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Posts Tagged ‘jody alexander’

  1. Bonus // Book Artist of the Month: Jody Alexander

    August 26, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    The Odd Volumes of Ruby B. is a 2010 installation from Jody Alexander exhibited at Mark Henderson and Anne Sconberg’s Art Party. This room installation is another great example of how Jody incorporates her book work into larger scale pieces.

    Biography of Ruby B.
    Ruby B. spent the majority of her life living in a single room in a residency hotel. During the day she worked as a secretary, typically took the long way home finding treasures along the way, and spent her evenings using other’s words, pictures and objects to tell her stories.

    She was an armchair philosopher as she commented on life, love, laughter and loss in her copious volumes – for Ruby had removed herself from the kind of life that produced the aforementioned experiences. She left her husband and small children when she found herself in a life that she was simply incapable of living. Ruby made a choice and then she had to live with it, or perhaps it wasn’t a choice at all but something she had to do.

    Ruby has labeled each volume with an odd number hence the title attributed to her life’s work that was only discovered upon her death.

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  2. Book Artist of the Month: Jody Alexander

    August 26, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

    exposedspines-jodyalexander

    Over the span of a year, Jody Alexander, created a series of altered books under the title Exposed SpinesThis series of work is a celebration of the most beautiful part of the book that is so often covered. Each object is comprised of discarded books, fabric and thread. 

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    At the end of the year in 2012, Jody exhibited Preparing for Evanescence at the Cabrillo Art Gallery in Aptos, California. This massive installation combined three different series: Sedimentals, Uphosterables and Suspendables. The Exposed Spines pieces are considered Uphosterables in this installation, although they were created before the concept of this exhibit, they were the catalyst.

    Statement for Preparing for Evanescence at Cabrillo Art Gallery
    Preparing for Evanescence addresses the relative ephemeral nature of humans compared to the belongings that we accumulate, and how we cope with our mortal awareness. The treatment of the objects in this installation exhibits a concern for their well-being, and the caretaker’s need to create and protect in the face of powerlessness and dematerialization. Each possession has been attentively prepared and placed for safekeeping between the folds of fabric, stitches of thread, in the sediment of a household.

    In the final days in this space the caretaker found that he/she was evanescing – or gradually disappearing.  The treatment of objects was as much for their care as it was a necessary process for the caretaker – a busying of the hands, a distraction from the inevitable.  Equal attention has been given to objects of use and sentiment as well as space and time.

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  3. Book Artist of the Month: Jody Alexander

    August 19, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    Jody Alexander found inspiration in Truman Capote’s character Miss Sook Faulk, who is directly based off of his cousin Nanny Rumbley Faulk, whom he called ‘Sook’. Miss Sook’s Dropsy Cure Drawer Remained Unbeknownst to Most is a ‘boxed book’ piece created from 2006 to 2009. 

    A found wooden sewing machine base is perfectly stuffed with handbound exposed spine books in addition to other found objects. The smaller compartment houses a single hand-sewn book made from handmade kozo/gampi paper; pack sewing over cords. The cords continue onto the covers, creating a raised mirrored design.

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  4. Book Artist of the Month: Jody Alexander

    August 12, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    The Pharmacist’s Daughter is a ‘boxed book’ piece by Jody Alexander created in 2005 based on the character of the same name. The Pharmacist’s daughter used thread and stitching to heal, mimicking the actions of her father. The viewer is asked to fill in the rest of the story. Housed within the wooden box are glass bottles filled with various colored threads. The book is pack-sewn over cords; the cords have been used to create the raised design on both covers. The book is bound with gampi/kozo paper.

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  5. Book Artist of the Month: Jody Alexander

    August 5, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    If She Thought It Would Help, Zelda Would Use Her Antediluvian Curse Cache to Attain Her Revenge is the title for a ‘boxed book’ project that Jody Alexander created in 2004. The wooden box is packed with books on the left and found objects in compartments on the right. The exposed spines of the books display a variety of sewing structures including packed sewing over split thongs, Coptic, longstitch, ticketed, French stitch and sewing over cords. 

    Jody expresses that the title says enough for the viewer to fill in the rest in regards to the concept of the piece. So please, make your own conclusions. 

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  6. August // Book Artist of the Month: Jody Alexander

    August 2, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

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    Sedimentals is an altered book project that Jody Alexander completed between 2011 and 2012. This collection of art objects include found furniture stuffed with layers of discarded books and fabric. These layers appear like a cross section of sediment revealing treasures between the layers. 

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    While reading the interview, you will begin to understand the depth of Jody’s commitment to her materials and characters. This exclusive connection is the cause for such a well-rounded body of work. Her dedication to teaching is just as exceptional, offering her skills to several venues both online and in person. Read the interview after the jump and come back each Monday during the month of August for more posts on Jody Alexander.

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  • My name is Erin Fletcher, owner and bookbinder of Herringbone Bindery in Boston. Flash of the Hand is a space where I share my process and inspirations.
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