What Is Next: Processing Through My Artist Book

The idea of doing an artist’s book has been rambling around in my head for… come to think of it, decades! I have made a few running starts at creating them over the years, but decided to focus on the more “practical” path of creating wall art I could more easily exhibit and sell.
I even imagined that one day, when I “retired,” I would start.

Well, I guess that day has come.

An Artist's Book (or Artist Book, or Book Art,) is where the book is intended as a work of art in itself (rather than a book about art). They are usually handmade and one of a kind.

For my Creating Time: Art and Archeology exhibition, I made some small books, such as The Tiny Book of Thera, and The Nebra Sky Disc. But this book is far more ambitious, using multiple “registers,” which are groupings of pages in a single bound book.

I have used the creation of What Is Next as a tool to help me process a new phase I am entering in my art career. (You can read more about this in my blog entry What's Next: Reflections on a Career in Art.)

It has no real narrative, but loosely explores themes relating to the transitory cycle I am in right now. I used stencils, collage materials, and sketches that I’d originally developed for larger pieces in my Archeology and Art series. I had a wonderful time making some fold-out pages- something I want to expand upon in future books.

Below you can see a slideshow of each page, or you can click on the thumbnails below for a still shot.

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