West Virginia, Part 1

September 5, 2017

We left the Smoky Mountains to visit with friends Alex and David Bennet at the Mountain Quest Institute near Frost, West Virginia.

In this majestic landscape, I ventured to visit the wonderful and impressive horses on the grounds of the Institute.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, waiting and ready for a photo

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, finally the correct shot

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, thanks for the photo

As I walked the land, I noticed silver threads of a cob web in the corner of a fence produced by the sun’s rays and a yellow-coloured fly sitting for a photograph. Do you recognize this fly? Is it native to West Virginia?

Insects as a subject never attracted me till my project Outside the Studio. I incorporated a few bees and beetles and enjoyed catching butterflies fluttering about with my camera.

Libby Barrett’s books capture my attention as I write this post. Libby lives and works in Maine and is often inspired by insects. Many of her book ideas offer possibilities for unusual interpretations.

Libby expresses her love for puns and interest in invertebrates in her artists’ book Web Site. This book is a whimsical interpretation of the theme of an exhibition entitled Spineless Wonders presented at the University of Southern Maine. The four-sided drop box holds an origami spider who's waiting for dinner.

© 2009 Libby Barrett, Web Site — © 2009 Libby Barrett, **Web Site**

There in the corner, or under the stair,

behind the bookcase, or most anywhere anywhere

waiting........

Silken thread woven, the vigil begins

hoping that dinner will be captured therein

waiting.......

The web trembles, dinner has arrived

On today's menu, bluebottle fly

For the same show, Libby published an artists’ book entitled Coleoptera. The specimen box is full of little books about beetles. The illustrations are a combination of watercolour and coloured pencil. Each shell swivels to reveal information about the particular beetle illustrated or about beetles in general, and each book is secured in the box with a pin.

© 2009 Libby Barrett, Coleoptera — © 2009 Libby Barrett, **Coleoptera**

Libby’s latest book Travel Bugs incorporates a series of collages of beetles for which she uses old maps and atlases as collage material.

© 2017 Libby Barrett, Travel Bugs — © 2017 Libby Barrett, **Travel Bugs**

© 2017 Libby Barrett, Travel Bugs, detail — © 2017 Libby Barrett, **Travel Bugs, detail**

This book produced for a group exhibit where the only guideline was that the book structure had to be based on the accordion structure. I decided to stay with the basic structure and use images of my travel bugs as the subject matter. I wish that I could say that the cover paper was my design, but it came from my stash of purchased paper. I chose it because it made me think of the meandering path a bug might take.

Watch your environment and see what surrounds you. Let me know what inspires you from the world’s details.

Comment Note: I would love to respond to the comments I receive. Unfortunately, Squarespace does not provide the name of the commenter and no way for me to respond, unless I respond to the comment directly on the blog. I would love to reciprocate your time and comment on my last blog post--please end your comment with email address or name. Thanks for your comments, please continue!

Tennessee

August 19, 2017

At this point in our journey—in real life—Nashville, was on the horizon to visit with friend Dana Ryan Perez, I already wrote that post, so to the next city. But not before we lay our eyes on Dana's sense of colour.

© 2017 Dana Ryan Perez, what a wonderful spot to sit and relax, Clyde seems to think so.

We took a few days off from traveling and camped in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which straddles the border between Tennessee and North Carolina. The sprawling landscape encompasses lush forests and an abundance of Mimosa trees still in bloom. The view and greenery were refreshing after crossing Kansas, and Oklahoma, but the forest brought unbearable dampness. Dry! Dry! Dry! is the reason we enjoyed the West so much.

The park encompasses 816.28 square miles (2,114.15 km2), making it one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States. We entered the main park entrance located just East of the town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

I’m still searching for moments in life. How do other artists see these moments and create from them?

If you love mountains for what they represent for you, you will love Guy Laramée’s carved book landscape entitled El amor for las montanas.

A Mexican artist friend of Guy summed up his long-standing love affair with the landscape with El amor por las montañas nos curara—Our love for mountains will heal us.

