Peony Book Open
We’ve been blessed with a mild winter so far….hyacinth bulbs are are up 5″, hellebores have flowers and lots of things are budding out. The peonies have red beaks bursting from the blank brown earth. It’s so hard to believe what a show they’ll be in May/June. I can hardly wait for their scent and exuberance and I always wonder why I don’t have acres of them.
Long, dark, rainy & boring drives to and from a calligraphy c
Peony Book Closed
lass leaves lots of time for musing. The assignment for an Artists Book (non traditional shapes & content -pretty much anything goes) could only be a ‘Peony Book’!
First the ‘Spring quotes”. There are many, many quote sites on the Internet, just takes time to find your favorites. I did them in Italic, scanned and then red uced my writing to fit on the inside of the petals.
I actually made a hexagon support of book board-this is astonishing because I can’t measure (though I have purchased EVERY measuring aid available), am completely math challenged & glaze over when anyone talks numbers. I knew how many petals I wanted & knew I needed support for a big fluffy flower.
Flowers are not the exact same color all over so, I tore strips of handmade white ogura paper (like Mandalay /French Lace/or Thread & Lace) and painted one edge with pinks, lavenders and some metallic calligraphy ink. Then the strips were gathered & glued onto the outside of the petals with the color deep in the folds.
Painting the Torn Strips of Handmade Paper for PetalsPeony Book Assembly
The permanent center of the peony is an oragami folded paper “container”, it was first painted with a variety of golden, ochre and lime green colors.
Inside the center is a removable calligraphed scroll with a quote by J. Burroughs on the ‘Simple Life’ . I used light weight molding paste & thread to make the stamens.
Scroll Open from Center of Flower Book
The base is covered with Dark Green handmade paper (Eurowrap/Mandalay) adding panels of my own Paste Paper. Finally, I covered the bottom with Japanese Yuzen paper, just because I like it. Bent wire covered with handmade paper for leaves and a ribbon through the layered petals to tie it closed- fini!
Art is making something real that was only imagined (not sure who said this) but it is the process of creating your vision, in all it’s highs and lows, that is so wonderful.
I know many of you are deep in snow, spring must feel so far away, maybe my book brings you a spot of what’s to come…
Happy Early Spring!
using
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
A beautiful, unusual book. You shoould put together kits to sell with instructions and patterns.
Thanks so much Jackie.
It would be great to have kits but, it is just too cost prohibitive.
I was so sorry to read about the loss of your garden and all those wonderful peonies.