It has already been a month since my last blog post. Short but sweet, this period has given me time to progress with my artists’ book Surveillance, a tunnel book structure. I’m absolutely thrilled with the results and look forward to meeting with Natalie Freed in Austin in April for integrating the electronics part of the book. It did require some patience and time to get back into detail work for this publication and applying glue again! The month gave me pause for reflection and the time spent on the creation of new publications was fantastic. You know who you are when you are creating what you love.
© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Prints of the cover for Surveillance.
© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Prints of the pages for Surveillance.
© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Remembering registration on an Epson R3000.
© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Back page for Surveillance.
© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Cutting details for the cover for Surveillance.
© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Measuring for the accordion side for Surveillance.
Last January, in Florida, I meticulously planned a few studio and contact visits. When a problem with our travel trailer arose, another disappointment interrupted art. As plans changed, I could no longer meet with John Cutrone, at the Jaffe Center and a studio visit with Dorothy Krause had to be cancelled. I also proposed to meet Merike van Zanten during her residency at The Arthur & Mata Jaffe Center for Book Arts. With Le Château’s problem, this stopover was also annulled.
Back in September 2017, I wrote a post entitled Pennsylvania. This post featured artists’ books with the theme of war after touring Gettysburg. One of the artists’ book featured in this post was A Soldier of the Second World War by Merike van Zanten. So, knowing I would be in Florida, I arranged a get together. Unable to view Merike’s creative work in person, I thought you might join me and look at what Merike is accomplishing during her time at the JCBA’s as part of the Helen M. Salzberg Artist in Residence for the 2018/2019 academic year.
© 2019 Merike van Zanten. John1, eco print on paper.
© 2019 Merike van Zanten. Hibiscus and fern print on paper from Merike’s residency.
Merike, a book artist, comes to the residency from the Netherlands, where she founded Double Dutch Design. Her artists' books focus on nature among other things and she incorporates found materials, utilizing a variety of techniques. Some of her books are quite sculptural.
Merike’s proposed Salzberg Residency creative project begins with substantive research and experiments in eco printing, a technique of extracting color and images from plants and metals through steam, without the use of inks. She uses paper, fabric, and leather as substrates, and these experiments will be bound into an artists’ book unified by technique.
© 2019 Merike van Zanten. Gerbera Daisy, coptic bound notebook with eco printed leather cover from Merike’s residency,
© 2019 Merike van Zanten. John8, eco print eucalyptus on silk.
During the residency Merike also conducted a series of workshops on eco printing at The Jaffe Center, as well as at outside venues.
Merike van Zanten is getting lots of publicity for her residency. Here is a link to an article by Judith Klau, Reflections from the Jaffe Center: Wednesdays with Arthur #7 who explains Merike’s work in progress.
© 2019 Helen Edmunds. Merike at work at the Jaffe Center during her residency.
The South of Florida is one stop I wish I had not missed, but as Carre Otis said “Life inevitably throws us curve balls, unexpected circumstances that remind us to expect the unexpected”.
Talk to you in May!