Day One: Secret Book

 

Secret Book 1999

This is really two works.

The book is a journal, made of paper, board, cloth, thread, wire, glue and ribbons. After making the journal, I photographed it and digitally altered the photograph. The journal is approximately 5x7 inches, closed, and I think about 60 pages. It is in a private collection, and was intended for use.

The creative process of the book was very intuitive, involving as much "let's see if this will work" as traditional bookbinding techniques. The paper was sewn into signatures, which were then sewn together, and glued to the fabic-covered boards. I chose the spiralled wire decorations for the outer binding, as I enjoy working with wire and I loved the way the stretched spirals evoke Asian depictions of clouds. The ribbons tied along the spine serve the function of the spine of a traditionally bound book, taking some strain off the signature stitching when the book is in use. The third ribbon functions as a latch.

The book is so evocative of dreams, clouds, night, and older votive books that it suggested a certain arcane, occult feeling in the photographs I took, originally to document the physical work. I decided to explore digital manipulations of the photographs to further express that feeling.

This piece is the result.