Texas, Y'all

We entered Texas on the 30th of October after some cold weather in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, arriving in Austin on Halloween night. We stayed with friends and schmooze-docked in their driveway while we oriented ourselves around Austin. 

After ten days we found a place to park our trailer at the Rio Guadalupe Resort, this was central to the locations we wanted to explore.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, a family of deer around Canyon Lake, Texas, I became fond of seeing deer every day

During the last month and a half while in the Canyon Lake region, I reconnoitered my visits to different collections and book arts organizations. I received the full Texas welcome. 

To become a full Texan one has to master the “Y'all” term—not an easy feat for a French Canadian.

I started by searching online and found The Austin Book Arts Center. The East Austin Studio Tour weekend was taking place, which gave me the chance to meet members of the book arts community. 

My first contact with Mary Baughman, a member of the board of directors of the Austin Book Arts Center, was rewarding. At the end of my exploration of the Center, Mary emailed several people of my séjour in the region. Interest rose when the knowledge of a Canadian visitor was in their midst.

The Austin Book Arts Center offers workshops in book arts, letterpress printing, bookbinding, paper-making, typography, book history, and design. In addition, ABAC provides access to equipment for qualified users during scheduled Open Studio times.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, The Austin Book Arts Center, the available equipment includes a 32″ board shear, a paper guillotine, a Kwikprint, and various nipping presses, and sewing frames

Through its activities, ABAC seeks to advance the book as a vital contemporary art form, preserve the traditional and robust crafts related to making books, promote the contemporary arts of making books, inspire diverse artists and learners, and engage the community in creative, interpretive, and educational experiences, including literacy for people of all ages.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, The Austin Book Arts Center, in the print-shop part of the center, you will find a No.4 Vandercook, a SP15 Vandercook, a Universal I Vandercook, an 8x12 Chandler and Price platen jobber, and several tabletop platen presses

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, The Austin Book Arts Center

I took the time to look into the Flatbed Press and Gallery next door to the Austin Book Arts Center.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Alfonso Huerta, Painter and Printmaker, was giving a demonstration of his printmaking abilities.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, the Flatbed Press and Gallery

I had a full month of meeting artists and library contacts, with more details coming in future posts. Fun and exciting days!!

Thanks Y’all !!

Tools and Equipment

Well, it’s that time again. Technology changes and with time so does one’s needs. My Sony a33 DSLR camera was showing its years, it took a fall last winter while I was recording videos of my artists’ books Equinox which did not help. During the last months as I opened the flash, I could hear a terrible sound. How long would it last?

Last May, before leaving Boise, Idaho, I purchased a GoPro Hero 5 Black to shoot videos, but I kept my Sony a33 till I reached my hometown.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, GoPro 5, cute and handy

While in Ottawa, I stopped by Henry’s—the best camera shop—to trade-in my Sony and its lens. Henry’s can trade the gear you have for the gear you want!

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, saying goodbuy to a great camera

A dilemma presented itself—I would not have a DSLR for a few months till I could find and purchase my next camera at a reasonable price. Oh! well, that's life!

Henry's will gladly buy back your second-hand equipment and give you a store credit to use towards a purchase. After showing the salesperson my Sony a33 and the 55mm-200mm lens, my trade-in value went towards the purchase of accessories for my GoPro and a new Vanguard camera bag. My Tamrac bag was still in good condition but heavy and cumbersome. I donated my old Tamrac camera bag to a Goodwill in Worthington, Ohio, hoping someone would enjoy it.

I have been eyeing a Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 24.3 MP Exmor™ APS HD CMOS image sensor for the last two years. Once I reached Texas, I ordered one and had it shipped to a friend’s place in Austin.

© 2015 B&H, here's my new toy to have fun and enjoy

I shot many photos with my new Sony a6000 in the last month—the camera did not disappoint. Sony packed many features into this camera. Small (4.7 x 2.6 x 1.8 inches) (120 x 67 x 45 mm), compact, fast, versatile and very affordable—the a6000 is a great camera with a superb image quality. I still need to learn more about its features, but I’m having fun taking pictures as I visit Texas. My only displeasure is the tiltable 3″ LCD with 921K dots, it does not swivel like the LCD screen of the a33. This was a major plus for shooting large manhole covers.

A showcase of some of my favourite photos to date:

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, need to work on the action setting,  T-Bone, Franky, and Ozzie Pearson

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, wonderful details

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, love shooting butterflies

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, notice mom's leg on baby tortoise

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, colours of Texas

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Trattoria Lisina and Mandola Vineyard in Driftwood, Texas

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, oops! just favourite wine from the Driftwood Estate Winery in Driftwood, Texas

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, the San Antonio Express-News building detail

Another disappointment is finding out my Photoshop version doesn't support RAW images from my new Sony! #@$#^*&%, you know what I mean! No problem with the Sony A33.

