Book Arts Mania: Filling the Book, Part two

"Not every act of art creates something special, but it creates something. It is the act of art that is important, not the result." Michael L. Goodman

I have continued to doodle as often as I can with my favorite ink pen on a few small torn-edged pieces of paper. These eight I added to the small reverse piano hinge book I made in February. Fourteen more plates and the book will be completed.

The doddle above on the right was an herbal teabag stain [a very nice German peppermint, by the way] on the back of a piece of note paper. I almost threw the paper away when I was cleaning my desk, but the circle caught my eye. Serendipity!

Book Arts Mania: Completed Concertina Fold Book

 "Not every act of art creates something special, but it creates something. It is the act of art that is important, not the result." Michael L. Goodman

I finished this 5 1/2" X 6" concertina book a couple of weeks ago. I would like to add a circular design on the front cover, but I haven't progressed that far yet. As I have said before, there is something mysterious about circles, circular shapes, and spirals. Wassily Kandinsky remarked, "The circle is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a single form and equilibrium. Of the three primary forms, it points most clearly to the fourth dimension."

Circles as continuous unbroken shapes can symbolize completeness, wholeness, and unity. Circles and dots have been used in "primitive" art since prehistoric cave paintings. Helen Wells, an artist and writer from the South Coast of England, uses concentric circles and dots often in her work. While not being Aboriginal Art, it does have an echo of that art form which I like.

Here is my book:

An orange slice

Mayan-inspired circle with a spiral

A harlequin circle and another spiral

Two Vicki Grant-inspired circles

Book Arts Mania: Filling the Book

"Not every act of art creates something special, but it creates something. It is the act of art that is important, not the result." Michael L. Goodman

I have started filling one of my small reverse piano hinge books with some black-and-white designs. I keep a stack of little papers of various weights handy for doodling and drawing when I have a free minute. Sometimes I like the doodles and sometimes they end up in the waste basket.