BOOK ARTS
Working with altered books in a circular format was the initiate of this piece—considering the symbology surrounding the circle. The books were gathered locally from a number of sources—an interesting sociological study to see what books were seemingly important enough to own and now were being discarded. A fist size stone with a hole in the center was gifted to me early in the making. Delighted with the significance of this gift and my love of books and stones and their analogy to one another (see Touchstones), I determined this would be the centerpiece for the circle of books. How it would be displayed or attached would be revealed in the making. The actual formation took many turns, shape-shifting, if you will, into the final form with the six inch centered square open to possibilities. The piece ultimately finished itself when the cover to the book, The Heart serendipitously replaced the stone as the centerpiece. (Most covers were discarded—this magically reappeared at the most opportune time— replacing the stone with The Heart — draw your own conclusions!)