Some News and Something New

I'm very happy to say that Alicia Bailey of Abecedarian Gallery in Denver has selected one of my books for Photo Book Works, which opened there this Friday February 15th.

If you've been following here for some years you may remember the flag book I made called Like Weather. The book explored the inconstancy of emotions and compared this to the changability of weather. It was in fact the book that drew me in to making artist's books, because the structure expressed my idea so perfectly.

Like Weather (Amanda Watson-Will)

Like Weather has brought me success before, as it was acquired by Southern Cross University for their artist's book collection, and I am really thrilled that it is the second of my works to be selected for exhibition at Abecedarian Gallery. If you head over to the gallery's website, you'll be able to see all the selected work in the online catalogue.


Another piece of good news was the acquisition of my first zine, Looking for Wabi-Sabi in Tokyo, by University of Melbourne Library (Special Collections) . Among other work, I sent off some copies to BAZE which was held in December at Hand Held Gallery in Melbourne. I was fortunate that my zine was among those that Sue Millard selected for the Library.

Detail from Looking for Wabi-Sabi in Tokyo

I can also show you a photo of the first proof for A Day Just Like Any Other, my contribution for Edition 4 of Book*Art*Object.

Apologies for the poor photo, but I didn't want to reveal too much yet!

There are only a few minor tweaks to be made now and I'm ready to start assembling the edition. I've decided to make 15 this time, as last edition I only made 10 plus a proof, and although it fulfilled the requirements, there was only one copy spare.

Soon I'll be able to post more information about the research and process of making the book, but first I'll be heading over to Sarah Bryant's very useful post about assembling an edition. It has some great tips on how to make the process as easy, accurate and speedy as possible. 

And Something New

Finally, I wanted to share a recent acquisition of my own. You all know I love books, but you may not know that I also love jewelry, so what could be better than a book that is a necklace. Or is that a necklace that is a book? It doesn't really matter, it's beautiful whatever way you say it. 

This little treasure is the work of Barry Smith, a very talented sculptor and artist who works with metal. He lives not that far away from me, in Maleny, with his wife Fiona, a fellow BAO-member. 

I read about Barry's Peace Book pendants on Fiona's blog, Paper Ponderings and was immediately captivated. I love the fact this pendant is a little book, it mixes yellow and white metals that are  recycled, it has that superbly ornate second page, followed by the quote from Thich Nhat Hanh. As a person who experiences frequent bouts of anxiety, this reminder that the solution lies in mindfulness could not suit me better. So thank-you Barry, this necklace is already very special and I know it is set to become a favourite.

You can see more of Barry's work, including some Peace Book pendants at the moment, over on his blog Rustnstuff and in his online shop.

Book arts news

I've been forced into taking things rather quietly lately. The winters in Brisbane are generally pretty mild, but this one has been quite cold. In fact, we've had a very bad flu season, much worse than in the colder cities of Sydney and Melbourne. And I can tell you it's not really a good idea to arrive back after three months away, right into the thick of it! But luckily there's been quite a bit going on in the realm of books without my doing anything much.

Self (States of Change) detail by Amanda Watson-Will

First up, I received word on Monday that my porcelain book Self (States of Change) has been selected for a book arts exhibition in my home town! Well almost. It's actually at Bribie Island Seaside Museum, about 80 kms north of Brisbane. Still, book arts opportunities around Brisbane are rare, and I haven't exhibited any work closer to home than Noosa since 2007. So I am really delighted to be selected for Cover to Cover in October. 

Then, I sold a copy of The Great Library of  Alexandria. Selling work obviously isn't a major reason that I make art. I don't make a huge amount of work, and in the past much of it was ephemeral, so exhibitions and competitions have been my focus. As a consequence, I don't have that much to sell. In truth, selling my work to individuals is something I've never found that comfortable. I worry they won't be happy with their purchase, and for some reason, I feel more confident when an instituion is the buyer. I suspect this is entirely illogical, but feelings often are. Anyway, this week I made a sale, to another book artist whose work I admire greatly. For privacy reasons, I won't say who, but you know who you are, and I say a heartfelt thank-you!

Finally, as if these little successes weren't enough, the letterbox has been supplying me with book art delights, day after day. 

First to arrive, this book, "arbre brume" (misty tree) with its beautiful, atmospheric black and white photos by friend and talented artist Renaud Allirand from France. Some of the photos were also available as prints in his studio/gallery in the Marais when we visited, but the book meant we didn't have to argue over which one to choose!

You may remember that I mentioned meeting Renaud in Paris last year and shared a little book by him here (scroll to the bottom of the post).  

This year I was looking forward to seeing what Renaud had been working on since our last visit. As well as photography, he has been working in ink and had work selected for a prestigious art competition. We were lucky that the exhibition opening was during our visit and Renaud invited us along. Below you can see me standing with him in front of his work. If you'd like to see more of Renaud's work, follow this link.

Renaud Allirand and I, in front of work by Renaud.

I'm participating in Edition 4 of Book*Art*Object (see more here) this year and two books by other artists have arrived already.

Detail from "Dust" by Bertie can der Meij [click on the photo to read the text]

First is Dust, a humorous, serious, clever and beautiful book by Bertie van der Meij. Letterpress printed on handmade paper, bound in a vacuum cleaner bag(!) Bertie deals with the detritus of life and death with great sensitivity and honesty. I love this book more and more every time I pick it up. You can see what Bertie wrote about the book on the BAO blog here and visit her website here.

Gail Stiffe's Pulp Fiction

Next to arrive was Gail Stiffe's Pulp Fiction. This book plays wonderfully with Sarah Bodman's title (Pulp Fiction) literally pulping some pulp fiction to create beautiful thin sheets of paper. A reknowned and talented papermaker, Gail's handmade paper is wonderfully tactile, with pages that are embossed, watermarked and overlaid with coloured pulps and then stitched back into the covers. I love it when craft and concept come together this well in an artwork. You can see more about Gail's work on her website.

Ce que j'ai fait pendant mes vacances by Jac Balmer

Finally, a real surprise! Jac Balmer (another BAO participant) in Lancashire received one of my Wabi Sabi zines earlier in the year and has kindly returned the favour by sending me a copy of her new zine. It's entitled Ce que j'ai fait pendant mes vacances (What I did on my holidays) and is pretty perfect for me, I think! It seems that Jac visited France for her holidays too, and the zine takes the reader on a wonderfully evocative walk through a very French garden. The front cover is a great reproduction of a spiral bound school book and the little book structure is filled with Jac's soft, romantic sketches in (I think) pen, coloured pencil and watercolour. It's quite beautiful, and even though they're not my sketches, it works as a lovely memento of my time in France too. You can see more about Jac's work on her blog.

What a lovely week!