Salt Lake City, Utah

Sorry for the delay on this post, I was literally in the woods of The Uinta Mountains in Utah, for a week with no connection to the outside world. Slowing down and resting, was good!

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Quakin Aspens in the Uinta Mountains.

During my stay in Salt Lake City, I reached out to local artists working in book arts for a studio visit.

Victoria Birth, Book Repair Supervisor at the Material Acquisitions Department of Brigham Young University, was keenly interested in meeting. Instead of a rendez-vous at her private studio, Victoria invited me to visit the Harold B. Lee Library for a tour and get together with some colleagues.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. The Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Inside the Harold B. Lee Library.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Meeting with (left) Christina Thomas Maloy, Conservator, of Rare Books and Manuscripts, (middle) Chris McAfee, Head Conservator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, (right) Victoria Birth, Binding Supervisor at the Material Acquisitions Department.

The Harold B. Lee Library is a research library containing slightly more than three million volumes located in the arid Intermountain West. The library consists of a main library, as well as separate business, museum and learning resource center libraries. All repair work is properly handled by the Harold B. Lee Library’s Book Repair Unit located in the main library. The library additionally has a Conservation Lab responsible for the treatment of its special collections material. While separated physically within the main library the Lab collaborates with the Book Repair Unit as needed to help establish and improve treatment standards, order specific supplies, and provide advanced training.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. The Harold B. Lee Library’s Book Repair Unit.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Victoria Birth, Binding Supervisor in front of her desk at the Harold B. Lee Library’s Book Repair Unit.

The Book Repair Unit where some of the Harold B. Lee Library’s 6,000,000 volume collection gets repaired, is overseen by Victoria Birth and faithfully executed by competent, part-time staff of students.

Victoria equally creates book arts: Evenings Wasted and Pigeons Poisoned was produced in 2018 to meet the thesis requirements for her MFA Book Arts degree at The University of Alabama. 

Evenings Wasted and Pigeons Poisoned is a tribute to the work of Tom Lehrer, a musical satirist whose work came to light in the 1950s. This book showcases ten of his songs, paired with illustrations representing the juxtaposition of lovely music and disturbing subject matter. The introduction is a comprehensive account of Lehrer’s life up to and during his performance career giving context to his calling. This book is intended to show the viewer how multi-faceted Lehrer and his work is while bringing a guilty and uncomfortable smile to your face.

© 2018 Victoria Birth. Evenings Wasted and Pigeons Poisoned cover and slipcase.

© 2018 Victoria Birth. Detail of Evenings Wasted and Pigeons Poisoned.

© 2018 Victoria Birth. Detail of Evenings Wasted and Pigeons Poisoned.© 2018 Victoria Birth. Detail of Evenings Wasted and Pigeons Poisoned.

© 2018 Victoria Birth. Detail of Evenings Wasted and Pigeons Poisoned.

© 2018 Victoria Birth. Detail of Evenings Wasted and Pigeons Poisoned.

While at the Harold B. Lee Library, Victoria and I met with Christopher McAfee, the library's Head Conservator of Rare Books and Manuscripts.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Chris at his work station in the conservation lab of the Harold B. Lee Library.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Staff hard at work at the conservation lab at the Harold B. Lee Library.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Work space and paper storage at the conservation lab.

I met Chris McAfee, in 2010, then an instructor in bookbinding and artists books of the Marriott Library Books Arts Program at the University of Utah.

Chris received a BFA in printmaking in 1993 from Brigham Young University where he began learning to bind books. Subsequently in 1995, Chris was awarded an MFA in bookbinding from the University of Alabama, where he began learning book conservation. He has spent the last 20 years conserving and preserving books, documents, photographs, and other artifacts.

As a bookbinder, book artist, and book and paper conservator, Chris is knowledgeable and experienced with archival materials, examinations, and treatments. 

© 2018 Christopher McAfee. Frankenstein

© 2018 Christopher McAfee. Frankenstein, seemed to Chris like an obvious choice for his following book after City of Saints.

City of Saints is the first Mormon steampunk novel, an action-packed story with clockwork mechanisms, steam-coaches, and a futuristic vision of the 1859 west. Gears, pipes, and moving parts combine to share a glimpse into the story’s inner workings.

