Cress growing out of The Last Battle by CS Lewis – by Katy Pike Vivienne Johnson
October 12 saw the fifth art book fair at Reading’s Rising Sun Arts Centre. ‘Bookface: Chapter Five’ celebrates handmade books, illustrations and prints all by local artists.
Jaz Meader was one of the exhibiting artists. ‘My work is nature based,’ she said. ‘I am looking at metamorphosis especially in birds and butterflies.’ Jaz’s table was laden with tiny handmade books intricately folded with text and illustrations that showed an incredible attention to detail.
Mary Riley used the books themselves as a canvas using paint and ink to layer images on top of the text. ‘Rising Sun Arts Centre is one of the few places you can show this sort of work,’ she said. ‘Rising Sun accepts different types of work… things that don’t match.’
Mary uses found objects in her art transforming them into new creations. ‘I salvage things that would otherwise be lost,’ she said.
Katy Pike took the theme of Bookface in two directions:
‘Fishing for Words’ was an installation using bags of water hung in a window. Natural light shone through the water highlighting the text floating on the surface. ‘It’s based on win a prize every time’ that you used to get at fairgrounds,’ Katy said. ‘The words are cut out of old books.’
The Last Battle was Katy Pike’s second piece and consisted of a book being used as a growing medium for cress seeds. Katy had pierced the pages in a concentric ring pattern and sown the seeds in the holes. The resultant growth meant the seedlings were twisting and contorting the pages as they sought water and nourishment and the book was indeed losing its last battle.
Lisa-Marie Gibbs found a new freedom in the challenge of painting in a book format. ‘It’s a lovely format to work in,’ she said. ‘The book form really challenges your thinking.
‘My work is about women and the conversations women are having’, Lisa-Marie said. ‘There is a darkness in us all. It may be quite beautiful but there is a dark edge there that I want to capture.’
Lisa-Marie Gibbs is holding an exhibition of her work at The Peacock Gallery, Reading, RG6 7HS
November 8 to December 4
patchworkbutterfly.co.uk this is a link to Lisa-Marie Gibbs website
This is a link to find out what else is happening at the Rising Sun Arts Centre, 30 Silver Street, Reading, RG1 2ST
www.risingsunartscentre.org
Pictures: Vivienne Johnson Last modified on Monday, 13 October 2014 09:38
