ABC BOOK GROUP

Bower Library Exhibition April 2016  

'Turn the Page' June 2016

I made 3 books as part of the ABC book group for the Bower Library Exhibition which started April 18th 2016. These books could potentially be taken for the Turn the Page Bookfair in Norwich in June 2016.

Book 1 - Concertina fold. 
NUDEs
Inspired by my first textile painting - my Matisse style figures (think 'Le Danse') were silkscreen printed onto large card and then I worked into this figurative black printed key line, combining figures curved patterns and colour together. I used a limited yet vibrant colour palette for my first painting - Blues, Reds and Golds.

Dots or circles have begun appearing with regularity within my current work. They could be seen to evoke the 'feminine' theme, representing nipples or possibly to simulate and highlight the more curvaceous nature of the female form. these dots also link to my halftone work - where images are 'hidden' rather like 'Colour Blind' test imagery, so up close they appear as patterns but from a distance one can see the form and subject of the print.

Book 2
LISTEN BUDDY...
inspired by the 1968 Film 'The Odd Couple' with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. I captured a series of film stills using portraits of actors with minor roles in the film as the subject for my prints eg. gormy go-go dancer, matronly waitress etc. and silkscreen printed the half tone image, then folded it concertina style (as with previous books).
To add interest, I took lines of dialogue from the film and chose one word from each line on each page, emboldened this word, to make up a completely different and 'out of context' surreal sentence. If you open up the whole book a Spanish Dancer appears!! 

Book 3
BUMS 
inspired by my life drawing and using the idea of layers - my mini concertina book - contains overlapping nudes - silkscreen printed in two colours. I used transparent textures combined with a key line to create the idea of skin with the definition of strong bold outlines. I stamp printed the word BUMS on the front cover just in case anyone had no clue what this teeny book contained.

'Listen Buddy', my Dotty Odd Couple book is going to be taken to the Bookfair in Norwich in June 2016.  Excited and I can't believe it!!

Book making takes precision, care and patience and all of these things are alien concepts. I am haphazard, careless and impatient. Straight lines and measuring are an anathema to me. At school I was the child sitting on the naughty step during maths lessons for putting cheese in the maths teachers bag whilst she attempted to teach me trigonometry. I used to get my twin sister to swop classes with me!  Hence my surprise and this anti-precision diatribe at getting a book selected.

Oscar Madison: Don't you have any gravy? 

Felix Ungar: Where the hell am I gonna get gravy at eight o'clock?