I am intrigued that the formation of such a work is not executed by the book artist alone, but by the combination of writer, artist, and reader. The writer gathers a narrative and the artist forms a design, but the book is not complete until the reader forms a vision as they react to the design and recite the story.

© 2018 Christopher McAfee. City of Saints, click here to view the mechanism at work.

© 2018 Christopher McAfee. City of Saints.

© 2012 Christopher McAfee. I was delighted to be introduced to Fantasy and Nonsense or “Tim” by Chris. A wonderful book presentation.

Christina Thomas Maloy, Conservator, of Rare Books and Manuscripts was also present and talked about the plans for the library and presented some of her most recent work. While conservation dominates Christina’s work, she finds time in her busy life to let her bookbinding imagination run wild.

© 2018 Christina Thomas Maloy. The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden, a facsimile publication (1977) of her 1906 naturalist’s diary.

Christina was first trained as a book repair technician while a Brigham Young University student from 2000–2004. She later completed the two-year bookbinding program at the North Bennet Street School in Boston from 2006-2008. She joined the Harold B. Lee Library staff in 2009 as the Book Repair Assistant, and in July 2013 was welcomed as a full time book conservator.

I enjoyed observing the consistencies and changes in the Conservation Lab since my last visit at the Harold B. Lee Library back in 2015. I was also fascinated by the intense commitment to the field and the creative elements of these conservator's work.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Kanarraville’s countryside in Utah.

During the month of July, I will be passing through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan before crossing the border into Canada.

Tucson, Arizona

My initial experience with the extensive work of Barbara Grygutis was on the grounds of the Ohio State University, when I naturally noticed Garden of Constants outside of Dreese Laboratories. Garden of Constants is a series of large free-standing number statues to help commemorate the current construction of buildings associated with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux. Garden of Constants by Barbara Grygutis.

Instantly taken by the work, I invariably started researching where Barbara’s work resided. I have experienced quite a few of her public sculptures in the last year. I first communicated with Barbara when journeying to Tucson, Arizona, in 2018. That February, we met at her studio and talked enthusiastically about her work and her remarkable accomplishments. Drawings and descriptions of new public spaces for the coming year were shared.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux. I viewed the maquette for Seagrass V during my visit last year.

© 2017 Louise Levergneux. A drawing for Seagrass V in Barbara’s studio.

Since then, Barbara has completed Seagrass V presented at the European Cultural Centre in the Palazzo Mora in Venice, Italy. Seagrass V has now found a new home in art-st-urban near Lucerne, Switzerland. A project dedication in April 2019 presented Creosote Lace which accents the 50th Street Light Rail Station in Phoenix.

The public spaces designed by Barbara Grygutis enhance the built environment, enable civic interaction, and reveal unspoken relationships between nature and humanity. She engages the public through her works of art by identifying themes meaningful to each specific site and community.

Back in Tucson this year, unable to pass on a wonderful invitation by Barbara to connect again if I found myself in the area, we created another great opportunity to meet. First we touched base at her greenish cage, as she calls her studio entrance, and then to an excellent restaurant for a fantastic evening.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. The so called greenish cage in the back of Barbara’s studio space.

While in Phoenix, Creosote Lace had to be experienced in person. I was intrigued by the result of this sculpture, since it bears the name of a bush that captured my attention last year while in Gila Bend. The Creosote bush is ever-present in the landscapes of the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, covering thousands of square miles. Sonoran Desert rains release the many oils in the plant that create a distinctive and unique aroma in the air. Once one smells the fragrance of the Creosote bush, one never forgets — the entire plant emits a distinctive and refreshing odor described by many as "the smell of rain."

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Creosote Lace at he 50th Street Light Rail Station in Phoenix.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Michael crossing the line to view Creosote Lace at he 50th Street Light Rail Station.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Creosote Lace by Barbara Grygutis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Creosote Lace by Barbara Grygutis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Panel detail of Creosote Lace by Barbara Grygutis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. A closer look at Creosote Lace by Barbara Grygutis.

Creosote Lace was conceived with the dual purposes of providing shade for commuters while celebrating a native plant which has been living in the Southwest for over seventeen thousand years. The new, accessible light rail station provides crucial access to the Ability360 facility as well as several other businesses nearby.

