reader or in an act of bibliomancy: “end/meant/something/in and ourselves/silent/and yet,/have/but/discovered that/would’ve/with my/multiplying/complete/resigned/possible” is one reading.

Stephanie Damoff, Eviscerated Reality, 2021, paper, wire mesh, 13” long, 8-1/2” high, 5” deep, $300. This accordion book is made of hardware cloth and handmade paper—hemp and pulped pages from a damaged copy of The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño. The novel is an account of the two elusive leaders of the visceral realism school of poetry and tracks their adventures in Mexico City and Europe. The two seem to spend more time scoring marijuana to sell than writing poetry. One narrator, an aspiring young poet, who seeks to tell the story through journal notes spends his time stealing books and pursuing women. The pulped pages—the viscera of the text—are caught by the metal frame and reconstituted into a sculptural artist book. The surviving fragments of the original text form concrete poetry that can be read according to the choice of the reader or in an act of bibliomancy: “end/meant/something/in and ourselves/silent/and yet,/have/but/discovered that/would’ve/with my/multiplying/complete/resigned/possible” is one reading.

Jeffrey Glossip, MegaBook Project, 2005-8, Paperback books, about 8x5x16 inches (variable). NFS. MegaBook Project is a work that consists of nine bestseller paperback books. The books have been unbound, combined, shuffled, then rebound. The concept of the Megabook Project is the opening of an infinite system from finite sources, As books are subsumed, they lose any intrinsic meaning they were meant to convey. It is impossible, for example, to follow any narrative for more than one page. Thus, the whole of the information contained in the Megabook is preserved but not retrievable.

Jeffrey Glossip, MegaBook Project, 2005-8, Paperback books, about 8x5x16 inches (variable), NFS. MegaBook Project is a work that consists of nine bestseller paperback books. The books have been unbound, combined, shuffled, then rebound. The concept of the Megabook Project is the opening of an infinite system from finite sources, As books are subsumed, they lose any intrinsic meaning they were meant to convey. It is impossible, for example, to follow any narrative for more than one page. Thus, the whole of the information contained in the Megabook is preserved but not retrievable.

Raluca Iancu, Tornadogenesis, 2020, Tunnel book with drypoint, monotype, hand tinting, 7.5" x 4.75" x 1.4", $500. My work explores disaster, memory and vulnerability. I question the way we look at tragedy, as well as the way we deal with its aftermath. This artist book presents the beginning of a storm. It can be interpreted as a time lapse, or as multiple simultaneous tornadoes.

Raluca Iancu, Tornadogenesis, 2020, Tunnel book with drypoint, monotype, hand tinting, 7.5" x 4.75" x 1.4", $500. My work explores disaster, memory and vulnerability. I question the way we look at tragedy, as well as the way we deal with its aftermath. This artist book presents the beginning of a storm. It can be interpreted as a time lapse, or as multiple simultaneous tornadoes.

Raluca Iancu, Tornadogenesis (detail), 2020, Tunnel book with drypoint, monotype, hand tinting, 7.5" x 4.75" x 1.4", $500. My work explores disaster, memory and vulnerability. I question the way we look at tragedy, as well as the way we deal with its aftermath. This artist book presents the beginning of a storm. It can be interpreted as a time lapse, or as multiple simultaneous tornadoes.

Raluca Iancu, The Sky Glows Orange, 2020, carousel book with monotype, drawing, cut paper, 11.5" x 5.45" x 1" (closed), $500. This work was made in response to the destructive events of 2020, both literal (fires in California and Australia), as well as metaphorical (the Covid-19 pandemic, the rising antagonism in politics in the United States).

Raluca Iancu, The Sky Glows Orange (cover), 2020, carousel book with monotype, drawing, cut paper, 11.5" x 5.45" x 1" (closed), $500. This work was made in response to the destructive events of 2020, both literal (fires in California and Australia), as well as metaphorical (the Covid-19 pandemic, the rising antagonism in politics in the United States).

Bonnie Kuhr, Endangered, 2020, altered book, 5'H 2.5'W .5"D, NFS. This piece was inspired by the book “Endangered Species” and was made into an altered book art. The images from the book are of the endangered species from the African continent. The back side shows the region they are from. The design or shape was fashioned after the skate or mermaid purse. The skate symbolizes that there is an embryo and the hope that the species will continue.