Now, with new cameras, I’m ready for the year. The GoPro is excellent for those “Keystone” videos you have been viewing on my blog posts. The Sony a6000 is fantastic for scenes, people, details, art...

New equipment is always expensive for a studio but a must for creativity!!

Oh! I didn’t mention the weight of this little pup. The Sony a6000 is 16.5 oz (468 g) including battery and lens. 

2014 DP Review, for balance I got this lens! NOT!! Can you imagine!

Have you purchased new tools or equipment lately? Which One?

Ohio State University Part 2

While walking around the Ohio State University campus, the Chiller Plant building enticed me to get closer, due to its beautiful kaleidoscope of colours showcased during the day. 

What is a Chiller Plant building you ask?

The Ohio State University's South Campus Central Chiller Plant completed by Ross Barney Architects in 2013, is a long-term, active and sustainable solution for chilled water production and distribution. The building designed to provide an efficient system of air conditioning for the new Medical Center tower and all associated buildings on the campus.

At a mere $72.5 M, the 95,737-square-foot, ten-story, galvanized structural steel and concrete paneled building serves as an iconic anchor at an important pathway to the main campus. 

The result is a dynamic and striking piece of infrastructure that changes as the 177 dichroic fins and eight glass boxes cast shadows of varying sizes, colour and intensity, providing an ever-shifting, non-static facade.

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In another part of the campus, I found myself fascinated by large numbers. These painted and cut numbers are made of stoneware, concrete, bronze, steel, and granite. After taking a few photos and researching the why of this installation, I found the Garden of Constants by Barbara Grygutis completed in 1993. 

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Garden of Constants on the campus of the Ohio State University

Jim Jenkins, what do you think?

The numbers depicted are absolute numbers chosen because of their special meaning to the scientific community. They represent mathematics and engineering programs at Ohio State. The public sculpture was commissioned by the Ohio State University Percent for the Arts. Subcontracted and fabricated by Barbara Grygutis, the Ohio Precast and Mt Vernon Machine & Tool, Inc.

One can find fifty individual formulas cast in bronze and embedded in handmade pavers. The formulas highlight the activities performed in the four buildings surrounding the courtyard, emphasizing the theme of constant numbers.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Alum Creek Campground, Columbus Ohio

With a new perspective, I'm enjoying visiting old and novel places along the way as my studio travels this year.

Ohio State University, Ohio

Our roaming led us towards Ohio. Memories of living in Kent rushed through my mind. I welcomed a visit to the Ohio State University’s Thompson Library. 

Back in 2005-2006, my contact, Susan Wyngard acquired many of my artists’ books for the Fine Arts Library. Since then the Thompson library has gone through many changes, from staff succession to architecture re-design.

I communicated with Jolie Braun the new contact person in Special Collection. Jolie was delighted to meet and talk about my books published since 2007.

William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library is the main library on the Ohio State University Columbus campus and the largest library of the Ohio State University Library System. The Thompson Library was renovated four times since its construction in 1913; the most recent renovation completed in 2009. The 306,000 square-foot renovated building contains the library’s 1.25 million volume collection.

With this new re-design, the library went from dark to light and airy. The 30 feet tall ceiling of the grand reference hall from 1913 was restored and is symbolic of the entire re-design.

Here is a retrospective look at Ohio State's century-old library and changes over the years, culminating in a three-year renovation project completed in 2009

This is a shorter video on the hundred-million dollar facelift that made the William Oxley Thompson Library the jewel of the campus.

What caught my eye was the Foundation Stones set in the terrazzo of the library's ground and first floors. One can see forty-nine metal plates documenting forms of written communication from around the globe.  Forty-five additional etchings were designed on the doors of the Stacks Tower elevators. Read all about the foundation stones in this brochure.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Braille at the entrance of the library, Foundation Stones of the Thompson Library, Columbus, OH

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Hiragana, a Japanese  Syllabary, Foundation Stones of the Thompson Library, Columbus, OH

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Linear B, a syllabary used to write pre-Homeric Greek, Foundation Stones of the Thompson Library, Columbus, OH

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Foundation Stones of the Thompson Library, Columbus, OH

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Latin Alphabet, Foundation Stones of the Thompson Library, Columbus, OH

It was great walking around this feat of architecture. During my visit, students filled the first and ground floors, meeting, talking, reading... The jewel is a success!

Going back to my visit—what about sales you say! Jolie was interested but I’m still waiting on THE EMAIL from the library!!

