Changes to Psychology

So, I have been dealing with a lot of anxieties about my future, so I decided today to tear up some books. Man, it felt good. Normally I am not one for tearing up the written word (I find books to be so precious) but my dad gave me a bunch of old, outdated psychology books he was getting rid of.

The books have this wonderful musty smell and yellowing pages (gosh, I am making Dad seem so old -- he's not -- really, its just that textbooks don't seem to have a very archival quality to them -- probably because it isn't worth the money when new editions are pushing old copies out-of-date faster than one pay the hundred plus dollars it costs to buy text books these days. I could go on and on about the textbook business, as I was once in publishing, but I'll spare the details. That said, that might be another underlying reason I enjoyed so thoroughly tearing apart the old textbook.

So, anyway, this book alteration came out of an old project I did years ago that I always hoped to re-explore again. I don't think I want to talk too much about it -- Hopefully, despite my poor photo skills, the project can somewhat speak for itself. 3D is kind of hard to photograph as an amateur, but I won't let that stop me from creating in 3D -- I really like 3D, I think it is in the blood -- my late grandmother was a talented sculptor and my dad is creating some beautiful sculpture himself when not being Santa Claus.

I am not sure that this project is done, I think it needs something else, but I will sit on it and come back to it when I am ready. I am wondering if there is a way to integrate screen printing without being too loud, without taking away from the elegance of the piece.

Right now I am most enamored with the small window that opens to the inner most scroll, revealing the intricacies of the twine that binds it interacting with the text on the page. I really tried to get a good shot of this, but I had to use a flash since my tripod is still at the studio, and the flash blew out the detail. When I bring the tripod back, I will try to get a better picture. (see right)

My last issue with this piece is how it should be presented. I designed it verically, so that it would be like an open book on the shelf, but I am really loving it lying down, tent-like. I am not exactly sure which works better.

For more images and different angles of this piece, please feel free to check out the photo collection here. (Blogger was giving me a bit of trouble with inserting photos so I limited the number I am showing here)

*Peggy, this post is for you. Thank you, and I will reply soon*

Hope Cemetery

I should probably add a little about some other art I saw today -- totally inspirational and made me want to take another stone carving class.

My father told Kevin and I about the Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont, and Kev and I detoured a little on our way back from Concord, Vermont to go see it.

Kev took some pictures that I will link to when he posts, but until then here are some of the highlights.

There are just some stunning pieces of art here. My dad tells me that the quarry workers of Barre used to spend their lunch hours carving their own gravestones -- pretty morbid, if you ask me! However, these people left quite an amazing legacy -- a sculpture garden in itself. As much as I hate to think about death and dying, it is quite a piece of art to have left behind. Don't expect me to be carving my gravestone anytime soon though!