Bonnie Kuhr, Endangered (detail), 2020, altered book, 5'H 2.5'W .5"D, NFS. This piece was inspired by the book “Endangered Species” and was made into an altered book art. The images from the book are of the endangered species from the African continent. The back side shows the region they are from. The design or shape was fashioned after the skate or mermaid purse. The skate symbolizes that there is an embryo and the hope that the species will continue.

Locus Xiaotong Chen, Rice Composition in Modern Postage, 2019, Locus Xiaotong Chen, Intaglio prints, sliver mylar, rice, perforation on asian paper, 1 7/8 in x 1 7/8 in x 12 in, $1350. This book is a rework of my previous work on paper which is executed in a similar manner. More importantly, it is a contemplation on transforming the previous work into a minimalistic book form that enables new dialogues to speak out while retaining the original essence of an existing work. Let the work re-speaks in the form of a simple 32-page book. Rice Composition in Modern Postage has two modes of display: being flat as the original two-dimensional work and folding into a three-dimensional book form. When the book lays flat, the format imitates a full sheet of stamps: centered at each segment of square is a imagery in comprised of cut-out intaglio print with six grains of rice manifesting the same gesture glued in the center of the square; the perforated lines divide each stamp up and at the same time aggregate them all onto a full sheet. Imitation of the full sheet of stamps can be read as a complete edition of miniature prints (being browsed at once) before it is distributed to individual owners for different purposes. This idea is reflected on by using the original intaglio print as the collaging material for the stamps. Ideally, this work is meant be distributed to people as how an edition of fine art prints finds its way to individual owners and how each stamp from one same sheet parcels out onto different envelopes. The performative potential in the work’s form is drafted out but has not yet been realized. When the book is folded up and displayed in book form, it manifests a miniature maze with bewitching seesawed pathways of alternating mirroring imageries and components. The architectural strength of this book form gives the work a versatile and engaging structure, adding complexities into existing visual contents. The book explores the theme of dualistic powers between macro and micro, black and white, sameness and nuances, as rest of the works in the rice series.

Locus Xiaotong Chen, Rice Composition in Modern Postage, 2019, Locus Xiaotong Chen, Intaglio prints, sliver mylar, rice, perforation on asian paper, 1 7/8 in x 1 7/8 in x 12 in, $1350. This book is a rework of my previous work on paper which is executed in a similar manner. More importantly, it is a contemplation on transforming the previous work into a minimalistic book form that enables new dialogues to speak out while retaining the original essence of an existing work. Let the work re-speaks in the form of a simple 32-page book. Rice Composition in Modern Postage has two modes of display: being flat as the original two-dimensional work and folding into a three-dimensional book form. When the book lays flat, the format imitates a full sheet of stamps: centered at each segment of square is a imagery in comprised of cut-out intaglio print with six grains of rice manifesting the same gesture glued in the center of the square; the perforated lines divide each stamp up and at the same time aggregate them all onto a full sheet. Imitation of the full sheet of stamps can be read as a complete edition of miniature prints (being browsed at once) before it is distributed to individual owners for different purposes. This idea is reflected on by using the original intaglio print as the collaging material for the stamps. Ideally, this work is meant be distributed to people as how an edition of fine art prints finds its way to individual owners and how each stamp from one same sheet parcels out onto different envelopes. The performative potential in the work’s form is drafted out but has not yet been realized. When the book is folded up and displayed in book form, it manifests a miniature maze with bewitching seesawed pathways of alternating mirroring imageries and components. The architectural strength of this book form gives the work a versatile and engaging structure, adding complexities into existing visual contents. The book explores the theme of dualistic powers between macro and micro, black and white, sameness and nuances, as rest of the works in the rice series.

