I read this quote somewhere, ‘ Artist Books are works of art that utilize the form of a book – using structure or function of the book as inspiration.’
I wanted and needed a change from working on my tactile paintings and liked the idea of creating Artist Books out of wood, leather, gold leaf, plaster and metal.
It would be a great opportunity to marry up the skills I had learnt over the years and add one more.
West Dean College offered a course in leather book binding and I booked myself in and by the end of three days I had produced a book cover I was proud of.
My first attempt was to make a Wedding Book.
I made a wooden book, covered it in leather, fitted bookshelves and then made 75 miniature books less than 2 inches high, gilded them,covered them in leather, fitted hinges so it opened like a book and added leather ties.
Each miniature book represents a wedding guest, their initials are on the spine of the books and their names on the front covers.
My next attempt, inspired by Jane Austen is nearing completion.
This work has really fired my interest and I now have a long list of ideas I want to develop over the next year.
I continue to work and exhibit my tactile paintings and have written my first novel The Painting in Room 48. available on Amazon in paperback and kindle.