Art Book Project

I’ve completed my second art book - just really still trying out a sequence of ideas. I know that I want to say something about my stress and Covid, but I’m not exactly sure how. There are two separate issues in the how - one is how to construct a book object and the second is how to convey my thoughts about Covid.

To construct the book, I’m experimenting with some different materials - window mesh and buckram. I’m adding stiffeners (gesso) to some of the canvas and thinking about interfacing with the buckram. If I add backing to quilted portions, I think that the buckram could give it a more page like texture. Working with the window mesh is interesting, since you can sew on it - but it provides texture and open space.

Art book in blue monochrome

Conveying my thoughts about Covid is trickier. I’ve started experimenting with cyanotype. I can include images and text with the cyanotype. (Using a fabric printing service gives a wider range of color, but it can take weeks to go through several iterations. There is basically an iron product, but it alters the surface and hand of the fabric. Needles make permanent punctures in the surface.) Getting the images to appear as I want is trickier and is going to require greater work. For the thoughts on Covid, my first attempts were pretty much a fail. The text was too small, lines weren’t thick enough. Handwriting with a sharpie didn’t translate properly. So, this first attempt focuses only on nature.