This is one of the two pieces I made for the Celebration of the Book Show at the Firehouse Gallery. It opened on Friday night, and I hopped between the Burton Art Hop Reception and the Book Arts Reception.
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I was working on new technique with these altered books. The are old books, that I selected because of the texture and feeling of the covers, not necessarily for their content. I decide to make them much more like the assemblage shrines I have been doing all summer- less pages and more found materials.
The Messenger of Truths holds a lot of secrets deep within it. Secrets that the viewer can weave together to create a story if you pay careful attention to all the clues. This piece is deep with symbolism. The doll hand, the old medicine bottle, the bird feather, the #13 on the playing card, almost every element has weight- including the picture on the back and the line "If Lillie will forgive me." It is pretty heavy handed. I know- I don't think
I started out with a feel story, it just came to me as I was working, liquid nails hardening to my finger. It felt like when I did the
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piece, "i remember you." It just
sort of came out of me and a gush. I finished it in record time for an altered book, three days.
I've named the girl inside the bottle and inside the book, Lillie. She is 13.
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The Messenger of Truth is a travelling man of the cloth, who is friends with Lillie's parents. One summer he comes to visit the family. It is a summer that will change Lillie for the rest of her life.
God made the bird and all the precious beautiful things on the earth.
Lillie was a good little bird.
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Fly away.....