I started a new altered book the other day. In fact, I started two of them, but this only meant that I set a course of action and then removed about half the pages from both volumes. I also conducted a few "test" examples for the one. Today, after a trip to City Art for more watercolors and inks, I began in earnest.

The one I started is called "Mosaic". That's actually the title. I bought this perfectly fine hardback novel at the Book Dispensary for $2. I looked the title up on the Amazon website and found used editions selling for as low as a penny (plus shipping and handling!) The reviews weren't particularly good either. Thus, I really don't feel horrible about destroying the pristine condition of the book!

I bought it for it's title, of course. What could be more perfect for the archeology show than a book titled for Janet's medium? My plan was to illustrate the word "mosaic" in a new manner.

I haven't written a formal statement yet, of course; but the idea is this: Words, even letters, are like the tessera of a mosaic. Alone the tessera are just pieces, tiles. Only when put together is there an image, a mosaic. A book is like a mosaic. By focusing on just a few words, randomly selected, one sees the "tessera".

To this end, I am using crayons to highlight various words. Then, I am covering the remaining words with black watercolor. I've found an ink that is fairly opaque. I'm adding some other iridescent colors around the edges and also leaving a word or two totally uncolored. The pages look strangely pretty. There is a sense of a greater text, sentences, a story; but the focus is on just a few individual words. It is going well.

This evening Steve and I went out to Bill Mishoe's Tuesday night "junk" sale. It was lots of fun. We haven't been to an auction in a long, long time but used to go regularly. We really loved just shifting through the stuff of other lives. Where else could one find antique molds for artifical teeth and tacky Christmas ornaments all on the same evening! I left two bids on two table lots of yarn. I hope I am the successful bidder.

Other than the time I spent watching Ohio State football, I spent the weekend in my studio. The bird book (Man's Fate) is done. I photographed all 43 "spreads". (Spread is still a "new" word to me! It refers to two pages of a book, one beside another as if SPREAD open on a table!

I had problems with the digital camera. I think it is DYING! I get "corroded data" messages and the camera ceases to operate after about ten or so images. I fought with it until I managed to download all the pictures I needed. Then, I contrast and color corrected each, wrote a statement, and handed the project off to Alex. He's making another mini-video of the book. He even found the perfect music. The mood is slightly haunting. The melody and tempo are pleasant. The instruments give it a multi-cultural feeling.

Here's my statement (for the video, covered on two different slides:

This altered book was created using André Malraux’s 1934 novel Man’s Fate. It is a reflection on the destiny of mankind, asking timeless questions about our culture. Will we endure? Is our future predetermined or unfolding by chance? Seeingly bloodied pages turn over a gilded timeline, passing “Bird Lotto” playing cards from a 1928 children’s board game. Issues of extinction mingle with reminders of lost civilizations. Destiny?
Chance?
What is man’s fate?
This altered book will be part of a larger installation of artistic relics of an imagined past civilization. The exhibition, “Stone, Bone and Fiber: Excavating Lost Civilizations of the Mind”, will be on view for the month of January 2007 at I. Pinckney Simons Gallery, 1012 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC. It will feature the work of Susan Lenz and Janet Kozachek. A reception with both artists is scheduled on January 18 from 5:30 to 8 PM.

I worked all day on Sunday. Two of the three "Elements of Architecture" pieces are completed. I finished several "paper pieces" for the Archeology Project and started two new books. I've also submitted for an upcoming juried show at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago: Sham to Shame. I did it on-line as the images were required to be e-mail attachments at 72 dpi, which is just how I have them. I submitted the pieces I did honoring Mukhtar Mai, the Pakistani woman who was gang raped by a tribal council as a punishment for her brother's unsubstantiated offense (later, it was proved he never did anything anyway!)

Today, Monday, I dropped off my entries for the State Fair and will enter another juried show: Craftforms 2006. There was a Vista Studios meeting at noon. I didn't go. I've finally quit as that group's secretary.