© 2012 Guy Laramée, El amor por las montañas nos curara. Carved Litré dictionary, inks. 43 x 14 x 27cm (15 x7 x11 inches) — © 2012 Guy Laramée, El amor por las montañas nos curara. Carved Litré dictionary, inks. 43 x 14 x 27cm (15 x7 x11 inches)

© 2012 Guy Laramée, El amor por las montañas nos curara. — © 2012 Guy Laramée, El amor por las montañas nos curara.

Heal us of what?

Of over thinking?

Of our obsession with knowledge?

Of greed?

In fact, it doesn’t matter. Once recovered from a health issue, the only thing you can say is “sickness is over”. Health is like love. Try to describe it and you’re out of it.

© 2012 Guy Laramée, El amor por las montañas nos curara, detail. — © 2012 Guy Laramée, El amor por las montañas nos curara, detail.

The 13th-century Zen master Dogen was going more or less in the same direction when he said: Although it is said mountains belong to the country, they actually belong to those who love them.

© 2106 Guy Laramée, TIBETAN CHINESE, altered Tibetan-Chinese dictionary, inks, pigments 15,25 x10,15 x 20(h) cm

Now tell me, do mountains belong to mountain lovers or is it the opposite, mountain lovers belong to mountains? What does “belong” mean, when we are uncertain that we own our own bodies? Is it that we actually belong to “all this”, to “life”? When you feel most alive, don’t you feel that “something” bigger than you runs in your veins? My work is about making us feel more alive. It is about losing yourself in the landscape and paradoxically, finding out you are the source of it all.

Haiku translator, poet, and writer Robert Blyth went in the same direction when he wrote: The mind is seen in the stone.

I would like my art to allow you to you see yourself in a stone. Because ultimately, we are not in the world, the world is in us.

Get inspired by finding more moments to express.

Oklahoma

August 8, 2017

We made a stop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, one of the United States’ largest concentration of Art-Deco architecture. Art-Deco can be found throughout the city's older neighborhoods, in downtown and midtown.

Mouth open, viewing amazing details all the way to the top of the Boston Avenue Methodist Church. The soaring 225 foot (68.5m) straight lines of the tower provide physical, visual, and philosophical linkage to the Gothic Cathedrals of past ages. The design of the edifice is credited to Adah Robinson and Bruce Goff.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Boston Avenue Methodist Church — © 2017 Louise Levergneux, Boston Avenue Methodist Church

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Boston Avenue Methodist Church detail — © 2017 Louise Levergneux, Boston Avenue Methodist Church detail

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Blue Dome, built in 1924, served as the White Star Gulf Oil Station in the day. — © 2017 Louise Levergneux, Blue Dome, built in 1924, served as the White Star Gulf Oil Station in the day.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Alfred C. Fabry was the architect of the Mincks-Adams Hotel. The building is 195 feet (59m) high, making it the 18th tallest building in Tulsa. — © 2017 Louise Levergneux, Alfred C. Fabry was the architect of the Mincks-Adams Hotel. The building is 195 feet (59m) high, making it the 18th tallest building in Tulsa.

I enjoyed the gargoyles presiding above the Boston Avenue entrance to the lobby of The Philtower, which complements the tower’s exterior.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, The Philtower, detail

The BOK Center, designed by César Pelli, is Tulsa's new arena which incorporates many of the city's prominent themes—Native American, Art-Deco, and contemporary architecture.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, The BOK Center

This city and its architecture brought to mind Thomas Parker Williams artists’ book entitled Spiral Dome.

© 2016 Thomas Parker Williams, Spiral Dome

Spiral Dome began as an idea for a call from a museum in Philadelphia to respond to one of the books in their collection. The book was an 18th-century handbook for building construction. I have always enjoyed James Turrell's Skyspaces and thought about doing something like that with 18th-century construction methods. I made my proposal and did not get in the show but the idea would not die.

After many trials and testing, Thomas figured out how to make his artists' book a pop-up that would fold into a box.

As I was designing the parts, I thought this concept could also be executed in steel as a real temple like structure, and the book "Spiral Dome: Sculptures in Paper and Steel" was born.