The artwork develops the concept of healing through the natural world as a central theme for the station. Creosote bush, also known as Greasewood (Larrea tridentata), has been recognized by the O’odham and other indigenous peoples since the beginning of time. In fact, O’odham tradition suggests that the Greasewood was a key element in the very creation of the world. Even today the creosote bush is the most populous native plant in the Phoenix Basin.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Creosote Lace is fabricated with steel, laser cut and painted, with a silver surface finish intended to evoke the shimmering light of the desert.

Creosote Lace combines shadow patterns formed by the delicate creosote leaves and minute blooms to create large abstract panels which, in turn, create shade. The beauty and delicacy of this plant is further emphasized by the spiral shape of the curvilinear panels which float up the approach ramps to the station platform. These spiral shaped canopies emulate the motion of the creosote as it blows in the southwest winds, ever-rooted to the earth. The continuous spiral shapes of the shade canopies also reference the ability of this tenacious plant to send out lateral shoots and, over long periods of time, to create concentric circles of plant families. The distinctive aroma of creosote bush is also a vital part of our desert legacy.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Seeing through Creosote Lace by Barbara Grygutis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Looking back at Creosote Lace by Barbara Grygutis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Creosote Lace by Barbara Grygutis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Creosote Lace is a tribute to the humble and prevalent creosote bush and to the healing powers that exist in the Sonoran Desert.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Creosote Lace can also be experienced on the sidewalks.

Another public space I delved into while in Chandler, Arizona, was Desert Passage, Canopy Dreams created in 2009 for the Chandler Gilbert Community College Pecos Campus.

This work of art is a functioning elevated, sculptural pedestrian bridge connecting the new Ironwood Hall to an existing building on campus. This curvilinear, 2nd level pathway meanders 200’ through a grove of Ironwood trees and highlights the natural beauty of the Ironwood leaf. The laser cut design of the shade hoops, natural daylight and integrated, designed lighting, create dramatic shade and light patterns day and night.

The photos below will help to examine Barbara’s piece as if you were actually walking across the pedestrian bridge.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Desert Passage, Canopy Dreams by Barbara Grygutis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Beginning of my experience of Desert Passage, Canopy Dreams by Barbara Grygutis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. The interplay between the shadows and the light is always present in Barbara’s work.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Looking up.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Halfway.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Looking back.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Observing from below.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. One last look as I walk away.

Interested in the work of Barbara Grygutis, check out what city has commissioned an installation on her website. In the next year, one will be able to research all Barbara’s maquettes, drawings, and information on her work at the University of Arizona Archive of Visual Arts. Looking forward to seek new public art spaces by Barbara Grygutis during next year’s visit.

Austin Studio Tour

In the last 3 weeks, I have been exploring the final details and the artistic expression of my last and upcoming book Surveillance. Surveillance naturally began as a direct response to all the security camera warning signs in our social and democratic world. 

When an artists' book’s specific concept comes to mind, one has to identify the intent of the book and how it will work.
Is the idea behind the work successful?
Are the feelings accurately conveyed?
Is the specific binding a perfect format for this book?
Is the content designed to create a pleasant experience for the reader?

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Time based electronics for my artists’ book Surveillance.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Last details on the electronic components for my artists’ book Surveillance.

Since Surveillance comprises an interactive component, there were more details to keep in mind. How much time should be allocated for the inside of the book to be revealed? 
Is the familiar sound revealed at the proper time? 
Are the electronics the appropriate ones?
How will the reader relate to the predetermined structure? 
Will the reader encounter the visual and/or textual information in the proper order? ...

Is the element of surprise well planned? 

Will the reader be able to manage or manipulate the book properly? ...

Some of these questions are on going, others were ironed out during a working session with Natalie Freed, while in Austin in early April.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Quercus Virginiana know as the Live Oak Tree, New Braunfels, Texas.

Texas has been a very productive and artistically inviting place for me. During my trips through Austin, keeping in touch with certain people, depending on life demands is important. 

I have enjoyed French lunch with Olivia Primanis and other staff of the Ransom Center during my past visits. This time, I was invited to tour the studios of Olivia Primanis and Christopher Hynes — one of the highlights of my week in the area.

Olivia Primanis retired from her official position of Senior Book Conservator at the Harry Ransom Center last January. These days Olivia finds contracts to execute special projects to keep up with her considerable skills in conservation and preservation.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. The studio of Olivia Primanis.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Olivia Primanis has many wonderful tools of the trade in her studio.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Another view of Olivia’s studio space.

