Something New

Took a field trip today with the Artists Books class down to the Jaffe Collection at Florida Atlantic University in Boca. I haven't been so impressed in a very long time. The facilities are beautiful with a whole room dedicated to offset printing on several antique presses. They have classes running frequently that fill fast so I made sure and get my email address on their lists. Also, there are artists featured in exhibits throughout their space. We got a video that was all about the mission an history of the place, then a private viewing of many books with the stories of how they were acquired, bits about the artists, and special information about the books themselves. You cannot see these books and go away with the same viewpoint as to what a book actually is.

So, today I printed more cyanotypes that turned out pretty terrible but I learned what fabrics will work, and that it takes a very long time on a rainy day! I have some new fabric ready to go for tomorrow, so will get at some more first thing. First I will do these two:



If you ever get a chance to take a class at the Armory Art Center, sign right up- the place is so accomodating and it even includes lunch! My class is with Anna Tomczak, a photographer from northern Florida, and we are experimenting with photographic processes appropriate to making artists books. Today I dipped my cover in wax while holding an umbrella over the frying pan. I brought it home and got one of the signatures sewn in, tomorrow I need a few new things to add in before the second signature gets added permanently. It will be a busy day as we finish up the things we have started.

Did I tell you that yesterday we had Iris Apfel walk through the gallery? You may remember her as one of my last raves, after going through her exhibit at the Norton Museum of all her clothing. She always wears ethnic inspired fabrics with amazing jewelry and big signature round glasses. In my mind she was bigger than life, but yesterday she was such a tiny person! She was still dressed in a wonderful outfit with about as much weight in turquoise stones as she could possibly weigh soaking wet. My celebrity sighting! Would rather see her than stoopid celebrities like Angelina or Brit. Anyway, it made my day just for showing up- she sure had the book class all a-twitter.