| Title | Burning Me Open |
| Artist / Creator | Alicia Bailey |
| Press Name | Ravenpress |
| Publication Date | 2011 |
| Structure / Binding | The book is coptic sewn across the spine with dyed and waxed 4 ply linen thread. I don’t often weigh my books but this book, modest though it is in size has a nice heft and weighs 1 1/2 pounds. |
| Medium / Materials | The rigid pages that make up the text block are constructed of 3 layers; the middle layer is of shaped copper leaf, the outer two layers are laser cut and etched cast acrylic (3/32 thick). This creates pages that are 3/16 inch thick, their edges are sealed with copper tape. The covers are sanded and waxed purpleheart wood, planed to 3/8 inch thick. The recessed title label is laser printed copper leaf mounted on museum board. One of the book illustrations is repeated on the front cover via lasercutting. |
| Number of Pages | 9 pages plus 2 wood covers |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 5 x 3 x 2.75 inches closed |
| Edition Size | Edition of 18 |
This book takes the text and imagery from an 2009 artists’ book of the same title. I wrote the original text; the original illustrations were oil-paintings, re-created as line illustrations for this project.
The book pages are transparent, and thus allow sections of several pages to be viewed at once. The pages are rigid and thick, designed to display well both flat or upright. When displayed upright, lighting can be adjusted for increased interplay between the line illustrations and the shadows they cast.
Text selection from the book:
there is one who touches me so it burns
my hands open
at their feeling of
the length of me
Thanks to Shannon Perry who prepared the illustrations for laser etching, and to Stefanie Cornish and Jonathan Wiley for their help with all phases of production.
You can read Alicia's blog post about the creation of this book here.
Artist Bio
Alicia Bailey is a mixed-media artist living and working in Aurora, Colorado. In her studio she acts as record keeper for moments both ordinary and obscure, utilizing a broad range of material and method to create works that incorporate object, image and text. Her work has been featured in dozens of solo and group exhibits throughout the world and is held in numerous public, private and special collections. Alicia has worked as on independent curator, juror, workshop instructor, creative consultant, mentor and visiting artist throughout the United States for the past 30 years. She is currently owner/director of Abecedarian Gallery, a gallery with an ongoing focus on book arts, works on paper, assemblage and collage in Denver, Colorado. Since 1998 she has served on the executive committee of the Guild of Book Workers and was regional events coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Chapter for three years.