Two different studios with two diverse artistic expressions under the same roof, where creativity abounds.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. A gallery tour in Olivia Primanis and Christopher Hynes home. Christopher talking art with Michael Sutton.

Christopher succinctly explains his creative work:

My assemblages and collages are puzzles, incorporating my color paintings and using found objects, the aged and broken bits of our culture's debris, that explore life and the world we live in. I like to juxtapose artifacts that are incongruous but that work together in an intriguing way around a central theme, which is sometimes serious and political, sometimes whimsical and humorous.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Entering Christopher’s studio space.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Many objects and colour on display in Christopher’s studio space.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Fascinated by various small items adorning the shelves in Christopher’s studio.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Art work by Christopher Hynes.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. A work in progress with many of Christopher’s tools.

Next stop Salt Lake City, Utah. If you are interested in a visit please let me know.

Meeting artists and visiting their studio is one of the most wonderful part of touring the country.

Till then I will be admiring the sunsets in Gila Bend and Sedona, Arizona.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Sunset in Gila Bend, Arizona

Downsize or Expand

No, matter how tough things may feel,

there’s always something good waiting around the corner.

Karen Salmansohn

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Texas Paintbrush in the south of Texas, my backyard in April, not bad for inspiration!

Last January, when a certain practical side of life interrupted art, I cancelled a few visits in Florida. Since then, I re-communicated with Dorothy Simpson Krause, a local artist and book maker from Ft. Lauderdale, whom I had planned on visiting. In response, Dorothy was generous in emailing me images of her atelier and art work to share with all of you.

In my creative world, a zone, a sacred space is missing — a studio. I identified with my last workroom in Boise, Idaho, as 1/2 Measure Studio, since my space was a third of the square footage of my studio in Utah, but it was comfortable. Now, my atelier has shrunk again! Should I call it 1/16 Measure Studio?

© 2017 Louise Levergneux. Working on my artists’ book “Shadow Me” in my 1/2 Measure Studio in Boise, Idaho.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Without a physical space to call my own, here I’m working on my artists’ book “Surveillance” in Natalie Freed’s studio in Austin, Texas.

As artists, we learn how to downsize or expand our space depending on our situation. In 2013 Dorothy sold her home of 35 years and gave up her 3,200 square foot studio in New England to move full-time into a condo in South Florida.

© 2019 Dorothy Simpson Krause. Dorothy’s studio in Ft Lauderdale, Florida.

Dorothy explains her space and how it has not prevented her from creating wonderful large scale mixed media pieces, artist books and book-like objects that bridge between these two forms.

I occupy a compact office/studio. It has adequate counter and storage for minor projects, an Apple Power Tower Pro with 30″ monitor, a 17″ MacBook Pro, an Epson RX680 duplex printer and a 13″ Epson Stylus Pro 3880.

The condo has a considerable storage space for necessary supplies and ephemera and an outside storage unit for larger art.

I use the counter/bar in the kitchen when I need to spread out. For larger projects, I am fortunate to have access to the workspaces at the Jaffe Center for Book Arts http://www.library.fau.edu/depts/spc/jaffe.htm at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. It is a excellent resource for inspiration and support.

© 2019 Dorothy Simpson Krause. Dorothy’s many filing cabinets.

© 2019 Dorothy Simpson Krause. Making a book for her Alaska trip.

Although my art background is traditional, the computer has become a primary art-making media, a repository of my records and my lifeline to the world.

My work embeds archetypal symbols and fragments of image and text in multiple layers of texture and meaning. It combines the humblest of materials, plaster, tar, wax and pigment, with the latest in technology to evoke the past and herald the future. My art-making is an integrated mode of inquiry that links concept and media in an ongoing dialogue — a visible means of exploring meaning.

© 2010 Dorothy Simpson Krause. Ancient Mysteries, a pyramid shaped structure was created after Dorothy had an opportunity to work with Karen Hanmer. Ancient Mysteries can be folded in a virtually infinite number of ways, and is housed in a leather slipcase embellished with two triangular pieces of metal.6''x6''x1.5'' 36 pages

© 2010 Dorothy Simpson Krause. Explorations was created during a trip to Egypt in 2010. Dorothy carried with her, a small book made with paper aged by crumpling and staining with tea, coffee and walnut ink. 6"x5.5", 24 pages.