Rochester, New York

I finally crossed the border back into the US on October 17th. I was hoping to be down south before it froze. It was getting colder every day, and the rain never seemed to stop.

On October 18th, in Rochester, New York, the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous day. According to the locals, the temperature was out of season. One of my goals in traveling is to meet with new collection contacts or renew old ones. I love to visit artist's studios, it's fantastic but I also need to distribute my own artists’ books. This is my usual six month of administration duties.

On the road, I emailed contacts of different libraries for a possible visit. I received a quick response from the Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester.

© 2017 Google Maps, Rush Rhees Library, Rochester University

© 2015 Al Herms, Google Maps, Rush Rhees Library, Rochester University

I met with Stephanie Frontz, Head of the Art & Music Library and Art Librarian. The Art and Music Library is home to various collections including over 300 artists’ books. On short notice and to my surprise, Stephanie agreed to meet with me outside on Wilson Blvd for an artist’s book tailgate event!

© 2017 Google Maps, Rush Rhees Library, Rochester University

"With this kind of weather everyone wants to be outside, it will not last long,"—Stephanie replied.

Through our conversation, Stephanie showed me her sense of humour by presenting me with a “League of Librarians” trading card-style business card for the University of Rochester reference and liaison librarians.

This project helps students resolve concerns regarding choosing and finding materials. What a fantastic idea! Gamification is the way of the future!

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, I now possess this trading card. Will it grow in value as the years go by? HaHa! Do you have one? Which one?

After an interesting show and tell, the Art and Music Library acquired five of my artists’ books. Thank you Stephanie!

© 2013 Louise Levergneux, Entre deux

© 2012 Louise Levergneux, 6:45

© 2012 Louise Levergneux, Earth.11 from the series Outside the Studio

© 2016 Louise Levergneux, Xtraction

© 2016 Louise Levergneux, Finding Home

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Québec, troisième partie

As I traveled across the border, a dear friend I visited back home caught up with me by email. After our visit, Marc Walter traveled to Germany for his own work and our emails did not meet till now. 

Traveling on chemin Carouges in Val-Des-Monts, Québec, getting closer to Marc's cottagechemin Carouges in Val-Des-Monts, Québec, getting closer to Marc's cottage

Marc’s work evolves around the passing of time and the way humans relate to it. With this in mind, I felt, I should feature his work even though out of sequence.

Originally from Paris, France, living for the last twenty four years in the Outaouais in Canada, Marc is an artist who reoriented his practice to environmental art in 2004. The recurrent themes found in Marc’s site-specific work in many forms and materials are evolutions, passages, departures, and memories.

© 2017 Marc Walter

Prolific in his field, he won the Grand prix d’excellence de la Fondation pour les arts, les lettres et la culture en Outaouais in 2007. Marc has taken part in over 80 solo and group exhibitions both in galleries and in the context of outdoor nature art events. 

© 2017 Marc Walter, Animaleries, Weaselling France

© 2016 Marc Walter, À Voix Basse / Under Your Breath, Ottawa, Ontario

© 2015 Marc Walter, Embarking, Nanaimo, BC

Marc is intrigued by how the creation of a piece or space will alter a visitor's perception and bring an emotional response. Even for a short time, visitors become dwellers, reflecting upon the site, its history, and their own path.

© 2017 Marc Walter

Marc prepares proposals, administers his business, manages his photos, exchanges emails, and other communications in this space. His real studio is in the outside world where he creates a different piece depending on the land.

Le véritable atelier, c’est là où je crée, à chaque fois différent !

Artistic walls inspired by the walls of the original Dubois Farm (now Creative Wheel), in Val-Des-Monts.

© 2017 Marc Walter, an artistic wall drawing submerged lines with half-buried rocks

© 2017 Marc Walter, another way of building walls, this time lighter and in narrow link with the perception of the surroundings

© 2017 Marc Walter, a platform higher in the mountain with a structure from rock sticks of beaver

Marc explains his project and his vision of “art du paysage” or Land Art. With materials pulled by nature and passersby, Marc creates human forms which arouse the curiosity of tourists and “carcassonnais”.

J'expose mon projet et ma vision du 'Land Art' ou art du paysage. Avec de la matière tirée de la nature et l'aide de bénévoles de passage, je crée des formes humaines qui suscitent la curiosité des touristes ou des carcassonnais.

Produced by Danaka Wheeler, filmed by Marc-André Cossette and Lyndsay Armstrong, edited by Brea Elford from the Carleton University School of Journalism and Communication.

Marc's world brings you into another dimension!

