Monday 3 December 2012

A SHOW OF HANDS





SEEING THE TREES IN THE FOREST

Seeing the Trees in the Forest is a combination of tunnel, pop-up and accordion books.  The arboretum is one of my favourite places to visit in Ottawa.   I love photographing the trees there and some of the buildings. When applying the photographs to this book I had to take into account the accordion and pop-up folds.  I cut the photographs in half and when looking through the side tunnels an optical illusion is created with the two halves of the pictures.  It’s very interesting.   I cut the building pictures in half and used them as doorways to surround the front and rear tunnel openings.  Other tree photographs include tree roots in the shape of an eye, a turtle and the head of a wild beast.  Six hands, made from balsa wood and Lokta paper support each section of the book.  The texture of the Lokta paper creates a bark-like look and feel to each of the hands.


Can you see the wild beast in this root photograph?

Do you see the turtle in this tree root photograph?

I'm watching you!



MEDIA RELEASE


A SHOW OF HANDS – A Book Arts Exhibit by Mary Kritz

If you are a book lover, curious about how books are made or enjoy different art forms, then this is an exhibit you won’t want to miss.  Mary Kritz is a bookbinder, book artist, photographer and artist who incorporates these elements into her book designs and creations.  She teaches Creative Bookbinding and Book Arts at the Ottawa School of Art’s George Street and Orléans campuses.  This past summer, while working on a book, she realized she was watching her hands at work.  Thinking about the importance of hands and the activities carried out by them, she asked herself how she could turn the idea into a book.  Combining a sense of humour and play on words, she designed a set of eight books, called, “A Show of Hands.  This is an exhibit that will appeal to people of all ages.

Kritz is known for using different materials in her books and for this set of eight books she has used clay, cloth, wood, paper, terra skin and acrylic. The books are shaped in hands, surrounded by hands and supported by hands, and incorporate photographs of hands performing different activities, as well as sites and images relevant to the narrative in each book.  She embroidered the cloth, inscribed Sumerian hieroglyphs into the clay and turned wood, paper and acrylic into accordion books, flag books, tunnel books with pull-outs, and incorporated a combination of tunnel, pop-up and accordion book techniques into one book. 

Kritz provides an opportunity for viewers to interact with one of the books called, Tell Me a Story, which consists of six shaped acrylic hands sitting in an acrylic staircase.  Viewers are invited to use their hands to play with the notion of a non-traditional book form by changing the order and content of the book.  Words may be hung on the fingers and thumbs of the hands or placed on or around the staircase.  When viewers hang the double-sided words on fingers and thumbs two different stories emerge. 

This exhibit challenges our understanding of what a book is and how it functions.  Each book’s narrative invites the viewer in to wonder about and interpret the story being presented through visual images rather than words.  The acrylic book, Tell Me a Story, provides a unique and unusual opportunity by inviting the viewers to interact with and create their own story, thus changing the previous artist’s story and becoming the artist and narrator in that moment of time. 

A Show of Hands will be exhibited at the LaLande + Doyle Exhibition Space on the lower level of the Shenkman Arts Centre in Orléans at 245 Centrum Boulevard from January 8th to the 27th 2013.  The vernissage is Monday, January 14th, 2013 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. 

More of Mary’s work may be viewed at: www.bookartiste.blogspot.com, and http://youtu.be/k8w13Owr.


SUMERIAN MERCHANT'S ACCOUNT BOOK

The Sumerian Merchant’s Account Book, consist of six clay hands placed in a circle.  When thinking about creating the clay book, I researched historical books and found Sumerian clay tablets and hieroglyphs which I have inscribed in some of the hands.  When reading about what the tablets were used to for, I decided on the account book.  The two hands with broken fingers indicate unpaid accounts.

THE MAKING OF TELL ME A STORY


This is the router-like tool that was used to cut out the acrylic hands and staircase pieces.

Cutting out of the hands.

The final product.  Once all the hands were cut out, the paper was removed and heat applied to the edges of the hands to give a polished finish. 

Shaping of the staircase.  This is a heating strip that applies heat to a specific area of the acrylic so it may be shaped.

Shaping of the staircase.  Once the acrylic has been heated so that it is maleable, it is then bent into shape following a template.


Tell Me a Story is an interactive book and consists of six shaped acrylic hands sitting in an acrylic staircase.  Using a hot air gun I shaped the hands into different shapes: victory, call me, I love you, pointing, OK, and waving.   I wrote words on both sides of pieces of terra skin and joined coloured threads to each.  During the exhibit, viewers are invited to use their hands to play with the notion of a non-traditional book form by changing the order and content of the book.  Words may be hung on the fingers and thumbs of the hands or placed on or around the staircase.  When viewers hang the double-sided words on fingers and thumbs two different stories will emerge. 


2013 COURSES

It's that time of year again.  A very successful course will finish this Wednesday and the 2013 courses and workshops are available for registration. 

OTTAWA SCHOOL OF ART – 2013

BOOKBINDING AND BOOK ARTS COURSES

Do you have an appreciation for books?  Are you curious about how books are made?  Are you looking for a new set of skills to learn?  Join us to learn how to make 5 traditional books using centuries old techniques. Set your creativity free to create accordion, tunnel, slide, folding, and flag books (9 in total) that tell a story using images, photos or drawings.  Using paste, create decorative paste papers for your book covers and venture into the world of suminagashi – a Japanese paper marbling technique. 
DOWNTOWN CAMPUS – 35 George Street

BOOKBINDING – W13D040 – 12 weeks

When:  January 15 – March 23 2013 – 6:30 – 9:30 pm

ORLÉANS CAMPUS – 245 Centrum Boulevard

CREATIVE BOOKBINDING AND BOOK ARTS – W13S0400A – 10 Weeks

When:  January 23 – April 3, 2013 – 6:30 – 9:30 pm


2013 WORKSHOPS

February 2, 2013 -  W13SWS400A - Japanese Stab Binding- 10:00 am – 4:30
Orléans Campus – Shenkman Arts Centre, 245 Centrum Boulveard

February 9, 2013 – W13DWS02 - Soft Cover Coptic Bound Book with Sleeve
9:00 – 4:00 pm – Downtown Campus – 35 George Street

March 14, 2013 – W13SWS400B – Soft Cover Coptic Bound Book with Sleeve – 10:00 – 4:30 pm – Orléans Campus, 245 Centrum Boulvard

March 23, 2013 – W13DWS03 – Japanese Stab Binding – 9:00 – 4:00 pm
Downtown Campus – 35 George Street

REGISTRATION FOR COURSES AND WORKSHOPS

Downtown Registration:  info@artottawa.ca – General Interest or by phone:
613-241-7471
Orléans Registration: osao.info@artottawa.ca – General Interest or by phone: 613-580-2765

As Christmas is quickly approaching you may want to give that someone special the gift of learning.  A great way to start a new year. 

If you have any questions about the books, the exhibit, the courses and workshops, please contact me at bbinder999@gmail.com.

Wishing you happy holidays.  

Mary