© 2010 Dorothy Simpson Krause. Explorations was bound with a heavy paper, embossed with symbols resembling heiroglyphics, and was pamphlet stitched with three beads in the spine.

© 2010 Dorothy Simpson Krause. Vintage photographs of Egypt were collaged into the pages of Explorations.

© 2018 Dorothy Simpson Krause. Apache began on a trip to Arizona, this small book explores our appalling treatment of Native Americans. Vintage photos of Apache Indians are collaged onto small eco printed tags which are placed into a pocket accordion, designed to fit into a well-worn leather pouch. Closed 5.5″x 3.75″x 1.75″, opened (5.5″x 28″).

© 2012 Dorothy Simpson Krause. River of Grass created as part of the Helen M. Salzberg Inaugural Artist in Residence at the Jaffe Center for Book Arts, Wimberly Library, Florida Atlantic University.

© 2012 Dorothy Simpson Krause. River of Grass.

© 2012 Dorothy Simpson Krause. River of Grass.

© 2012 Dorothy Simpson Krause. River of Grass.

Dorothy eloquently explains her proposal for this prestigious residency and how her production paid homage to Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ seminal book, “The Everglades: River of Grass.”

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Through our mutual communication and after viewing Dorothy’s website, I’m looking forward to a visit, when life’s magnificent path escorts me back in that corner of the world.

Meanwhile, I’m dreaming of a new set-up in our travel trailer to work anytime a wave of creativity comes along. I have a picture of what is needed using a lift-top with an adjustable lift platform for under our bed. If anyone knows of someone that is handy with tools that can build me an under the bed worktable, please let me know. I will be spending another two weeks in the Phoenix, Tucson, Gila Bend area of Arizona.

I would love to visit some artists’ book makers in the area, if anyone is interested in meeting with me, please email me at louiselevergneux (at) gmail (dot) com. Looking forward in meeting you!

Example of my dream workstation!! but under the bed storage area instead of a pouf!

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Works In Progress

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.

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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!

Seconds, Minutes, Hours...

On February 28th, we all received the new blog post from Alyson Stanfield from Art Biz Success “How to Decide Whether to Take on a New Project or Not.”

After reading the article and comments, I realized this post was very timely. A significant topic because of my overwhelming new life style as a nomad.

As I mentioned in past posts — a self-employed artist/entrepreneur wears many hats, which means you exercise the freedom to decide how to manage your chosen career. For some of us this creates a dilemma!

At this point in my life and career, it is critical to decide which activity/opportunity is for me. Superwoman, no way, and there are not enough hours in a day for me to accomplish everything I would embrace or require to achieve. How do you find time to write your blog posts in between your many activities? To the ones who do, kudos to you! I salute you!

In the past, there always seemed to be time to set up lots of activities to satisfy my life. Back in Canada, for many years, I was an art teacher at a local college; giving workshops and private lessons were also enjoyable. Every moment I would be in my studio or training our Topaz. When we moved to the US, I alloted lots of time to my work. This granted me the freedom to create and distribute my books; to participate in national and international exhibitions; and attend workshops to help advance my work. Subsequently, at the end of 2015, I started blogging to meet and communicate with other likeminded artists.

© 2017 Michael Sutton. Feeling my way around new ideas.

Does It Feel Right?

Being on the move constantly and with diligent work, favourable circumstances have come my way. For all we know, getting older, shortens time and the moments in between are non-existent, which intensifies the feeling of being pulled in many directions! With at least three artists’ books on the go, meeting artists and library contacts while traveling, writing Half Measure Studio Blog posts, blogging about my personal journey, and of course life in general. “Where to start?”, is often the question.

Traveling for almost two years, the decisions I make depend significantly on locals and timing. I feel overwhelmed and not getting any closer to finishing a recent artists’ book!

Half Measure Studio Blog may no longer serve my goals. Am I weary? Maybe! Or is life interfering with art again? — This is a puzzle.

Half Measure Studio Blog remains a great project. When I moved to Boise, Idaho, from Salt Lake City, Utah, blogging provided me a platform to express ideas and converse about studio activities, binding, concepts, and feature other artists...

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Balancing work on a new artists’ book Surveillance and writing this post.

Is This Aligned With My Goals?

