I hope you are all safe and taking this self-isolation time to keep busy so doldrums don’t become the new normal.
For me, social distancing means no studio visits, I do miss the physical interaction with artists in their private atelier. Strategically planning these impressive outings throughout the year was a lovely diversion during my continuous travels. Talking and sharing ideas with artists paved the way for brainstorming on new concepts. I undoubtedly gained in depth knowledge on binding, which could be applied in my new artists’ books.
My only communication these days, like most of you, is by virtual contact between family and friends. Some of us share “happy hour”, converse our quest for life’s journey and most important knowing everyone is safe and well.
© 2020 Louise Levergneux. An Argentine Giant Cactus in bloom at the Fiesta Grande RV Resort in Casa Grande, Arizona.
In late March, with the shelter-in-place directive, we got grounded in Casa Grande, Arizona. The southwest is not a bad area to be stuck in, with it’s sunshine and blooming cacti. But, by the end of April, severe temperatures reached 107° F. It is getting HOT, HOT, HOT!
Shelter-in-place has given me the opportunity to start working on different projects. Meticulously planning my concepts, printing the visuals, writing statements, and studying Photoshop in more detail...
© 2020 Louise Levergneux. Working on my 20th Anniversary cover for City Shields. Already 20 years has passed since the beginning of my on-going projet of manhole covers. WOW!
I’m making headway with the 20th Anniversary booklet of City Shields. One can’t wield a mighty hammer to pierce a small hole! — I’m frustrated at trying to use the necessary software rarely utilized in the past year.
© 2020 Louise Levergneux. The cover for City Shields’ 20th Anniversary package edition in progress. This is the first draft, the design may change as the work progresses.
We often swear at the technology in our possession but in these uncertain times, the internet has proven to be a valuable tool. I sincerely appreciate the social contact with all of you through private emails or communications received by the BookListServ though not as many as before the pandemic. Listening to Helen Hiebert podcasts brings a sense of closeness. The informative videos of John Cutrone, Book Arts 101: Home Edition takes us on different journeys. Different blog posts like the familiar one from Catherine Miller and Guylaine Couture naturally prompt me to smile as I have visited both artists. Many sincere thanks for your continual dialogue during our social isolation.
These digital dialogues expand opportunities for me to receive information on newly completed artwork or work in progress from many artists. You could say that these are my new virtual studio visits. I joyfully received this artist statement from Jim Jenkins of Illinois. Jim is conscientiously working on a wordsculpture and transmitted it for review and comment. Between his first email and now, he has undoubtedly gone through additional re-crafting as we all do at the early stages of creative production.
After the clever piece had stirred up a bit more in Jim’s active mind, I received a shortened version of his statement for Cosmic Clockwork Comet and some images of the final artwork to present to my readers.
It has been said that time is an event more than anything else. We remember events, we usually don’t remember time passing as in the ticking of a clock. We usually don’t remember our hours of uneventful boredom unless we find some important thought momentarily hidden and then revealed within our boredom. Perhaps, this is when and how the sculpture began. Halley’s Comet and the fact that it is periodic and only visible to us every 75-76 years; provides a beginning, which in and of itself, is an event. The comet is on a far reaching elliptical orbit, a self-referential timed event, chronicled historically, beginning in 239 BCE in China. Mark Twain who was born and raised very near Quincy famously said that he was born on the arrival of Halley’s Comet in 1835 but would probably not be on Earth to witness the return. This proved to be true as he did pass away within the year of the return. Our perception of all things is contingent upon our ability to see, our individual vision. Things that are unseen or left out are many times as valuable to our understanding as what is visible. Some objects mirror other objects within our field of vision. An object like the comet is only occasionally visible. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t there it just means we lack the long range vision to see it. We do know however, it’s out there physically but imperceptible. I’ve incorporated two purposeful dates into the sculpture: 2020 the year of the placement of the sculpture and 2061 the return date of the comet. The students attending Quincy Junior High School today may very well see the return of Halley’s Comet, it’s unlikely I will. This will give me and Mark Twain something in common. What the world will look like in 41 years is of course unknowable and un-seeable today. This is at the core of the sculpture. The seen and the unseen, the thing and the no-thing.
J. Jenkins © 04.17.2020
© 2020 Jim Jenkins. COSMIC CLOCKWORK COMET by Jim Jenkins for Quincy Junior High School “Celebration of Education Sculpture Series.”
© 2020 Jim Jenkins. COSMIC CLOCKWORK COMET by Jim Jenkins, funded by The Moorman Foundation & Arts Quincy.
© 2020 Jim Jenkins. COSMIC CLOCKWORK COMET, drawing by Jim Jenkins.
As we all continue to self-Isolate, remember that communication with others via digital dialogue helps us to be together alone. STAY WELL!
© 2020 Louise Levergneux. Beauty is everywhere. First Light, Hybrid Torch Cactus in Casa Grande, Arizona.