Before we knew that the Ohio State football game was going to be televised in our area, we'd emailed a group of Buckeye fans to say we'd be at Smokey Bones restaurant/sports bar where it would be on pay-for-view screens. We thought about cancelling but didn't. Kick-off was at 3:30 PM. We had a nice, late lunch and tall, frosty steins of beer among new friends. There were alumni from the 50s, 60s, 80s, and 90s. Somehow, no one in attendance had graduated in the 70s or within the past six years. Two couples came with children dressing in scarlet and gray. I don't even remember the final score but the outcome was never really in doubt. Ohio State beat Penn State. We had a blast! Ohio State remains #1 in every poll in the nation--at least for another week!

Hank Fuseler's reception was small but nice. His parents are easily the best part of the evening. They are delightful and totally supportive of their son's art. Hank has no formal art training. He really only started producing work six or so years ago, about the time I started creating work (also without university training!) Hank has been in a few local shows and a few in Asheville. He moved there a year ago. He's mounted four solo exhibitions at Gallery 80808, so I've had the opportunity to see his work evolve.

His first three show sold wildly. Almost everything hanging sported a red dot. His work was different, small, crusty, and quite affordable (average price $150). Most of his pieces were textural and painted (better pieces) and just a few had photographic transfers (not as successful). This time, most of the work had transfers and the painting style changed drastically. His work is much more minimal. He included digital prints. His average price is now about $250. Only two pieces sold.

His brother's three-person band played for the reception. They were excellent. His dad showed me images still stored in his camera of a show in Tryon, NC in which Hank took part.

Steve came to the show and we looked at all the work together. It's always hilarious to go to an art opening with Steve, especially when the work is significantly abstracted or non-objective or in a minimalist vain. Steve hates all of it but does his best to be polite. It is fun to listen to him try and say complimentary words without actually referring to the work! We had a nice conversation with Jeff Donovan and Marcelo Novo though.

Personally, I think Hank's work is pretty interesting. I like seeing the changes over time. Price did affect the speed at which his earlier work sold but I think they would still have been purchased for more money. The new work, however, requires a particular buyer, someone who appreciates subtly. What I liked best was the colors. Too many young artists use dark colors in order to appear serious. Hank's palette is much brighter, whiter, and pleasant.

Little by little, I've gotten back into the swing of my own creativity throughout the week. My "bird" book is nearly complete. Several more fabric artifacts for the archeology project have been beaded. I am ready to free motion stitch into the three "Elements of Architecture" pieces I hand stitched while in England (and on the plane and in the trains, etc!) The purchases I made at the Knitting and Stitching show seem to be calling to me, urging me to use them.

First, however, I had to collect my thoughts about the trade show. I read through the notes I took, wrote a few impressions as Word Documents, and sorted through the books I bought. Then, I was determined to fight with my computer and the Internet until photos could be uploaded and blogging posts could submitted.

For the past two days, I've also been finishing up other dreaded paperwork. The application for the South Carolina Arts Commission's annual fellowship awards is due on October 1. I decided to submit ten slides from my African Series. The on-line application took more time than I thought it would (as normal). It meant I had to update my resume and give a title to my solo show slated for November at USC-Aiken. I'm calling it "Masks and Markings". All the slides had to be put into new mounts because only the last six digits of one's social security number is permitted to be seen by the out-of-state jurors. I filled out everything perfectly, double-checking every blank and box--as if I stand a chance at being named! It's funny how nervous I can get at doing something that I know isn't going to make a difference!

Then, as if I needed more useless paperwork, I figured out how to get 300 dpi images that weren't more than 700 pixels in the longest direction into a portfolio at Juried Art Services. This is all part of my application for the Smithsonian Craft Show at the Building Museum in Washington, DC. I couldn't have managed without Sharon Licata. She scanned all my slides and helped me figure out how to get the images to stay at 300 dpi instead of being converted by some default setting to a mere 72! I submitted the required five images of my vessels. Each had to have dimensions, a description, a title, a price, and then be put onto a single page in an order of my selection. It really wasn't that difficult; but, like all paperwork, it took much longer than I had anticipated. Amazingly, the Visa number flew quickly through for payment! So, now I've applied along with approximately 1,200 fine craftsmen from all over the USA for the 120 spots available.

Tonight is Hank Fuseler's who opening at Vista Studios. I need to get into the studio again and really spend dozens of hours elbow deep in artwork--if for no better reason than to get the futility of paperwork completely out of my system.