© 2016 Thomas Parker Williams, Spiral Dome, mounted on a six-part folding base, the book fits into a storage box.

The Paper Sculpture is a movable book made of 145 unique cut paper parts bound with black Tyvek. The 145 unique parts include 19 ribs, 18 double hinge sets, and 108 exterior panels that form 18 sections. The starting rib is fixed to the base. To facilitate display, ribs 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 19 contain magnets that connect with steel contact points on the base.

Spiral Dome was designed with 3D CAD software. 145 unique parts for the Movable Paper Sculpture were cut and assembled by hand. Ribs, base, and box are constructed of museum board; various papers were used for the panels and hinges. The hinge connectors and binding material are black Tyvek. Covers of the storage box and accompanying book are etterpress printed from polymer plates.letterpress printed from polymer plates.letterpress printed from polymer plates.letterpress printed from polymer plates.

While working on the Spiral Dome Movable Paper Sculpture, I realized it could function as a model for a permanent installation, which I call the Proposed Steel Sculpture. I made preliminary drawings for constructing such a structure. It is illustrated on the cover of the book.

To create the spiral in both models, 18 sections increment in height and dimension from the center of the structure by a factor of 1.014 for each successive section. The last section differs in scale from the first by a factor of 1.2666 or 1.014 to the 17th power. All elements in both sculptures – ribs, hinges or braces, and panels – increment by the same scale factor, as shown in the drawings.

Spiral Dome is part of The UC Berkeley, Environmental Design Library, Special Collections; the Columbia University Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library; and the MICA, Decker Library, Artist Book Collection.

Don’t forget passed creations will influence your work in the future.

Kansas

July 31, 2017

Every year, I cross the country via different highways depending on visits to friends and family. The goal of this eastward trip was a visit to my friend, Dana in Nashville, Tennessee, a conference Michael was taking part in Washington, and visiting artists.

As we crossed Kansas, un séjour in Dodge City was in order. In Dodge City, like most tourists, I followed the Trail of Fame that leads you through the downtown? Twenty-nine bronze medallions and markers are found and comprise citizens who believe in the community. My collection of manhole covers came to mind. What could I do with my series, my collection? How do I continue the project, or do I?

The images below resurrected my project City Shields for a day.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Trail of Fame, Dodge City, Kansas

The action of collecting becomes an obsession for artists. Often the attraction to particular items grows parallel to our work. I found another artist who has a compulsion to remember and to be remembered by way of collecting.

Monica Holtsclaw is a book artist, quilter, and sewer of many things. Monica spends most days in her studio in San Rafael, CA, and also teaches at the San Francisco Center for the Book. Find out the dates of Monica's workshops by visiting her calendar page.

Monica’s artists’ book Memory Palace was insightful. The patience to wait and collect to create a book many years later is admirable.

The pages of Memory Palace are a storage place for a range of tokens representing experiences I saved over the last twenty years. In this way it is a vessel, holding objects I can retrieve at any time to awaken memories temporarily forgotten. Codified by color and arranged chronologically, each item signifies a particular time and place. The structure was chosen because of its resemblance to a series of rooms. A memory palace is a mnemonic device which helps a person to catalog and retrieve information. The creation of Memory Palace has allowed me to transform this mnemonic device into physical reality.

© 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Memory Palace, 8 x 8 x 1.5 inches (closed) — © 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Memory Palace, 8 x 8 x 1.5 inches (closed)

© 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Memory Palace, digital prints on 90lb watercolour paper, Iris book-cloth over binder’s board, foil stamped title

Another edition in the same genre is Monica’s Moving Forward created for the 2015 Hello Hedi Exhibition at 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland.

I watched an interview with Hedi Kyle, in which she spoke about her background and gave a tour of her studio. It was a delight to see the objects and structures that influence her, and I saw many of my own interests reflected in what she shared. I found that Hedi is an inspiring collector. I have saved ephemera for years and have been reflecting on what I have saved and have been making work around the theme of these tokens of my past. For this book, I focused on my collection of ground transportation tickets, acquired from 2002 to 2014. I chose Hedi’s Crown Book structure because of the movement of the binding as it opens and its resemblance to spokes of a wheel.