After reading Alison’s questions, I’m unsure that blogging brings me closer to my goals. I’m reflecting on what my posts are conveying to fellow artists especially to myself? Continuing to share information could be done with enthusiaism if time invested would balance the creation of artists’ books. It’s been two weeks since my last post and I’m NOT particularly looking forward to writing another. Wait! That’s what I’m doing now, the article must be inspiring me.

I enjoy the communication and comments (online and/or offline), but my gut tells me this may not be the correct path. I wouldn’t want to give up on a long-time project which opened so many doors. But, a change of lifestyle (which has generated many creative ideas) and adding a monthly personal traveling blog has made it difficult to accomplish the realization of my ideas.

Reflection of my career goals for 2019 is in order: spending time writing, communicating or creating artists’ books? What project could offer me a connection with the art world as much as blogging did?

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Enjoying the development of Surveillance.

What is the potential for profit?

Earning a living is a priority, since I have been unable to publish new books, soon the inventory and the profits will disappear, the money is always part of the equation for me, but my inventory is whittling down. And, I miss the hands on projects. Could blogging offer some financial compensation? How does it work and are donations worth it?

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Image for my new artists’ book Surveillance.

What opportunities could it lead to?

At the moment, the most critical question, for me, is — “Would blogging once a month instead of weekly, allow me time to rethink my work, find different goals, dream of new concepts, find a new way of creating while traveling, re-organize a studio space?” Hopefully, the results will open doors to other opportunities. I trust I will benefit wholeheartedly from the time producing my books, which is my first love.

One should constantly be inspired and enthusiastic about their art career/work. Time is precious, we need to allow moments to flow, for life to bring good tidings our way.

Therefore, with all this introspection, Half Measure Studio Blog will be posted only once a month, till I find the balance needed for my work. See you soon... Louise

© 2015 Louise Levergneux. Sunset in Avimor, Idaho.

Tampa, Florida

University libraries and artists where part of my research for my séjour in Florida. Therefore, I was prepared to visit local studios and collections. I arranged a meeting at Graphicstudio, which is an essential part of the University of South Florida Institute for Research in Art in Tampa.

Graphicstudio, founded in 1968, is a university-based workshop engaged in a unique experiment in art and education. Its philosophy to provide artists with the freedom to experiment and pursue new directions to advance their practice, is matched with an exceptionally talented faculty and staff. This combination has attracted world-renowned contemporary artists to the University of South Florida.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Graphicstudio printing room.

Since its beginning, the studio has invited over 100 emerging and established contemporary artists from around the world that have worked in a range of styles and media to produce more than 1,000 limited edition print and sculpture multiples.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Graphicstudio’s wall of paint.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Graphicstudio’s archival ink printers.

One of the first workshops at Graphicstudio was with Robert Rauschenberg. The artist, along with a dedicated group of faculty, staff and students, avidly experimented with forms and techniques — photo transfer, cyanotype, sepia prints, printing on cloth and ceramics, sculptures with new materials, a hundred-foot-long photograph — and ultimately completed over sixty editions. The studio’s reputation as a place where faculty and staff will eagerly pursue and collaborate with the artist’s every idea and inspiration was established in those early days. This innovative environment continues to be a major factor in its continuing success.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Tim Baker preparing prints for colour run.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Carlos Garaicoa, Terrasse St. Denis, 2011, 2-run photogravure with hand-cut folded elements, 17-3/8 x 14.25 x 5-3/16”.

Graphicstudio practices traditional printmaking techniques including intaglio, lithography, silkscreen, and relief along with photogravure, cyanotype and pigment prints. Sculpture multiples are produced in a range of media which include bronze, steel, aluminum, wood, rubber, and less traditional materials including lava (basalt) and pigmented resins.

Walking into Graphicstudio, I was greeted by Kristin Soderqvist, Director of Marketing and Sales. Kristin hosted a tour of the gallery and facility, explained Graphicstudio’s mission, and shared her knowledge about all the work that enrich the walls by artists who created works.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Kristin Soderqvist showing me around the studios.

The first prints I noticed were of Sandra Cinto, known for her large-scale, dramatic scenarios incorporating water, the night sky and billowing seas.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. top left: Sandra Cinto, Open Sea, 2016, Cyanotype, 22 x 30”; left middle: Esterio Segura, Homemade Submarine SJXXII, 2017, Cyanotype, 32.125 x 46”; left bottom: Sandra Cinto, Untitled, 2016, sculpture: Alabaster, 13.5 x 36 x 12”, base: 30 x 40 x 21”, Walnut Hardwood; right: Sandra Cinto, Chance and Necessity, 2016, suite of 5 two-run, two-color direct gravures with photogravure, 49.75 x 34” ea.