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Ontario

My holiday back home has come to an end. It's difficult to say goodbye but time to leave and find a more temperate climate for the winter. Our small trailer is not four seasons and not suited for the coldest season of the year in Ottawa.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux

Before leaving Canada, I wanted to pay a visit to Marlene MacCallum’s studio in the south-west part of Ontario.

Marlene and her husband, David Morrish prepared a wonderful meal before taking the time to show us their studio still being built by David. After we visited the different rooms that comprise the full working area in their new home, Marlene brought some of her wonderful artists’ books for me to view and handle. What a privilege!

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, the room where Marlene binds her books

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Marlene and David share this room where all the digital and printing is done, the red cover protects a really big printer, NICE!

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, press room is in the works

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, David showing drawers of many typesets while Marlene talks about her artists' book "Nine Elevated Views". You can view this book on my post dated May 21st.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, one of the press studios

Marlene uses photogravure, a historical photo/intaglio process that dates from 1879. Marlene’s chosen media plays a large role both in the way it translates the subject and in the effect of the presentation.

The interaction of ink and paper with its tactile and physical presence bring to mind a state of photographic memory which can be felt in Marlene’s books and subjects.

The visual interpretation of personal domestic space and the ordinary stuff of daily life has been the consistent pursuit of my practice. I am fascinated by our relationship with the spaces that frame and objects that fill the majority of daily lives, and yet, are overlooked as we move through our daily routines in a state of inattentional blindness.

I begin by making photographic records. A visual occurrence that startles me out of my routine relationship with objects and spaces prompts the image choice. The gathering of images results in a visual archive of the ephemeral moments linked by a sense of the uncanny or a spatial déjà vu. Drawing on this source, I then build suites of prints or artist’s books that offer the viewer a sense of the strangely familiar.

The artist’s book affords me the opportunity to integrate a variety of printing methodologies and sequential structures in a form that provides the viewer with intimate interaction with the work.

© 2016 M. MacCallum, Tea Ceremonies, (text by Matthew Hollett), hand-bound accordion artists' book with folded paper cover and wrapper, images printed in photogravure and lithography, text printed in letterpress 

© 2016 M. MacCallum, Tea Ceremonies, view of the third-page spread, 19.5 x 13.1 x 1.5 cm (closed dimension), 19 x 25.4 cm (page spread)

© 2016 M. MacCallum, Tea Ceremonies, view of the ninth page spread

Tea Ceremonies is a collaboration with Newfoundland artist and writer, Matthew Hollett. The piece began with Matthew’s text and I created an image response and designed the book layout and structure. 

This work celebrates everyday rituals and small ceremonies. The piece explores repetition and sequence in its use of layered text paralleling the way everyday activities leave residue. Text, photogravure images and lithographic tea stains interact in counterpoint throughout the sequence of the book. residue. Text, photogravure images and lithographic tea stains interact in counterpoint throughout the sequence of the book.

© 2014  M. MacCallum, Wall Stories, (text by Jessica Grant), hand-bound accordion book work, view of installation at The Unfolding Narrative at the Parrott Art Gallery in Belleville, Ontario

© 2014  M. MacCallum, Wall Stories, dust jacket, inkjet on Digital Aya paper, view of title page, 26 x 20 x 1.2 cm (closed dimension)

© 2014  M. MacCallum, Wall Stories, view of second-page spread, 25.6 x 39.3 cm

Wall Stories is a collaboration with Newfoundland writer Jessica Grant. This piece brings a different perspective to my examination of everyday spaces. Jessica’s text, The Great Indoors, and my Townsite home images interact to create a celebration of interior life with special attention to the collection of objects and the adornment of surfaces. Elements of the external world are miniaturized and nested within living spaces inverting the inside out logic of homes. The first iteration of this collaboration was published by the Journal of Artists’ Books as part of the artists’ project Switching Places.

© 2013  M. MacCallum, Corner a handbound accordion book with slipcase, the structure is held closed into a codex form by sewing across the spine into the end pages. 26.1 x 13.2 x 2.4 cm (closed dimension)

© 2013  M. MacCallum, Corner, front and back end pages slip into the cover pockets, the book block is printed in photogravure on Somerset paper and the cover is inkjet on coated Tyvek

© 2013  M. MacCallum, Corner

© 2012   M. MacCallum, Theme and Permutation, hand sewn pamphlet, images custom-printed in offset lithography on Mohawk Superfine, text printed in inkjet, covers are inkjets printed on translucent Glama, 23.5 x 21.6 x .6 cm (closed dimension)

© 2012   M. MacCallum, Theme and Permutation

Theme and Permutation is one of a series of artist’s books inspired by the experience of living in Corner Brook’s Townsite area on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. 