Locus Xiaotong Chen, Rice Composition in Modern Postage (detail), 2019, Locus Xiaotong Chen, Intaglio prints, sliver mylar, rice, perforation on asian paper, 1 7/8 in x 1 7/8 in x 12 in, $1350. This book is a rework of my previous work on paper which is executed in a similar manner. More importantly, it is a contemplation on transforming the previous work into a minimalistic book form that enables new dialogues to speak out while retaining the original essence of an existing work. Let the work re-speaks in the form of a simple 32-page book. Rice Composition in Modern Postage has two modes of display: being flat as the original two-dimensional work and folding into a three-dimensional book form. When the book lays flat, the format imitates a full sheet of stamps: centered at each segment of square is a imagery in comprised of cut-out intaglio print with six grains of rice manifesting the same gesture glued in the center of the square; the perforated lines divide each stamp up and at the same time aggregate them all onto a full sheet. Imitation of the full sheet of stamps can be read as a complete edition of miniature prints (being browsed at once) before it is distributed to individual owners for different purposes. This idea is reflected on by using the original intaglio print as the collaging material for the stamps. Ideally, this work is meant be distributed to people as how an edition of fine art prints finds its way to individual owners and how each stamp from one same sheet parcels out onto different envelopes. The performative potential in the work’s form is drafted out but has not yet been realized. When the book is folded up and displayed in book form, it manifests a miniature maze with bewitching seesawed pathways of alternating mirroring imageries and components. The architectural strength of this book form gives the work a versatile and engaging structure, adding complexities into existing visual contents. The book explores the theme of dualistic powers between macro and micro, black and white, sameness and nuances, as rest of the works in the rice series.

Tony Gangitano, Magic of Storytelling, 2019, Digital Photo of Original Altered Book Sculpture, 16" x 20", $900. Depiction of a mother telling a story to a child, in an intimate setting. They experiencing a book together, thus promoting Interactive learning, visualizing, and understanding of relationships between actions and consequences. The Metallic Antenna represent enhanced communication.

Tony Gangitano, Magic of Story Time, 2018, Digital Photo of Original Altered Book Sculpture, 16" x 20", $900. Repurposed objects, representing the transfer of knowledge. A Parent or Teacher, is telling a story to a child, promoting Interactive learning, visualizing, and understanding of relationships between actions and consequences. The Metallic Antenna represent enhanced communication.

Leekyung Kang, Ecstasy of the surface, photo-etching and book-binding, 30x30" (unfolded), 11x11"(folded), $750. Through this work, the virtual experience in the digital form has transformed our perception of reality. The recognition of physicality of space has been distorted. By leveraging the tension between digital image and traditional mediums, I am able to intensify this distortion through mass image duplication, which result in an uncanny aesthetic. As a consequence of this experiment, one can find a co-existence of two and three dimensional world through disorientation, randomness and repetition as the way of navigation. I try to collect my idea archives and cartographic imagery to create the book form by traditional etching prints. It is through this digital reproduction system that I would like to share my view of the world with my viewer.

Leekyung Kang, Ecstasy of the surface, photo-etching and book-binding, 30x30" (unfolded), 11x11"(folded), $750. Through this work, the virtual experience in the digital form has transformed our perception of reality. The recognition of physicality of space has been distorted. By leveraging the tension between digital image and traditional mediums, I am able to intensify this distortion through mass image duplication, which result in an uncanny aesthetic. As a consequence of this experiment, one can find a co-existence of two and three dimensional world through disorientation, randomness and repetition as the way of navigation. I try to collect my idea archives and cartographic imagery to create the book form by traditional etching prints. It is through this digital reproduction system that I would like to share my view of the world with my viewer.

Leekyung Kang, Ecstasy of the surface, photo-etching and book-binding, 30x30" (unfolded), 11x11"(folded), $750. Through this work, the virtual experience in the digital form has transformed our perception of reality. The recognition of physicality of space has been distorted. By leveraging the tension between digital image and traditional mediums, I am able to intensify this distortion through mass image duplication, which result in an uncanny aesthetic. As a consequence of this experiment, one can find a co-existence of two and three dimensional world through disorientation, randomness and repetition as the way of navigation. I try to collect my idea archives and cartographic imagery to create the book form by traditional etching prints. It is through this digital reproduction system that I would like to share my view of the world with my viewer.

