ABCD May 2023

Nine members of Artists’ Book Club Dove gathered from near and far on a fine summer’s day to review our books for the forthcoming exhibition in ACEarts, Somerton. The exhibition opens tomorrow morning, June 3rd, with a coffee and meet-the-artists event from 11 to 12.30. I shall be there then, and all day (10 to 5) on Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

We have been concentrating on certain book structures. here is an overview of our Dream-books (as pioneered by Mark Wangberg)

And many variations on Limp Binding

… and Buttonhole Bindings

… and accordion-spine (Massimo) books

… and variations on piano-hinge bindings

… and tunnel books

… and some others/hybrids.

Dove Meadow was a sea of buttercups.

Here are the day’s eavesdroppings from my notebook, my constant companion and confidant.

May Dove-droppings

there’s a spider in it
taking a detour
mine’s got a hazelnut

talk about weird forms
dream books are off-limits
call it a nightmare book

I have some long drawers
a dress with holes in it
a shrinking librarium

it found that it could climb
an origami picnic plate
Japanese of course

community of swifts
a lot of walkers
I thought you said orcas

I’ve never been brave enough
to turn left there
on a secret mission

find them on old dung-heaps
they eat everything
including the washing

polish it with a bit of chalk
book-grooming
like a mediaeval scribe

all the yellows
birdsfoot trefoil
buttercup and rattle

that’s a stonker
but it’s not one of the curly wurlies
it’s a forbidden plant

Posted by Ama Bolton on 2nd June 2023