Between 1924-34 the pulp mill built 150 homes to house the mill management and skilled or to highly renovated. This project gave me the rare opportunity to record the evolution of interior aspects of these homes. It has been the context to explore the paradoxical phenomena of conformity and individualization that occurs in a company town. Having grown up in a suburban housing development, my earliest memories of home is that of living in a space that is reminiscent of my neighbors’. Each artist’s book explores a distinct facet of image memory, multiplicity, sequence and offers the viewer a visual equivalence of the uncanny.

Theme and Permutation is a response to the permutations and variations of the type-4 Townsite House. Digital tools were used to translate the original film source of eight different window images from five houses. The sixteen offset lithographic plates were custom printed in twenty-nine separate press runs. Each image is the result of a different combination of plates. The structure is a sewn pamphlet with translucent covers. The viewer enters the body of the book with a tritone image of a single Townsite window. As one moves into the piece, new window images appear and layer over each other. The images become darker and more heavily layered towards the mid-point. The center spread has an inkjet layer of two text blocks printed over the offset litho images. The text speaks of the history of the homes, the architectural permutations and economic shifts within the Townsite area. The ensuing pages continue to provide new combinations of window layers, gradually lightening in tonality and allowing the individual windows to become more distinct. A third text block provides a personal narrative. The piece concludes with a tritone image of one of the Townsite windows in original condition. 

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I don’t have time or space to create these days being on the road, but this time in my life is wonderful, I enjoy meeting and reading first-hand amazing works by artists’ bookmakers around the country.

I will be in Austin, Texas for most of the month of November. If you know about my new my journey and would like to introduce me to your work.

Let me know, I would love to visit your studio !

Québec, seconde partie

The stores on Park Ave in Montréal were filled with amazing fruits and vegetables. The vegetables made me hungry for Greek food and my next studio visit.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux

It’s always nice to be back home to hear French and even nicer to speak the language as I share thoughts on art with another artist. I got the chance to visit with artist bookmaker Guylaine Couture in Montréal. 

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, a wonderful huge Calder-esque red mobile welcomes you as you walk in Guylaine's atelier. The sculpture added a smile to my face.

 This small, fresh, and comfortable space is where Guylaine creates her art form (forme artistique). The media of artists’ book allows her to create works in which both contents and form (le contenu et le contenant) merge a powerful message (message percutant). For Guylaine, the «reader» has to live an experience.

Pour moi, le «lecteur» doit vivre une expérience.”

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Guylaine sitting in her studio

The artist drafts the message, analyzes the meaning of words and images, and develops (élabore avec minutie) the final form of the book with accuracy through re-using printed documents. Guylaine also uses the preservation of the forgotten zone of a photo and the recycling of material having already lived. Her works attempt to show the potential of this plentiful material too easily discarded.

Mes œuvres tentent de détourner cette abondante matière trop facilement larguée.

Touched by the reaction to Donald Trump's election last March, 2017, Guylaine created Want to be heard. This book began in the form of a tunnel book but at the end, the book needed a more open structure. This book can be seen from both sides.

© 2017 Guylaine Couture, Want to be Heard

© 2017 Guylaine Couture, Want to be Heard

Guylaine’s book New dress against disease/Nouvelles robes contre la maladie makes the link between cancer in women and the humanities: art therapy, philosophy, economics, technology... 

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, New dress against disease/Nouvelles robes contre la maladie

© 2016 Guylaine Couture, New dress against disease/Nouvelles robes contre la maladie

It was wonderfufl to be able to handle her beautiful book entitled Alonely as Guylaine explained the process and the story behind the book. The title is a play on the word seul/alone and isolé/lonely. 

© 2011, Guylaine Couture, Alonely

© 2011 Guylaine Couture, Guylaine flipping the pages of her book Alonely

 The text in her book Alonely is from Guylaine’s own diary. She wanted to draw a parallel between the serene movement of jellyfishes and other living beings in the depths of the ocean and her difficulties living a period of solitude. 

I did a lot of research and drawings of the ocean and of what lives in it. After a few months of experimentation, I developed a more personal way of doing monotypes.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Guylaine is another artist who writes detailed packing information for her delicate books when shipping them to galleries

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, I was intrigued by these tiny little houses in Guylaine's atelier, they were templates for her artists' book Everyone Needs a Home

© 2017 Guylaine Couture, Everyone Needs a Home created for the exhibition "Built" at 23 Sandy Gallery

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, Guylaine Couture with her press talking of the possibility of working together next year

© 2017 Louise Levergneux, outside Guylaine's studio

Merci Guylaine pour la belle visite !