Nicolai Larsen, "Panurge & the Quest for the Holy Bottle" from the book "Gargantua & Pantagruel", 1970, Mahogany wood box, Ink, Goldleaf, 11 x 7 inches, NFS. When I was in art school my friend loaned me his book "Gargantua & Pantagruel" a tale about a giant and his son roaming the countryside in France causing comedic chaos . Farmers gave them herds of cattle to eat for dinner. They traveled far and wide searching for the oracle of the Holy Bottle .This classic was written by a 14th century French monk Francois Rabelais. Eventually the cover box wore out so I made a decorative one illustrating one of the stories...

Claudia Berlinski, Separate But Equal, 2011, Mixed media, 12” x 18” x 3”, $250. Separate But Equal was created in response to the climate crisis and the idea that global warming is creating devastating changes in the environment. I utilized an atlas for this project, focusing on the pages showing the arctic region and Antarctica to depict two different kinds of environmental disasters. Each page is modified through additive and subtractive processes and the addition of color. The book is displayed with a book stand.

Claudia Berlinski, Separate But Equal, 2011, Mixed media, 12” x 18” x 3”, $250. Separate But Equal was created in response to the climate crisis and the idea that global warming is creating devastating changes in the environment. I utilized an atlas for this project, focusing on the pages showing the arctic region and Antarctica to depict two different kinds of environmental disasters. Each page is modified through additive and subtractive processes and the addition of color. The book is displayed with a book stand.

Claudia Berlinski, Separate But Equal, 2011, Mixed media, 12” x 18” x 3”, $250. Separate But Equal was created in response to the climate crisis and the idea that global warming is creating devastating changes in the environment. I utilized an atlas for this project, focusing on the pages showing the arctic region and Antarctica to depict two different kinds of environmental disasters. Each page is modified through additive and subtractive processes and the addition of color. The book is displayed with a book stand.

Roger Boulay, Stories (diptych) 2016, archival inkjet print, 24x32" (each individual piece 24x16") $1,200. I use books to investigate notions of instability and erasure. I am fascinated by the way stories form integral parts of larger cultural structures; how we consume and discard them in an endless cycle. Each book is altered or erased, creating passages that speaks to the decline of print media. Marred and distressed surfaces imply a loss that occurs from damage and aging. These images speak to the mutability and ephemerality of language. The marks and scars create a history of wear and disintegration. The paper in these photographs has a palpable texture; a fragile skin in the process of being shed and renewed. In this work I am exploring literal and metaphorical entropy at the intersection of language, architectural forms and texture.

Claudia Berlinski, Another Deadly Day, 2008, Altered book with digital printing, 9” x 6” x 185” extended, $1,000. Another Deadly Day was created in response to the war in Iraq during the George W. Bush administration. The original book is a story of an oil baron from Texas which focuses on the ultimate importance of oil to our freedom. I disassembled the original book and reassemble it using title pages from many of the chapters. The chapter titles paralleled the topic of our dependency on the Middle East for oil and my views on the Bush administration. I printed imagery of circling sharks and headlines from newspapers regarding the war in Iraq and burned the pages to create an ulcerative looking hole that grows throughout the book pages.

Claudia Berlinski, Another Deadly Day (detail), 2008, Altered book with digital printing, 9” x 6” x 185” extended, $1,000. Another Deadly Day was created in response to the war in Iraq during the George W. Bush administration. The original book is a story of an oil baron from Texas which focuses on the ultimate importance of oil to our freedom. I disassembled the original book and reassemble it using title pages from many of the chapters. The chapter titles paralleled the topic of our dependency on the Middle East for oil and my views on the Bush administration. I printed imagery of circling sharks and headlines from newspapers regarding the war in Iraq and burned the pages to create an ulcerative looking hole that grows throughout the book pages.

Bryan Fellenbaum, Lullaby, 2020, Watercolor, ink, pencil, collage, tape, image transfer on book cover, 10 1/8” x 15”, $150. This piece is from a series based on the album "Lonesome Dreams" by Lord Huron, a story about going away to a new, unexplored place away from friends and family, but with a general sense of adventure. With "Lullaby," I wanted to explore the lyrics of the song which references dreams and strong feeling of melancholy. The beginning lyrics present us with a story of someone who returns in the morning after an unexplained journey in the night, but the events are never clarified. It merely states that "there's a price to be paid for the things that you do," reminiscent of the idea that every action has a resulting action. I thought this balance was very similar to the idea of dualism and the opposition of the sun and the moon, light and dark, good and bad.

