Artistic Books

Artists Describing Their Art:

Gwendolyn Thomas - "I believe euphoric creativeness from the heart is one of the most inspiring to behold! Un-restricted raw creativeness can be breathtaking within itself. To possess the ability to capture or contain what the world can and does offer each individual is a rarity and yet a blessing! The task of an artists' muse is to be used as a direct instrument of untarnished and non-conformed freedoms". Author, Gwendolyn A. Thomas "From the Heart of an Artist Quiet" ...

Mary-Ellen Campbell - Artist Statement I am very interested in the aspect of our aging society and its accompanying issues of loss of earlier strengths, health and death itself. I believe art can convey something special about this later period that has a beauty and a sadness not accessible in the youthful era of life. As a result, my latest artwork and Book Art investigates obsolescence and aging. I have started to write poetry and incorporate my poems in my books thus intertwining the visual and verbal arts. It is in this format that I bring my previous experiences together. I have continued to develop books that travel on both a physical and metaphysical journey. These themes are explored through personal history, aspects of aging, meanings across cultures and places, and concepts of nature. I make books with few and simple materials. I love to travel and produce portable art relating to my travel experiences and my observation of my themes in other places. ...

Elena Mary Siff - In the collages and assemblages I interpret the mystery, the humor and the threat of my dreams. By collecting and juxaposing bits of disparate material, I create my own order. The souvenirs of my travels have been a constant source of inspiration. I am fascinated with very small imagery and a great variety of materials and textures. All of this work is a form of narration, as I consider myself primarily a storyteller. "Everything can be used, but of course one doesn't know it at the time. How does one know what a certain object will tell another/" Joseph Cornell That unpredictable dialogue is the basis of my method and my faith. Elena Mary Siff ...

Justin Luis Diaz - Printmaker Justin Luis Diaz's work confronts the struggles of creating and preserving the unique and fleeting artist's mark through concerns and limitations specific to the medium of printmaking. Woodcut prints, reversed paintings on assorted translucent surfaces, artist books, wood carvings and textured enamel inks are some of the modes Diaz inhabits within his widely varied practice. Through these modes, Diaz pulls from a vast pool of imagery, ranging anywhere from enduring themes of nature or non-objective abstract expressionism, to fleeting imagery referencing Japanese robots, Anime, or human anatomy. Diaz's work may be found in various collections and he has exhibited nationally in Los Angeles and New York City....

Michael Leyton - In his MIT Press book, Symmetry, Causality, Mind (630pages) and his book in Springer-Verlag, A Generative Theory of Shape (550pages), Michael Leyton has elaborated an extensive theory of why art has such a powerful impact on the human mind. This results in an ability to intensify the content of artworks through an increased understanding of compositional organization, that Leyton has provided in his scientific work, which includes his mathematical foundations for geometry. For example, theorems of his, such as the Symmetry-Curvature Duality Theorem, which are now used in over 40 disciplines including many branches of medicine and engineering, also explain the human perceptual response to art-works. Not only has he demonstrated this in his lengthy published analyses of classical and modern artists, but he has also demonstrated that it is possible to surpass the intensity of these artists. This he has done by using the theory developed in his books in the creation of his own artworks - his paintings, his published architectural designs, and the published scores of his musical compositions. The portfolio at the present site is currently under construction. While this is in progress, the reader can gain an extensive introduction to Leyton's artistic ...

Kattalina M Kazunas - A simple definition of alchemy is "the transmutation of base metal into gold." This is the definition most people would recognize. Another definition of alchemy, and the one that I prefer is, "the Royal Art of living consciously." My fascination with alchemy parallels my fascination with the mysteries of the natural world. The world of alchemy, like life, is filled with secret languages, symbols, and magical substances, that only begin to make sense when we give them focused attention. I am equally fascinated by the transformative effect on consciousness that happens through the creation, use, and study of symbols. Symbols become keys that unlock the mysteries of a soul's inner architecture, as well as the secrets of alchemical processes and transformations. This series of eight broadsides is my interpretation of ancient alchemical maxims written hundreds of years ago by Hermes Trismegistus, Paracelsus, and other alchemists, that still hold true today. A combination of vintage techniques was used in their creation: letterpress printing, indigo vat dying, iron oxide, and gold pigment....

Kattalina M Kazunas - Maria Papaioannou - aEUR|A tribute to human beings, an obsession to discover what we are made of. Is it merely skin,or simply earth? A vehicle throughout our lives, something not so important? Or is it our skin the mirror that reflects our lives, our actions, our very souls?... ...

Leah Oates - My current body of work explores the passage of time and the fragmentation of memory during the moment of perceiving. In each moment hundreds of small gestures are expressed, motions taken, words spoken, sounds heard, and images recorded. I use the impression of these moments by condensing, grouping, double exposing and blurring images and found objects and thus have constructed a more fluid and emotionally charged interpretation of passing time. By presenting a fuller and more abstract recording of perception and emotion my work captures the wonder, confusion and fullness of the whole moment. My work begins in a specific location gathering fragments of sound, image, smell and emotional response to environment and space. I collect and accumulate many images and found objects based on time spent in a specific location. From this collection process I make a series works that include artists' books, digital prints, c-prints, light boxes, installations and sculpture. This process of working through an idea is similar to alchemy as I let the work and my research guide me. ...