Cicada Reliquary by Mary Beth Boone -SOLD!

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I often find parts of insects while gardening. I save many of these artifacts, since I am intrigued by their fragile and ephemeral beauty. This past Spring I created a suite of reliquaries in their honor. I began by drawing four insects—a butterfly, cicada, bee, and dragonfly. Once I had completed the drawings, I carved a linoleum block for each of the four. I intended to make a tunnel book for each insect using the prints; and then house the books within a hinged box. I letterpress printed multiple prints of each insect, as well as pressure prints to use for covering the boxes. I cut the insects into layers and made four small tunnel books. I then made a box with a hinged door and mica window for each book. A small mica window on each box top reveals an insect wing representing the insect within the box. I added vintage button feet and closures and cork paper embellishments. One must open a door to peer into the layered interior of each little insect shrine.

Artist Bio

Mary Beth Boone is a book artist and letterpress printer who makes her home in Greensboro, NC. She began making books about twenty years ago and shows her work extensively. Recent exhibits include BookOpolis 2014, Printmade Artist's Books at BookWorks in Asheville, NC, Seat at the Table at WoCa in Fort Worth, Texas in 2013, and Selfies, Real or Imagined at Gallery West in Columbia, SC in 2015. Her work was included in 1000 Artists' Books and 500 Handmade Books, volume 2. A Winter Residency at the Penland School of Crafts in 2012 inspired her to locate and purchase a Vandercook SP 15. She prints under the imprint Purple Pumpkin Press. Her work is in private and public collections. Mary Beth holds a MFA from the University of SC, Columbia.