Alan Singer is drawing the Hibiscus at home now....
I am celebrating the end of a season as we usher in the fall. I painted portraits of flowers on cool days just enjoying working outdoors studying nature. This is peaceful and meaningful for me and it is good practice! I have been painting flowers it seems for over 30 years and I never tire of the challenge to make them come alive on my paper.
Swirls of thunderstorms in our area and a dramatic sky settles down for the evening after we drove home from the Central Library in downtown Rochester, New York. We all went to view an exhibition called: "The Art of the Book & Paper" which is the 11th Annual Juried International show of artist's books. What is an artist book you ask? I found out years ago when I signed up for a class given by Nina Tovish at the Visual Studies Workshop established years ago by Nathan Lyons on University Avenue.
Artist Books at the Central Library, Rochester, New York
Artist Books are often created through the impulse to do something different, maybe something unique. In my case I was printing, stitching and binding my own book from pages of hand made paper in the printmaking studio using a method called cyanotype - which gives you a kind of blueprint. Cyanotype is a darkroom process related to making photographic prints from negatives that you might have done many years ago. I had a one-of-a-kind result which I have kept to this day!
At the Anthony Mascioli Gallery in the Central Public Library we found a display of award winning artist's books which represents the work of a number of highly creative people from here and abroad. The books and works of sculpted paper were made using a variety of techniques.
Barbara Page and her Artist book won Best of Show
The printed Book Marks by Barbara Page
Barbara Page, our friend from graduate school days at Cornell University has won Best of Show for her interesting "Book Marks" project which takes an old-fashioned catalog box filled with cards for memorable books - each one inscribed by Barbara with her art and all of them are compiled in a printed book as well. So you can read what she has to say and look at the images she makes, and it is just a fun and mighty big project to take in.
Barbara Page is also an aviator as well as a visual artist and she has made many paintings that resemble maps of the territory she has flown over. Here in Rochester, I have seen the work she has completed at The Oxford Gallery.
Ben Rubin's layout for a publication
I had a chat with Ben Rubin at the exhibition and I was pleased to see his work on display at The Library. Ben had been a student at R.I.T. when we first met and this was years ago when he was starting in on creating his own Zines. I like his roaming intellect and the sketches he incorporates for each page.
Opus by Kristine Bouyoucos
Other artists from our area include Kristine Bouyoucos who is showing her Opus,which includes colorful prints in an accordion style book open in a display case. In this gallery there are also a number of dimensional works that are engaging in a different way - you don't read them
so much as just experience them! This is a cabinet of wonders as you go through the exhibit you can be deeply engaged ( but don't touch the art! ). Below is IMan by Robert Marvin in what is a kind of graphic novel...
Iman, by Robert Marvin
The judges must have had a lot of time to go over all the entries, and pick out the winners. In the Central Library there is a bit of information about each of the judges for this International. You have to thank Gerald Mead, Diane Bond and Rachael Gootnick. Rachael was there is a dress covered in book images and she has a studio in the Hungerford Building. #Just Terrific
3 Judges for Artist Books
