This is a very long post! Scroll to the end to see a finished book art sculpture! A month ago I found this carved wooden bird in a plastic bag (with some other oddities) hanging on a wall hook at Goodwill. $3.49 for the whole bag. Stupidly, I walked away and left the bag on…
Read More A Bird, a Dream, a BookA record forty-seven days after I started the physical work on it, ‘Rivers Under The Sahara’ is complete. I’ve been designing this book since before I ever considered making weird book art sculptures out of fabric and beads. Since 1991-92, when I first heard Rush’s haunting anthem ‘Dreamline’ on their Roll The Bones album. The…
Read More Book Art: Rivers Under the SaharaOkay, now I can share the insanity that helped lower my bank account and rebuild my bead supply. In late March and late April of this year, I was lucky enough to buy the combined bead troves of two amazing women. I know their names but am protecting their privacy and legacy. One is in…
Read More Bead Hoard!I didn’t stop making book art sculptures in 2018. I just held off documenting them on this blog for a while, mostly for time constraints. Rocketship 1 -5 2.75×1.75×1.5” See more here: http://www.cranehanabooks.com/blog/2017/12/18/rocketship-fiber-art-books/ This edition of five accordion-fold books celebrates the (first?) Space Race, that of the 1950s and 1960s. Six pages, with title and colophon on…
Read More 2018 Book Arts & Text-Based ArtA new pretty done in record time (for me): just a little over a month from concept, research, design, and sewing. This, while dealing with a health issue in my family and a new job. Just put the last beads on the tassels and edges today! This book measures 5″x5″x2″, with eight double-sided fabric pages…
Read More Book Art: Copper StarDue to an abysmal stroke of bad luck, I’ve lost two motor vehicles in the last week. The first is the Subaru above, which was rear-ended and pushed into another vehicle last week. I love this car but I may not be able to raise the $4K to fix it. The second is my friend’s…
Read More Wheels For Dialysis Patient (fundraiser)The book is done! I haven’t even had time to list it on the 2017 Book Art page, but it’s up on SaatchiArt now: https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-Two-Jade-Buttons/799858/4038430/view Update: August 8, 2018: this book and a few others will be for sale on the 23 Sandy Gallery website soon. Here’s a teaser. Yes, those are detachable cufflinks in Burmese…
Read More Two Jade ButtonsArtisans make bread-n-butter pieces: smaller, simpler objects that feed the bank account. But they also need room for the big or complicated gonzo works that feed their joy and skill. I don’t have pierced ears, I don’t intend to ever have pierced ears, and clip-on earrings tend to hurt me after about an hour. So…
Read More Earrings and other conundrumsMany of my book art sculptures are represented in the US and internationally by the wonderful folks at Vamp & Tramp Booksellers. http://www.vampandtramp.com/finepress/c/cranedesigns.html A large catalog of works can be seen by scrolling down the pages on the right side of this blog. Look for Book Arts & Text Based Art, for pieces from…
Read More Crane Designs Book ArtAll glories I have wrought by hand and gift of seeing, All dreams I have brought from dreamscape into being, All mysteries I’ve taught, however fast or fleeting, Mingle toward the truth I’ve sought: streams at the Sea completing. Spirit of Probability, Spirit of the Single Path, I have sought you. You are not here.…
Read More Artist’s InvocationA teaser for a piece called ‘Enlightenment’, which I describe in more detail here. I love book art. It’s one of my default settings after 20 years. ‘Can I make it into a book?’ is a question I now apply to everything from spam emails to a set of cocktail swords found in a thrift…
Read More Book Art Jewelry: EnlightenmentTypically, it’s April and I only just starting to upload 2017’s book arts pieces! Here are the roughly 1.5x3x.25″ faux-inlay covers (outside and inside) for BREATHE. I showed a first look at the pages last year. They’re a gathering of Latin mottos I thought were particularly appropriate for the current state of the world: Dum…
Read More BREATHE coversI recently wrote about the materials and inspiration for a series of Dia de los Muertos-themed rings. I decided to do only an edition of three books in this group, because I have different ideas for the next three. To recap: Dia de los Muertos votive bone rings. On a platform of carved bone rings,…
Read More Votive Bone Rings…On their way to being art. Fire Mountain Gems had a closeout sale recently, during which I got some great items that will all make incredible book or jewelry art. Eventually. The first such transformation will be these six carved bone rings, originally from China & dyed with dark brown bands and peace symbols. For…
Read More Six Bone Rings…