Saturday, February 25, 2012

Altered Alice


"Altered Alice"
The Marin Museum of Contemporary Art (MarinMOCA) is having their Altered Book Show/Auction in Novato, California. This year’s show will run from April 21 through May 26, 150 artists from all over the Bay Area will  create an altered book to be auctioned off to benefit Marin MOCA.

The silent auction will run for five weeks and conclude with a rousing live auction closing party. While all proceeds go to the museum, it is a terrific opportunity for an artist to have their work shown at Marin MOCA and to join with other artists in helping to increase public awareness and interest in the book arts.
Once again, Donna Seager of the Seager Gray Gallery  in Mill Valley will give a talk at the opening and will also select the “top three” award winners along with some honorable mentions. All very exciting. I feel honored to be a part of it..
This is the piece I made for this show.. It is made from a vintage and very tattered copy of "Alice In Wonderland", a book that had the appearance and wear of a book that had been enjoyed by many, over many, many years.
The mannequin head is set on a ½” thick machine gear found in my 'stash' of stuff.  Both are anchored on a wooden platform, that was formally part of a lamp. The wooden platform is covered with text and acrylic skins made from illustrations taken from the book. She is adored with clock parts from a Howard Miller mantle clock that was, not long ago destined for the landfill. Gears for ears and a gear hat. The neck embellishment is the clock's main spring, it is attached in such a way that it adds a kinetic element to the piece. She is beautiful!

21 comments:

  1. une belle ..(et)..intelligente!
    je trouve aussi très bien ton 'slide show' en fin de page..!

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  2. Oh my goodness--I'm in awe--she's outstanding!!!

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  3. she looks very intelligent, and contemplative, which you would HAVE to be in Wonderland! What a crazy place!

    Great Job, and Congratulations on being part of it.

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  4. She is too wonderful! Congrats on being part of the show!

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    1. thank you Cynthia. I am so glad you like it. I was not sure if she was finished, so yesterday i took her back to the studio, and made a few 'minor' changes. i will re-post new pictures later on today.

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    1. oops! i hit send too quickly. this is really beautiful! i guess i always thing of 'altered books' as just books that have been altered. this is taking it to a whole new level . . . thinking 'outside the book'. i love it. congrats.

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    2. thank you Cecilia.
      when i was invited, i too, was a bit concerned because i don't do altered books, but after talking with a few people who had participated in this book show in the past, i realized that several artists do very creative, interesting things with books for this show. so i can't wait to see what everybody comes up with.

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  6. Alice never looked so good. You must be pleased, especially after being invited into this show. I wish I could be there to appreciate what you and others create to bring attention to the book arts, especially altered books.

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    1. Elizabeth
      Thank you so much for stopping by! and yes I am thrilled about the the museum show. I'll keep you posted.

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  7. Incredible piece!!! Very cool, indeed!!!

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    1. thank you Dave. always a pleasure to have you stop by.

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  8. HI Rebeca--I just wanted to thank you for coming over to my blog and your wonderful comment too. And I wanted to answer your question. When I put the pages on the mirror, they weren't painted yet, and that's where I messed up--they didn't turn out as well, because the matte medium was sealed on top of them. The pages definitely turn out better when you spray paint them first and then collage them on--a lesson learned from when I tried this.

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  9. I love your alice head, she is beautiful indeed!! I did a couple of the mannequin heads and yours makes me want to go back and re-do them!! Thank you for visiting my blog, and in answer to your question, the child's jigsaw I used has a chipboard base that the pieces it in - supposedly to help the child to place the pieces - so it could indeed be hung up if one wanted to. I didn't attach anything to back and will leave Elizabeth to decide how she wants to display it.

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    1. thanks! can't wait to see your heads . . . have you posted them?

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  10. Beautiful Alice!
    Thanks Rebeca for stopping by my blog and Seth's and leaving amazingly thoughtful and warm hearted comments. When you said you are in California, I thought oh may be close to me, but no, I am in Southern Cal. You are doing great things with the kids, so important not to ruin it for them. My daughter is in 8th grade, art is her elective and she just hates the way they are taught. It makes me so mad. Gotta make these kids believe in their creative innate forces, not crush their interest. Any way, thanks again for visiting me, my art, and my words, and I do believe you'll do great since you are so aware of their needs to be inspired. XOXO

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  11. Very cool!!!! I would love to see your "stash"! I was just trying to do some Spring cleaning and I tend to save everything but I'm torn between de-cluttering and re-purposing! And then when I see your art...I'm saving everything again! LOL! But I am organizing my stashes so hopefully that will help! Congrats on being in the show!

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