Backyard Food Chain by Elizabeth Sanford
Today I am sitting in the gallery watching the neighbor’s cat stalking birds in my Laurel hedge. Reminded me of this fantastic work by Elizabeth Sanford titled Backyard Food Chain. Elizabeth’s work has been in several of our shows and is always a crowd pleaser. Stop by to see this one soon. FEAST continues only through June 15th.
Wild Apples by Jonathan Gerken
Because I am heading up to Washington State tomorrow and the apples there so wonderful. Plus, the artist’s parents visited the gallery last weekend and we had a delightful chat. I could tell they were so proud of their son and this book and the work he does. The typography in this book is very fun, almost in a concrete poetry style, but more free. Nice combination of letterpress printing for the text and ink jet printing for the photos.
Learn more about this sweet work here. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)
The Mystery of the Donut Bastards by Patricia Freeman-Martin
Because tomorrow is Sunday and Sunday is too often donut day around these parts. Nothing like a good “Old Dirty Bastard” donut from VooDoo donuts to go with my Sunday paper. But enough about donuts. This book is fantastic! Patricia’s monoprints are very playful and fun, the box is made of painted acrylic and the prints are sewn together on a sewing machine using bread bags to attach the pages. Even the decorative stitching on the pages looks great. Come see it soon!
You can learn more about this terrific book here.
P-Patch by Chandler O’Leary
As I prepare to head to Seattle and Tacoma next week it is nice to be reminded of the “edible and ornamental bounty” that is the Pacific Northwest. Chandler O’Leary’s illustrations are always a joy to behold.
I’ll post details soon about my Seattle event. In the meantime, if you live in Tacoma, you are invited to join us on Tuesday, May 28th from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the University of Puget Sound Collins Library for an event sponsored by the PSBA, Puget Sound Book Artists. More about that event here.
You can learn more about Chandler’s lovely P-Patch broadside here.
Chandler also has another important piece in FEAST, The Faery Gardener. See that beauty here.
See you up north!
Eating Mindfully: A Beginner’s Guide by Lane Taplin
This terrific zine gets today’s feature spot as I sit at my desk chugging fistfuls of M&Ms like there is no tomorrow. I am such a hopeless addict that I carry them in my purse whenever I travel and am just sure those chocolate dreams are the whole reason why I constantly feel the need to lose 5 pounds. So, for the rest of the week I vow to read Lane’s zine and pay attention.
Another nice reason to feature this work is that in 6 years of doing two juried shows a year we have had very few zines submitted. That’s a shame because zines are an important member of the book arts field and I’d love to see more of them in future shows. Got that zinesters? Get thinking about EcoEditions!
Learn more about this mindful zine here.
An Omnivore’s Memoir by Elsi Vassdal Ellis
FEAST Feature of the Day: An Omnivore’s Memoir by Elsi Vassdal Ellis. This work is stunning, a compelling tour de force! Elsi is one of the most prolific book artists I’ve ever known. Her books are always deep, intellectual and compelling. This work incorporates an apron, placemat and table tent; eight books, pamphlets and menus; 143 recipes on folded cards divided into courses; 28 “We All Must Eat Something” species coaster cards; and 28 “You Are What You Eat” coaster cards. All beautifully presented in a well-crafted, oversized kitchen utensil drawer organizer. Elsi accomplishes these kinds of feats regularly—even with a day job as big as a university department chair and professor.
Stop by the gallery if you have a chance to see this work. But plan on taking a while to read all of the cards and booklets. It will be worth your time!
Because we’re having a cool, rainy day here in Portland today and a bowl of hot chili sounds delicious. And because this book is a complete recipe with no words. 42 pages, letterpress woodcut 39 illustrations—and you can make chili. And because we just sold a copy of this book to a collector who was absolutely thrilled to add this stunner to his collection. Congrats all.
Chili: A Recipe by David Esslemont.
Learn more about this terrific work here.
Cloudberries and Other Fruits by Lisa Onstad
I chose to feature this work today after a terrific discussion in the gallery yesterday about “erasure” art. This is a very fun technique that poets and visual artist often employ whereby you white out or paint over or “erase” words from an existing text to create a totally new piece of poetry or language. Lisa’s Cloudberries piece has some erasure on the back sides of her cards and they are just fantastic. Tom Phillips’ “A Humument” is one of my favorite examples of this type of artistic or poetic “deconstruction.”
Click the photo above to see our Eco Books Curated Collection. These books will give you some inspiration for your own eco work.
23Sandy invites you to start thinking about new work for EcoEditions. Can artist books raise consciousness, create awareness or change the world and our environment? Let’s use our powers as stewards of the earth to report on the state of our environment, ecology, sustainability, pollution, climate, recycling and our planet in general. This juried exhibition is open to unique and limited edition artist books, broadsides, zines, sculptural bookworks and more and will juried by Cara List, the Art and Art History Librarian at the University of Oregon Architecture and Allied Arts Library.
Deadline for entry: Saturday, September 7, 2013 at Midnight.
Feast is in the Belly of the Beholder by M. L. Van Nice
FEAST Feature of the Day: This sculptural bookwork is hard to fit into the “artist’s” book category since as it was actually was crafted by bugs. But, you can tell that they really enjoyed the feast and the final “art” is gorgeous! “Feast is in the Belly of the Beholder” by M. L. Van Nice. I had a lot of fun with this show with works that really push the boundary of food and book art. Between bugs, cannibalism and cake, this show has it all.
Four and Twenty Magpies by Sandra Winkworth
In honor of our Aussie friend Graham Schodda who dearly misses meat pies. This piece by Sandra Winkworth is great fun!
Artists Reception for FEAST!
Friday, May 10, 2013
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
The book arts offer a banquet of materials, mediums and structures. Food offers a smorgasbord of ideas for the artist. Mix up generous servings of food and art and you have a sumptuous feast called book arts. This show features 46 food-related unique and limited edition artist books and broadsides by 43 artists. Several of the artists will be visiting from out of town. Come help us celebrate their terrific work.