As one walks through a hallway, Mark Dion’s Herbarium, initiated in 2007, is noticeable. Herbarium is a suite of etchings printed in two runs. To provide the paper, an aged look, an acrylic wash was hand painted on each sheet of paper, then run with a spit-bite aquatint similar to the wash.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. right: Mark Dion, World in a Box, 2015, suite of 27 prints (lithography, cyanotype, digital, screenprint, etching, letterpress and woodcut) in a custom-made oak wood storage box with etching and letterpress cover image (on lid) and lithograph inventory list (inside lid), 13.125 x 10.187 x 1.625”. right top: Burt Barr, Wave.

Wave by Burt Barr was one of the first digital inkjet prints produced at Graphicstudio. You can examine the piece, Wave, that was installed as a continuous image, 38 feet long along the wall at ceiling height. I was intrigued about the process — Barr’s film August provided imagery for his project. Reoriented as a suite of five panels of three images each, Wave considers the perception of nature, pushing the boundary of its presentation through the scale of the project.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. left: Guillermo Kuitca, The Neufert Suite, 2002, suite of six cyanotypes
46.5 x 46.5”; right top: Richard Anuszkiewicz, Blue Tinted Star, 1991, Five-color lithograph / screen-print assemblage, 36 x 38 x 1.062”; on pedestal (H 33.25” x diam 33”): Esterio Segura, Submarine Homemade, 2018, bronze with applied patina and white oak pedestal, 12.75 x 26 x 29”.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Fred Tomaselli, Untitled (bloom), 2018, archival pigment print with 11-run screenprint, 58 x 46” being printed.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Fred Tomaselli, Untitled (bloom), 2018, archival pigment print with 11-run screenprint, 58 x 46” finished print.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Mernet Larsen, Raft, 2018, 13-color lithograph with collage elements, 33.75 x 34.25”.

Once I was shown Allan McCollum’s Lands of Shadow and Substance, I was intrigued. Allan viewed the original Twilight Zone episodes from 1959 to 1964 on his laptop computer, capturing screenshots of scenes that included landscape paintings. Images of those paintings were digitally edited, printed, and custom framed to create the series entitled Lands of Shadow and Substance. Each of the 27 works in the series are archival pigment prints that have been printed proportionally to its original televised incarnation and is in an edition of three. The series was printed using Epson UltraChrome HDR inks on an Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and framed in custom manufactured frames. Each piece is signed on a label on the back of the frame with a reference image and on the back of the print itself.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Allan McCollum, Lands of Shadow and Substance (No. 1 – 27), 2014, archival pigment prints, various sizes.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Kristin removes Allan McCollum’s Lands of Shadow and Substance off the wall to show me the signed label on the back of the frame.

In the back hallway you are confronted with a wall covered in psychedelic, black-light reactive wallpaper. This screen printed wallpaper with fluorescent inks was a 2008 project with artist Trenton Doyle Hancock and is called Flower Bed II: A Prelude to Damnation.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Trenton Doyle Hancock, Flower Bed II: A Prelude to Damnation, 2008, 10-color screen printed wallpaper with fluorescent inks, 27” x 5 yards

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Frame above table: Trenton Doyle Hancock, Wow That's Mean, 2008, suite of four etchings on black paper with chine colle, each: 10.5 x 14”.

Imagine what I was impressed with the most — Ed Ruscha artists’ books of course. Since Kristin new I was an artists’ book maker, she made sure, I viewed two of Ruscha’s artists’ books ME and THE and OH NO.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. On wall in background: Philip Pearlstein, Jerusalem, Kidron Valley, 1989, heliorelief with roulette on wood, 40 x 119”. Kristin opening the boxes that contain Ed Ruscha’s artists’ books Me and The, and OH NO.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Ed Ruscha, 2006, OH NO, colophon page.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Ed Ruscha’s OH NO, inside pages.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Kristin demonstrates Ed Ruscha’s artists’ book ME and THE.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Kristin demonstrates Ed Ruscha’s artists’ book ME and THE, when the gilt edge of the fore-edge is fanned the another way.

