Four of the Saffie Moon Series of Digital Books
A Valentine Story [Hanky Book]
Before They Were Wed [Hanky Book]
Grimoire [Hanky Book]
Sky Dust [Versions 1 & 2]
At the Water's Edge Round Robin Altered Book Project
Five women artists, who were also teachers, writers, therapists, and a nurse, jointly conspired on a theme and some basic guidelines. Respect and cooperation were central to the success of Water’s Edge. After selecting books based on that theme, we met bimonthly to exchange books and discuss the entries that had been made during the last working period. Each participant responded to the book they received until everyone completed the prescribed amount of entries in all five books. The altered book approaches were varied; some added text and others obscured it, some completely covered pages with new material, while others cut through sections to reveal new pages. Although highly individualized, paint and collage were the most commonly used techniques. At the conclusion we gathered for a weekend near the “water’s edge” of Lake Michigan. We shared and discussed all five altered books. The final formats varied greatly. One was a series of pamphlets in Japanese that were stored in a covered box, another was created in an old ledger, two artists selected the same title from different editions, and another artist used a beautiful book of photographs to deconstruct and reconstruct. The covers of each of these books and a sample of artwork from each woman that appeared in Chris' book are seen below. Lastly, we completed a newly constructed miniature book containing entries from each of us—a concluding group activity and souvenir of our weekend together. |
Chris Reising |