Bryan Fellenbaum, Puppis, 2017, Watercolor, oil, collage, image transfer on book cover, 5 ½" x 8 ¼" , $125. I've made a handful of artworks depicting constellations and highlighting their scientific definitions. Often times the names of the stars, galaxies, or other celestial bodies are listed, and in other pieces I've even listed the coordinates or common names for these patterns. There's a very simple beauty to this information laid out for us. It acts as a map of our sky, but only works from our own planet: anywhere else, and the information is essentially inaccurate. "Puppis" doesn't contain a background story but is more-so an exercise in composition and design. The one aspect that I did want was the nebulous paint in the middle of the book cover and overlapping the constellation.

Bryan Fellenbaum, The First Days of Spring, 2017, Gouache, collage, pencil, image transfer on book cover, 9 1/2” x 12 1/2”, $130. The piece "The First Days of Spring" is part of another album series, based on the album of the same name, and by rock band Noah and the Whale. The art is minimal in content and reflects the first song of that album. "The First Days of Spring" is an album about separation and loss in a relationship, and being single again. With the solemn nature of the whole album and the quiet sound of the first song, I wanted to make less subject matter feel just as powerful and meaningful as it might with a "full" canvas.

Tony Gangitano, Magic of Sculpture: A Child's Perspective, 2020, Digital Photo of Original Altered Book Sculpture, 16" x 20", $900. Children (constructed from children’s books) who are viewing a towering biomorphic abstract sculpture, constructed from pages. Both incorporate Metallic Antenna representing enhanced communication. The conceptual emphasis is on the value of exposing children (or the child within adults), to Art, thereby promoting visual and mental understanding of the Elements of Art such as: Shape, Texture, Color, and Materials, and to stimulate the emotions and imagination.

Leekyung Kang, Transition in Unknown territory; Panic Architecture, risography, 11’’x17’’, 2018, $ 150. I am interested in book form that indicates my idea and conceptual archive from my initial idea to the final outcome of production. Variety of images encourage me to incorporate the image placement and writing components simultaneously so that printmaking practice gains the innovative process, which turns into different perspective of traditional medium.

Leekyung Kang, Transition in Unknown territory; Panic Architecture, 2018, Risography, 11’’x17’’, $ 150. I am interested in book form that indicates my idea and conceptual archive from my initial idea to the final outcome of production. Variety of images encourage me to incorporate the image placement and writing components simultaneously so that printmaking practice gains the innovative process, which turns into different perspective of traditional medium.

Jana Lawton, What A Lark, 2021, Book, 20"x12"x4", $200 donation to Butte Environmental Council. An old edition of John James Audubon's Birds of America was my source of inspiration for this altered book. Audubon's love of nature, his interest in birds, and his artistic skill were the driving forces behind this pictorial record of all the bird species of North America. I enjoyed studying and handling each page as I clipped them in the service of art to make each feather. The wings of the horned lark in flight is my new creation.

Jana Lawton, What A Lark, 2021, Book, 20"x12"x4", $200 donation to Butte Environmental Council. An old edition of John James Audubon's Birds of America was my source of inspiration for this altered book. Audubon's love of nature, his interest in birds, and his artistic skill were the driving forces behind this pictorial record of all the bird species of North America. I enjoyed studying and handling each page as I clipped them in the service of art to make each feather. The wings of the horned lark in flight is my new creation.

Claudia Berlinski, Speechless, 2012, Altered book with used coffee filters, 8" x 10" x 3", $250. Speechless grew out of a repetitive cathartic striking of the book using an art knife during a particularly difficult period in my life. After passing through this period I created the flower-like forms that emerge from the tattered book as an analogy for surviving and healing after that experience.

Claudia Berlinski, Speechless, 2012, Altered book with used coffee filters, 8" x 10" x 3", $250. Speechless grew out of a repetitive cathartic striking of the book using an art knife during a particularly difficult period in my life. After passing through this period I created the flower-like forms that emerge from the tattered book as an analogy for surviving and healing after that experience.