Well, I was here in Tampa 30 years ago when Graphicstudio was around the corner from the university art museum. It was a small operation and when I came back I had no idea what to expect. When I saw what was there, I was kind of stunned to see how fine everything was. You had this gallery and not only just the gallery and the space and the presses and the different rooms and the staff and all that, but actually had many work to back this whole thing up. I was just completely impressed and touched by everything I saw. It’s quite a facility.

Thirty years later in 2000-01 Ruscha returned to the atelier, this time for a suite of color photogravures and a limited-edition artist book. The early and late bodies of work share striking similarities in the interplay of word and image and in the exploration of the intersection of fine art and commercial printing techniques, and display an enduring commitment to the artist book form by Ruscha, a pioneer of the artist book movement in the 1960s. ME and THE (2002 cloth covered book with one-color fore-edge printing and gold leaf edges, closed book: 5-1/4 H x 7-1/2 W x 2-1/8 D inches, an edition of 230) and OH NO are fore-edge books, with printing that appears when the gilt edge is fanned one way or another. The pages of the book are blank, perhaps a commentary on the meanings we would ascribe, or fail to ascribe, to such seemingly simple words.

© 2019 Louise Levergneux. Abel Barroso, Tabaco con Ideologia (Cigars with Ideology), 2001, handmade Spanish cedar bas-relief “cigar box” with woodblock print (inside lid) and lithograph scroll-print (inside box) viewed by turning two hand-carved crank handles attached to moveable parts; TEXT by artist
9 x 16-3/8 x 3”.

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It was an amazing afternoon of exploring the various rooms for lithography, silkscreen... And witnessing all the excellent work that Graphicstudio and artists have accomplished together. If you are in Tampa make an appointment to visit this facility. A visit to Graphicstudio was an incredible sensory experience!

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Florida

Just before my change of lifestyle and moving on from Boise, Idaho, another talented artist interested in manhole covers found me online and we started a conversation about our work. At the moment, I'm in Kissimmee a city in central Florida's Osceola County, just south of Orlando, almost 2 years later and finally I get to meet Bobbi Mastrangelo.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Bobbi Mastrangelo in her studio in Kissimmee, Florida.

Bobbi, the “Grate Artist”, is internationally known for her unique transformations of manhole covers, sewers, and grates into wall relief street-scapes and embossments on hand made papers. The message of her manhole art is to conserve and preserve our precious resources.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Bobbi’s husband Al showing us around Mastrangelo’s studio.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Al talking about Bobbi’s work with Michael as Bobbi explains her sculpture relief Florida Citrus 467-1.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Bobbi Mastrangelo’s studio.

It is through embossed prints on hand-made paper that Bobbi positively transforms the mundane iron covers into jewel like mandalas. Her tromp l'oeil sculpture relief works artistically capture the essence of utility covers in urban settings. Their appearance is so realistic that viewers wonder how she managed to put all that “weight“ up on the wall. I must humbly admit my mind was wondering the same when I encountered a street-scape in Bobbi’s living room.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Metropolitan Cover, sculpture relief created in 1997, (48"x36'x5") by Bobbi Mastrangelo.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Detail of Vestige, sculpture relief by Bobbi Mastrangelo.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Buckeye, sculpture relief by Bobbi Mastrangelo.

Bobbi’s “Grate Works” strike a chord, it’s fun loving art that brings a smile to your face and a profound sense of awe to your mind.

Starting out as an elementary school teacher, then, to college art classes, where Bobbi accurately rendered “Classic Works” of Art. Studies of Picasso and modern art naturally inspired Bobbi to experiment with line, form, and texture which evolved into “Mod Works.”

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. When the People Care created by Bobbi Mastrangelo.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Sculpture relief by Bobbi Mastrangelo.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Water Supply, print on handmade paper by Bobbi Mastrangelo.

© 2015 Bobbi Mastrangelo. Florida Citrus 467-1, mixed media sculpture relief (21”x13”x5.5”) by Bobbi Mastrangelo.

Bobbi uses styrofoam as the base of her work. One can see how her piece Creation of Florida Citrus 467-1 was transformed here.

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Bobbi explaining her process with styrofoam.

I genuinely enjoyed my visit and conversation with Bobbi and touring her studio and exploring her process was inspiring. Now, every styrofoam piece I see, I want to collect for Bobbi!

© 2018 Louise Levergneux. Manhole cover in Orlando, Florida