Lisa's Labyrinth Book, ready to go!

From the beginning...

Cover page with niche and circuit board.

Inside front cover. Title page and "Woven" page.

Second page, entanglement and intricate. I wasn't quite happy with the blank area above the nest so I took care of that and the update version is shown below!

Following the "Intricate" page is the sign in area which is made from pages of a vintage photo album and embellished with a collage from the Pulp Redux collage series I did. The piece of paper under the copper/wire piece is a note to all the artists.

Above: Each signature has a few pages of blank paper at the beginning to be used as Visual Diary pages by the artist whose signature that is. This is my VD page, I forgot to photograph the other one! Doh!

Below: Already filled to overflowing, my book is now ready to go! Other posts on this blog relating to this book can be found here.

This is so much fun, thanks everyone for your wonderful feedback and to our visitors please watch this space! New work will be added as each artist recieves a new book to work on and this is promising to be a great collab! Wahoo!

Debrina's Book: Through the Eye Glass (Finished)

"Through the Eye Glass"

by Debrina (D.Price-Ewen)

November 2009

Copyright 2009

D.Price-Ewen

Lisa's Book: "Roots...beneath the layers" final

final update before my book heads out in the mail:

The last page and inside back cover

This piece reflects the art from my Grandmothers era.

Circles were a common element in this style.

Older family photograph and the second half of the poem
"The Layers" on the outside back cover.

 The first half of the poem is on the inside front cover.

Side view with unfinished layers to be completed as the book makes it rounds...
Right click on any photograph for details.

Alicia's Book: The Museum of Forgotten Things, almost ready!

i have made some new additions to my book and gotten new photos taken. i have a few more pages to complete (three of which are started) and may or may not post those later. one of them does not fit the "museum of forgotten things" theme, but rather is a tribute to us five ladies working on the book and it's flight around the world. i also have yet to finish the cover, but should be doing so tomorrow.

page one is finally complete: charlotte. her page has some things i'd gotten from lisa j. and debs. i wanted to incorporate as much of everyone as i could into my pages, even though you'll be doing your own pages too... just felt right.



the top waxy-charlotte part opens up so you can read the charlotte poem:

page two is also complete and one you've seen lots of already so likely isn't too exciting. also, i lost my real dude photo that is supposed to go into the frame so rather than sew the frame on now i kind of glued it in a more temporary fashion so i can replace him later. whoops! supposedly that's a real diamond that i glued onto the flower. i don't really care for diamonds but i liked the little sparkle it added (i can't believe i of all people wanted something "sparkly"!).


page three is barely started and i'm not finishing it until the book makes its way back to me next year (primarily due to the fact that there will be bones, and such), so i SHOULDN'T post it, but i am. i sewed the pages together to form a folder of sorts and it will be stuffed with goodies later. this is more of a personal page and probably doesn't seem "forgotten" to most, but the super succinct reasoning is that i always wanted to be a forensic chick. that's a real dental x-ray and there is really dna on the slide. this is a funny shot -- during my very last stitch on this page, my needle broke.

i have to add some fabric to the page behind this piece, and a hinge, but here is a better shot of page six:

the top piece opens up to reveal another image (then the bottom piece will be hinged to open another time, revealing something else, but i'll save that for later peeks too). recognize some of the fabric, lisa j?


11/16 update:

this is page 5 -- there are 5 of us playing -- the nest has five little crystals in it -- the book, like the bird, is flying around the world... just a little tribute page that doesn't fit with the theme, but i don't care. ;)


and a couple of peeks at the new page four (old page four is now page six) -- a glass tube and broken glass watchmaker vial from the late 1800s with fabulous little pieces of paper from debbie, and on amazing fabrics from lisa j:

this looks cooler in person -- a spider web i made and sewed onto fabric before rusting it.

this page makes me thankful that i don't often sew. i sustained numerous injuries including a self breast needle biopsy, a needle under a finger nail and a hole in my thigh (accidentally sewed something to my jeans). i should stick with paint and paper. ;)

Lisa's book: Roots.. beneath the layers

This is my first update. As you can see the book is much thicker now

with the addition of the inside cover and first page:

Now when you open the book this is what you see...

 The inside front cover has the first half of the poem "The Layers"
by Stanley Kunitz,  a poem about the journey of life. The photograph
is of my grandmother as a young girl covering her face...
appropriate to the concept in the poem about our

changing identities past and future. The second half of the
poem will be on the inside back cover of the book.

The first half of the poem...