Evan D. Williams (b. 1986, Sayre, PA) investigates the quandaries of the numinous and carnal self in media ranging from open bite photography to maple bourbon lithography. I Don’t Understand The Logic of Yesterday (Folio n.p. [Syria Files: The Conquest of Canaan]; Folio n.p. [Textual Discourses: The Subcultural Paradigm of Expression in the Works of Tarantino]; Folio n.p. [Library of Babel: Evan]; Folio n.p. [Test of the Infinite Monkey Theorem]; Folio n.p. [XPA Numbers Station Transmission]) is a pentaptych of two-color woodblock prints on handmade papyrus pages with palimpsest electrostatic text, executed 2013–2019.

Locus Xiaotong Chen, Inventory of Coffee-Drinking, 2019, Used coffee filters, wire, paper tape, coffee beans, mica sheets, 8.5" x 13" x 2.5", $2021. I like to work with the materials that I collect and recycle from daily life and then manipulate them in the art-making process. I have collected used Chemex filters since 2019, categorizing them into this coffee "journal" with minimal editing. The leaves of this coffee filter book are arranged according to hues of coffee stains and bound together by a single wire. Coffee beans pasted on mica sheets are the "book covers." Attached onto the two sides of the binding wire are drilled coffee beans as ornaments.

Erin Wells, Shark Feed, 2020, Mixed media, 13 x 9 x 7 inches, $200. October arrives in a hurry, the boat is washed, and examined, all tired lines, split rings and hardware are replaced as needed...it is time for the Champagne Regatta, better known as the "shark feed at Bodega Bay". Sneaker waves, fat seals, thrills and chills, good friends, fast and wet fun. A weekend to cherish.

Erin Wells, Shark Feed, 2020, Mixed media, 13 x 9 x 7 inches, $200.

Locus Xiaotong Chen, The Blossom, 2019-2020, Japanese book pages, woodcut printing, monofilament, light-weight paper tape, paper, beads, embroidery, 11" x 8" x 6" (fully open), $3,200. Found materials have been a major element in my artwork. Antique, used, aging and repurposed materials are sensitive. They carry their intrinsic history and memory within the physicality, which allows me to manipulate differently in aware of their intrinsic history and qualities. I am immediately intrigued when the materials are in the state of aging or decay. The use of repurposed materials is my understanding on reclamation of the environment and humanity. The choice of using the repurposed materials is driven by the empathy for the materials, thus the nature and the environment whom created the materials; the action is to salvage under an anthropomorphic psyche. I annotate the traces of decay with my edits, thus new memories and timeline are added to the materials. The Blossom (2019-20) is a sculptural concertina made of antique Japanese calligraphy pages, possibly originally for bookkeeping. Brutal though delicate, the strips of book leaves are supported with inner monofilaments to let air penetrate in-between folded pages, forming shuttle-shaped petals that allow variable displays. Mark-making in embroidery and beads is later added in response to the existed marks on the original pages.

Locus Xiaotong Chen, The Blossom (detail), 2019-2020, Japanese book pages, woodcut printing, monofilament, light-weight paper tape, paper, beads, embroidery, 11" x 8" x 6" (fully open), $3,200. Found materials have been a major element in my artwork. Antique, used, aging and repurposed materials are sensitive. They carry their intrinsic history and memory within the physicality, which allows me to manipulate differently in aware of their intrinsic history and qualities. I am immediately intrigued when the materials are in the state of aging or decay. The use of repurposed materials is my understanding on reclamation of the environment and humanity. The choice of using the repurposed materials is driven by the empathy for the materials, thus the nature and the environment whom created the materials; the action is to salvage under an anthropomorphic psyche. I annotate the traces of decay with my edits, thus new memories and timeline are added to the materials. The Blossom (2019-20) is a sculptural concertina made of antique Japanese calligraphy pages, possibly originally for bookkeeping. Brutal though delicate, the strips of book leaves are supported with inner monofilaments to let air penetrate in-between folded pages, forming shuttle-shaped petals that allow variable displays. Mark-making in embroidery and beads is later added in response to the existed marks on the original pages.

