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Detail of Hanging Book “Steamed Kale and Garlic” by Paula Krieg

This Saturday, July 21, 2012,, from 3:00 to 5:00,  there will be  a reception (art party?) at the North Main Gallery in Salem as part of the Book Arts Summer In Salem event.  Featured artists will include Johanne Renbeck ,  eight Salem area students, and me.

True to the nature of book arts, it was easier to take interesting photos of the pieces in the show than it was to take photos which actually gave  a good idea of what the works look like in 3-D.

Detail of “Rise Up From the Water” by Joanne Renbeck

The exhibition of Joanne Renbeck’s books, in the spacious gallery annex, includes some structures that reference traditional bookbinding, but most of the room is filled with ethereal, hanging, books  whose pages linger between opaque and transparent, offering different visual treats as the light plays with the surfaces while the viewer walks around the room.

On exhibition in the north wall of the main gallery are eight multi-dimensional tunnel books designed, constructed and editioned by students  who, this spring, worked with Ruth Sauer and Ed Hutchins.

Cordell’s Bike Race Tunnel Book

The subject for these books include “Fishing in the Rain,” “Welcome to Salem” “The Garden” and …..

Seth’s Washington County Fair Tunnel Book

…the Washington County Fair, which is the main event of the summer in these here parts.

And on the south wall of the main gallery are some pieces by yours truly. Most of the work that I created for this show reflected the fact that I like covering book board with my paste papers, that  I like tying knots and that I have been trying to think about certain foods more, after having seen a TED talk by William Li. Long and thin, and, technically accordion books, trying to take photos of them just didn’t work out for me, but I liked the photos of the details.

Most of the foods that I drew were locally sourced, from my back yard, though some came from Slack Hollow Farms, and a few from the from the grocery store.

Detail from my Parsley and Rosemary Book

I’ve also put together a table of some of the books that I use as prototypes for the classroom book arts classes that I teach.

It’s such a pleasure to be a part of a show in this remarkable gallery located in this lovely town.  Do stop in if you happen to be in the area.

Guaranteed, it’s worth the trip.