OFF TO THE EXHIBITION

Later today I'm going to Aberystwyth for the private view of Open Books at the National Library of Wales on Saturday. Back home on Monday with photos and a report. 

Very sorry for the long gaps lately - I've had a bad case of blogging fatigue but I think the blurge and blenergy are returning. Stick around my loyal little band of friends, there's life in your Blaugustine yet. 

 

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MY LIFE CAN NOW BE IN YOUR HANDS

Now that the original accordion will be gone for a long time, I wanted to make some kind of copy and BLURB seemed a good way to go about it. They did an excellent job of the Open Books exhibition catalogue so I downloaded their software and have been busy putting together an 8" x 10" book of My Life Unfolds. 

I ordered a copy for myself only yesterday so I can't give a final verdict yet but the whole book is previewed on my Blurb page. It's 30 pages with all the images included, plus a few extra. Obviously I had to alter the original dimensions to fit into the portrait format and of course flattening the accordion folds into double page spreads loses the original three-dimensional effect. But it seems to work well as a normal book too. It would be good to know what y'all think. 

It can already be ordered in soft or hardback binding from my new Blurb store page. You do want to order it, don't you? 

 
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FRAGMENTS OF A LIFE, Number One

Each artist in the Open Books exhibition was asked to send a framed work relevant to their accordion books, to be displayed alongside. So, after spreading all the stencils on my work table and staring at them for hours, I picked out just a few and moved them around until they seemed to fit together in a new and intriguing way. I pasted the assemblage down on a firm support, gave it a protective coat of acrylic, then painted it with oils. It's finished, framed and carefully packed to be sent to Wales by courier next week.

Fragments of a Life 1   2012   Collage, acrylic and oil on canvas board.  Approx size (framed): 37cms X 50cms 

 

I didn't consciously set out to tell a story in this picture and I'm still trying to figure out what it is telling me. The stencils I made had specific meanings in My Life Unfolds but recycling gives them new roles and I find this process stimulating, not unlike the I-Ching or Tarot, but with my own set of symbols. I will definitely be re-assembling the rest of them, perhaps as studies for paintings.

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