© 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Moving Forward, 6.125 x 6.25 x .5 inches — © 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Moving Forward, 6.125 x 6.25 x .5 inches

© 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Moving Forward, digital prints on 90lb watercolor paper, Yupo watercolor paper, Fabriano Tiziano paper — © 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Moving Forward, digital prints on 90lb watercolor paper, Yupo watercolor paper, Fabriano Tiziano paper

© 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Moving Forward — © 2015 Monica Holtsclaw, Moving Forward

Read what Monica has to say in her own blog posts.

Next stop Tulsa, Oklahoma, what will I find? What will inspire my traveling studio?

Shadow Me, The Book

May 7, 2017

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Shadow Me, the pages

Shadow Me

I am gemstone and joy brightening your world.

I am paws and cuddles that uncurl.

Opening hearts with unconditional love is me.

Gentle soul tickling skin-deep.

I am the constant shadow you search to keep.

I am the void as deep as the sea.

Now standing alone, Beside Me, you will always be.

Designed and produced by the artist in Photoshop with ChopinScript and Centabel Book fonts. Inkjet prints with an Epson Stylus Photo R3000. Drumleaf binding with inkjet printed images on Lasal paper. There are 8 copies in this edition.

$186

This book can be ordered by sending me an email at : louiselevergneux@gmail.com

Conçu et produit par l'artiste, réalisé à l'aide du logiciel Photoshop avec polices de caractères ChopinScript et Centabel Book. Impressions jet d’encre tirées avec une imprimante Epson Stylus Photo R3000. Reliure dos rapporté avec impressions jet d’encre sur papier Lasal. Il y a 8 exemplaires dans cette édition.

186 $

On peut faire une commande de ce livre en m'envoyant un courrier électronique à : louiselevergneux@gmail.com

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Thank You/Merci to all who comment on my posts directly or by email. It’s nice to know you continue to read what happens in and around my studio.

Shadow Me

April 30, 2017

I would like to introduce you to my new artists’ book entitled Shadow Me, a sequel to Beside Me, an observation on teams published in 2005.

Shadow Me is a narrative on broken teams and how to find one's own spirit or space. Topaz was my muse, my companion, my constant shadow. Pleasing people and learning were her passion. For 14 years and 10 months, Topaz was vibrant and full of unconditional love.

Twelve years have passed since the publication of Beside Me and the teams are now all disconnected. The textures and composition of each page of Shadow Me direct the eye to the missing link. The book exemplifies solitary lonely moments.

After coming up with the content and text for the book, the question was—how to bring it all together. What would be the best binding method?

In 2015, when I traveled across the country to go back home to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I visited Karen Hanmer’s studio in Glenview, IL. Karen was generous with her time and ability with the Drumleaf binding method. She even created a sample binding for me.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, sample Drumleaf binding by Karen Hanmer

After thinking and examining the Drumleaf structure, I felt this binding method would compliment the paperback style of Beside Me. The Drumleaf binding is an external change in this sequel.

With my knowledge of Karen's simple instructions, I searched online for tutorials to help me remember the details. It’s been two years after all!

Here are some links I found helpful in finishing the Drumleaf structure:

http://karenhanmer.com/reviews/documents/2013_GBW_DRUM_Sewn_Hanmer.pdf

https://makinghandmadebooks.blogspot.com/2012/07/instructions-drum-leaf-binding.html

http://www.melissajaycraig.com/timothy-ely.pdf

https://jandove.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/drum-leaf-binding/

I love using Lasal Photo Matte paper from Moab Papers it does not break when correctly folded. I chose to print on 13 in. x 12 in. for the pages and on 11 in. x 17 in. for the cover. I purchased a paper size that would not affect grain direction. The book measures 8.5 in. x 5.5 in. x .25 in. closed and will be an edition of eight.