 On the second page I've created a fiber art festival of textures and layers
using natural and vintage fabrics, wool fiber and silk sari ribbons.
There are five spears of white turquoise...each represents a participant
in this collaboration. The turquoise is also symbol of friendship.

I've created a sandwich of fabric and fiber layers in which
the spears are rooted. On an organic level... a layer is defined as a
stem that is covered with soil for rooting.

I designed the nest from mulberry bark, fibers,

silk and linen thread and egg shaped turquoise beads.

 The wood piece on the far left is another remnant from a printers tray...

the same used to create the frame around the photo on the opposite page.

This piece was added to keep the pages from getting crunched together.

Here is a close up view of the texture. This was created by
sandwiching eight layers of fabric together then stitching and slashing

the fabric to reveal all the fiber layers.
All the details on this page have been hand sewn.

Now onto the back cover...as the exchange deadline is closing in...

alicia's book: the museum of forgotten things

11/05 UPDATE:

i added new, thick pages (foam core) so there will be more room to play in. that's what the above page is made out of. will send along the ribbony stuff for the sticks. here are some side shots, even though the twigs aren't all cut.



sorry again for the crap photos. i'll really replace them soon but i got a couple emails wanting peeks so... here are some bad ones. ;)

i will be cured by tomorrow and will work on finishing pages and taking great photos (with the camera on the proper setting and with the room light on this time, haha).

p.s. i've used some goodies i've gotten from lisa j and debs. it felt sooo right!

10/21 UPDATE:

i'm pretty behind on updates, i think! since my last post, i have added some things to my book. i lined the outer cover with black handmade banana leaf paper (which the top piece will be affixed to once i'm done) and the inside with red velvet... kind of like a museum exhibit.


the pocket will be sewn into the back at the end in case anyone wants to sew on any sort of little trinket while they have it. a note from each participating artist and or other goodies will be placed in the pocket.

i've nearly completed the second page (the bone page is first, but i have to do that afterward -- you'll see why when you get it). basically, it's a story about a lady and her life. the passing of her husband, how he died, etc. it's a totally made up story but i had to research surnames and origins, first names/origins, fonts used in 1920s publications, etc. i wrote her obituary as well as a couple of diary pages and basically confessed her "forgotten" sin -- only she never really forgot. she almost never left her house for nearly 50 years, at least not until the last 2 or 3, and really had a sad life. that's why she looks so miserable. horrible photo, i know.

here is the back of the bundle of goodies:

all spread out (feel free to untie the twine when you get it to read everything -- quite a fascinating story, lol). even the peacock feature ties into the whole story.:

all of this will fit sweetly into a pocket i fashioned out of one of the fold-down pages. the pocket, of course, will be embellished and decorated to fit with the story of it all, but i haven't gotten that far yet.

i received an email today that my dick blick order finally shipped (only placed the damn order like 8 days ago) so i'll have my black patina for the front piece soon!

next steps: bone page, medical slide page and omg, i have no idea what i will do for the forth. how can anatomy fit into "forgotten"? (wait! i forgot i had a spleen!!)

Lisa's book: Roots...beneath the layers

As the fifth and final member of this artful collaboration  I am

pleased to finally be revealing some progress on my book!

 This is my original book...an antique photograph book
belonging to my family. It only had a few photos inside...
one of which I will be using in one of my page designs.

The cover is too beautiful to completely conceal.

My theme is "Roots.. beneath the layers"...is a common theme for me when it comes to art.

My idea was to constuct a book that is full of layered elements

 which were part of something else at one time.

The wood piece to the right is the inside back of an old cuckoo clock

with part of the mechanism attached. I've attached chunks of rusty

metal pieces that I've found on top along

with a silk cocoon wired with beads.

The other wood pieces are from an old printers tray and the rusty chain

belonged to the cuckoo clock. The twig bundle on the side will be added

at a later time as I can't send them on the journey overseas.

Not being able to use twigs and sticks in this piece until it returns

to the states has provided a interesting challenge for me.

I assembled the nest from wire and beads and vintage fabric pieces.

The name "Roots" sits upon a leather strap from an old camera.

I've added the numbers 3 and 2 at the bottom to reflect a reoccuring
theme of 5 that will appear throughout the book...
chosen to represent the five artists

who are the heart and soul of this project.

The nest sits at the center as its architecture represents
the ultimate amalgamation of found elements.

The brass handle on the front from came from another photograph album.

As you can see from the side...the cover is quite bulky...

as I have a hard time working flat.

Sorry.. girls...it's not heavy though...for postage sake!

Altered book or Assemblage?