storms rocked the early morning. and rain has been falling most of the day. so for the first time in several weeks i was working in my studio today rather than on the porch of the studio under the sky and the maple tree. my beautiful friend eleanor had been planning to stop by later in the afternoon, but suddenly in the midst of loud music blaring from my work room with the sewing machine pounding away, she was at the door with rose deshaw. let me explain that many of my favorite books have come from the wonderful book store that rose owned many years ago. but even my favorite books are often subjected to the scissors if i'm making a collage and the right image presents itself. and although i was thrilled to see rose, i immediately felt chagrined for
what i have done with her little treasures from so long ago (my mother would take me to her shop when i was home for visits from university in the 80s). i had to confess and show her the many collages i've been working on. and she approved!!! we talked about our mutual love of books and how my use of the images and the pages was a way for the books to live on past a dusty pile, or worse, a landfill. i loved having her in my studio, she is such a force of idea. but when eleanor returned from taking her home, it was with a pile of the most lovely 19th century books, well past their prime, with loosened or missing covers and the most magnificent illustrations. a gift from rose. exactly what i live to find as i scrounge through antique shops and thrift shops. eleanor and i poured over them as we visited with coffee and cookies before she left on her 5 hour drive back to port dover.and i finished 5 baby quilt tops. it was a great day in the studio.
Your blog is lovely. People are funny about books. I used to think it was terrible to cut them up, but now I think it's okay--they will get more love when used in a collage. They live on--just in a different format.
ReplyDeletehi jen....interestingly, your blog came up in our conversations today...the alcotts and drawing on the walls. all the serendipity was wonderful today.
ReplyDeleteHello:
ReplyDeleteYou are, we feel, very brave to have the courage to cut up books of whatever kind but, as you say, the collages represent a way of prolonging their 'shelf life' when otherwise they might simply have been thrown out with the rubbish. An excellent way to recycle!
good morning jane and lance...
ReplyDeletei must add that i cherish the sacrifice from each book. and it doesn't come easily even after all these years. however, they are always in terrible disrepair. there will be a post in the next week or so of the series that i've been working on.
have a great day!