I created my layout for the images in Photoshop and wrote the words to the accompanying poem.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, spread layout of Shadow Me in Photoshop

After each page was printed, I waited the appropriate time to cut and fold the nine spread pages according to Karen’s instructions.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, cutting pages of Shadow Me

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, folding a page of Shadow Me

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, drying a glued page of Shadow Me

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, instead of gluing the spine, I used 3M double sided tape for the spine. This helped keep the pages square.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, scoring the cover of Shadow Me

Next week I will post photographs of the complete book and the words to the poem of Shadow Me.

Have a great week!

The 6 Foot Drop

April 17, 2017

“I always assume that the person unpacking/re-packing has never worked in a gallery before, that they are an 18-year-old trainee and it's their first day on the job.”

An artist’s response to my query on packing and re-packing works of art for an exhibition.

In the recent past, I received an artists' book back from a show. It was in its original box, bravo! for matching the box to the artist’s work. Here, the problem was inside the box. The book sat atop a very thin sheet of bubble pack with no protection for its top or sides. I have no qualms in mentioning that the bottom had no protection either. I phoned the gallery and their response was “The gallery ships the books the same way they arrive!

Of course, for security measures, I pack my books with no protection to survive USPS or UPS delivery. SURE!

Who oversees the procedures for return shipping? Anyone?

I don’t believe my book would have survived the six-foot drop the Saskatchewan Craft Council recommends for shipping artwork. If damage had occurred to my artists’ book, who would have been responsible?

“Do you feel a gallery should have insurance for damage, theft, and return shipping conditions”?

In my opinion, the gallery is also responsible for how it takes care of books/work while in their possession.

An experienced binder like Monique Lallier insists on having her bindings and boxes exhibited under glass. Even with her demand one of her gorgeous boxes got a corner banged up. How do we limit these type of accidents or carelessness from happening?

Artists, librarian, curators, and staff should read the article Proper Care and Handling of Books by the Library of Congress.

This brings us to insurances! “Who should pay the insurance costs?

This year I made a conscious decision to no longer exhibit my work in galleries without the artists work insured for the duration of a show. According to a Boise gallery, an invited artist should not refuse to exhibit hundreds of dollars worth of work for lack of insurance on the gallery’s part. Most galleries make sure with their contract that they are not responsible for any stolen/damaged artwork. I realize we always take a chance when exhibiting, but the galleries/curators need to take responsibility. How, would galleries survive without us?

One can’t place all galleries in the “I will never exhibit there again” category.

A few galleries are superb at taking responsibilities, I have found 23 Sandy Gallery in Portland and the MCBA in Minnesota, both respectful of book artists and their work.

Food for thought! Make sure you are content with the understanding between the gallery and the artist. Read the contract carefully; if you don’t like what’s written, say no to the invitation. Better not to exhibit than to be sorry.

“Don’t forget during your decision-making that there is a tendency for the artist to be the last person considered when people are thinking about money and art”—Cathryn Miller

Be aware and make good decisions... Enjoy your exhibitions without regrets!

"Amoché"

April 10, 2017

Was a book/binding/artwork of yours ever damaged or stolen while on display as part of an exhibition?

As an artist, one has to deal with exciting situations and some not so nice experiences. Lessons learned have jaded me from exhibiting. It is difficult to let go of your prized possessions for a month or more. One never knows what happens on the premises of a gallery.

Are you responsible for your books while alone in the darkness of a gallery?

I had an acrylic painting damaged back in 1984. I won my case in court and the city paid for the damages. If the gallery took serious responsibility for the artwork while dismantling an exhibition, they could save time and money for everyone involved.

I saw the inside of a courtroom for the second time when an owner of a Toronto gallery stole nine of my collages and drawings and shipped them to Korea while in his possession. I don’t know what happened to these pieces. Did he sell them? If you can’t trust the gallery owner, who can you trust? I won my case in Small Claims Court, but retrieving the money was another matter—never did, since jurisdiction did not extend to Korea!