Steven McCarthy, A Theory of the Efficient Organization, 2016, Mixed media collage, 9.5x13.5" open, NFS. All three books are from the larger work Wee Go Library, a mobile cabinet of 22 altered books. (Learn more here: https://faculty.design.umn.edu/mccarthy/WeeGoLibrary.html) The original books were "harvested" from Little Free Libraries in Minneapolis–St Paul, Minnesota. Within its cabinet drawer, each book is sourced to the donor library with a small pamphlet that has a pin-pointed map and photos of the library structure and sponsoring house. Various re-mixing techniques were used to enliven the books: collage, rebinding, cutting, folding, tearing and gluing.

Steven McCarthy, A Theory of the Efficient Organization, 2016, Mixed media collage, 9.5x13.5" open, NFS. All three books are from the larger work Wee Go Library, a mobile cabinet of 22 altered books. (Learn more here: https://faculty.design.umn.edu/mccarthy/WeeGoLibrary.html) The original books were "harvested" from Little Free Libraries in Minneapolis–St Paul, Minnesota. Within its cabinet drawer, each book is sourced to the donor library with a small pamphlet that has a pinpointed map and photos of the library structure and sponsoring house. Various re-mixing techniques were used to enliven the books: collage, rebinding, cutting, folding, tearing and gluing.

Steven McCarthy, Keeping Sugar Pumpkin Harvest, 2016, Mixed media collage, 11x17" open, NFS.

Steven McCarthy, Keeping Sugar Pumpkin Harvest, 2016, Mixed media collage, 11x17" open, NFS

Steven McCarthy, Keeping Sugar Pumpkin Harvest, 2016, Mixed media collage, 11x17" open, NFS

Steven McCarthy, Words to Ponder Minor Prophets of Israel, 2016, Mixed media collage, 5 x 48" (open), NFS

Steven McCarthy, Words to Ponder Minor Prophets of Israel, 2016, Mixed media collage, 5 x 48" (open), NFS

Erin Wells, Flight, 2020-21, Mixed media, 9 x 5.25 x 2.5 inches, $150. I have always dreamed of flying. I actually did fly as a young woman and my love affair with flight continues on today. I love to watch all flyers, be they human, mechanical, animals or insects. The gift of flight is a wonderful act to behold.

Erin Wells, Flight, 2020-21, Mixed media, 9 x 5.25 x 2.5 inches, $150. I have always dreamed of flying. I actually did fly as a young woman and my love affair with flight continues on today. I love to watch all flyers, be they human, mechanical, animals or insects. The gift of flight is a wonderful act to behold.

Alice Figueroa, Seeds of Change, 2021, Mixed medium, 12 x 19 inches, $75. I love to garden. this is what could happen if the gardening book became the garden.

Lisa Freeman-Wood, Lisa's Gardening Book, 2020, Collected ephemera, 9 x 12 inches, NFS. I chose this book for several reasons. I wanted a gardening book and when I saw this one in the used bookstore I knew it was the one for me. I have long enjoyed Tasha Tudor's work. Her watercolors have illustrated many fairytales and nursery rhymes. As a retired elementary teacher, I have a love for storybooks. I loved the way she is so passionate about her garden and the book is full of little paintings of flowers on the pages. I have always loved flowers and gardens, and I paint primarily flowers. I have included some of my work in it as well as some of my friends' work that I like. Even though this is a large book with glossy pages, not the easiest to work on, I have made it work. I am not finished by any means and will continue to add to it for a long time.

Lisa Freeman-Wood, Lisa's Gardening Book, 2020, Collected ephemera, 9 x 12 inches, NFS. I chose this book for several reasons. I wanted a gardening book and when I saw this one in the used bookstore I knew it was the one for me. I have long enjoyed Tasha Tudor's work. Her watercolors have illustrated many fairytales and nursery rhymes. As a retired elementary teacher, I have a love for storybooks. I loved the way she is so passionate about her garden and the book is full of little paintings of flowers on the pages. I have always loved flowers and gardens, and I paint primarily flowers. I have included some of my work in it as well as some of my friends' work that I like. Even though this is a large book with glossy pages, not the easiest to work on, I have made it work. I am not finished by any means and will continue to add to it for a long time.