By 2005, I picked up lots of information on how to do business—I thought—till I took part in an ARLIS conference after being invited to display a volume of City Shields in New York City. Several phone calls later and an amazing response to my inquiry, I found the reason for the un-returned book.

"The bad news is someone stole your volume of City Shields from the exhibition hall.
What was the good news, I asked?
It was loved enough to steal."
What the... is this for real?
The organization felt it was a great compliment!!! WOW! For me, it was a financial loss!

Not too long ago on the BookListServ, I read about similar experiences other artists have gone through. I communicated with them to find out their account. Some stories were positive and others were costly. Lucky or sensible?

Preparing for a show demands you ask many questions and more questions!
Who's responsible for the insurance costs?
Are galleries responsible for the art work displayed in the space?
Who should pay for damages during the show?...

Mary Kritz is an artist in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Exhibiting her books were positive experiences until showing a book in a private gallery. This disappointing situation happened when her book was damaged during the exhibit set-up. At the vernissage, the owner, (while in front of the crowd), embarrassed Mary by informing her that the book had “fallen apart”. As if Mary exhibited a book with an already damaged page with a detached corner. Mary mentioned she would repair the book the next day. At her return to the gallery, Mary learned the owner himself repaired the book without permission. Was he a binder? Did he use the proper materials? What right did he have to touch this artists’ book?

“I think the situation has happened to all of us artists at one point or other,” says Cathryn Miller from Saskatchewan.

It took two hours to repair her piece In Winter after being damaged in a touring exhibition. Cathryn was paid for the repair by the Saskatchewan Craft Council who insure all work while in their possession. The work is still salable which is great!

© 2017, Cathryn Miller, In Winter damaged during exhibition

© 2017, Cathryn Miller, In Winter with smudge marks

The Saskatchewan Craft Council ships touring exhibitions by commercial transport, the Council recommends that all works be packed so that the container can be dropped upside-down from a height of six feet without damaging the contents. What a risk factor!

Cathryn insisted on being paid for books damaged when a commercial gallery returned books with non-removable price stickers that adhered to the back. Who thought of that one, I wonder?

“I have exhibited at galleries who do not provide insurance but in those cases, I exhibit work I can afford to lose, comments Cathryn”.
“Very few galleries cover stolen work, so one has to think about what security measures are provided (vitrines, staffing, location, etc.) and we need to make a case-by-case decision.”

Cathryn writes long and descriptive directions for unpacking and re-packing art work for shipping. How difficult can it be to re-pack a book with its original box and filling? But, wait can they find the same box? What is the gallery’s best practices for keeping boxes and fillers connected to the book?

© Cathryn Miller, instructions for unpacking and re-packing In Winter

© Cathryn Miller, instructions for unpacking and repacking In Winter, part 2

© Cathryn Miller, instructions for unpacking and repacking In Winter, part 3.These instructions are fantastic, every artist should be this dedicated to their work! — © Cathryn Miller, instructions for unpacking and repacking In Winter, part 3.
These instructions are fantastic, every artist should be this dedicated to their work!

Alice Simpson who brings her ability of drawing and brush skills to paper talks about her experience with a damaged book. Alice’s books are hand-painted and mostly unique books, they are colourful and whimsical, and are of interest to international dance collectors.

BALLROOM, (a one-of-a-kind hand painted book Alice created in 1994), was damaged somewhere along the recent past. The gallery’s signage description had been carelessly Scotch-taped on the back cover, attached to the delicate paper used to bind the book.

When I attempted to remove the tape, it pulled the paper off. Unfortunately, I have no memory or record of where the book was damaged. It was returned a while ago, and I never opened the wrapping. If I had, I would have immediately notified the curator, and complained. What would they have offered to do? I have no idea. The book, the basis for my novel of the same name, is not for sale but now is damaged forever.

Forever is a long time! This subject matter is too important not to write more.

To be continued...

Welcome Bienvenue

Hello, my name is Louise Levergneux, I’m a book maker. This blog is where I share and reflect on the approaches and structures used in my creative process, artists' books, photography. and more...

Your comments and stories are welcome.

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