bookmarks

Bookmarks VII Update

A while ago I mentioned that I was taking part in Bookmarks VII, the latest installment of an international book arts project organized through the Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Book artists from around the world contribute an edition of 100 bookmarks for free distribution to chosen venues such as bookstores, libraries, galleries and schools in different countries.  

The idea is to introduce more people to book art, while allowing the artists to get their work out to a broad array of the public. Each artist also gets to keep a collated set of everyone’s bookmarks. This was the third time I’ve taken part. I must say, it’s exciting to get that bundle in the mail, filled with little works of art. My edition of 4 designs is described on their website as well as in my earlier post.

This year has another local twist. Eureka Books, which also just hosted the North Redwoods Book Arts Guild exhibition I’d been making stuff for, is, for the first time, one of the worldwide distribution points (one of only 3 in the US). It’s wonderful to see book art, and book artists, getting all this attention in our little remote corner of the world.

Bookmarks VII

For the third year, I’m taking part in the Bookmarks project run through the Centre for Fine Print Research at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Book artists around the world sign up and agree to contribute an edition of 100 bookmarks each. These are then distributed to venues around the world, where they are given out free. It’s been fascinating, and, I must say, I’ll never look at a bookmark the same way again.

My current submission is due in Bristol soon, so I’m working on them now. They are designed to plant nagging neurotic thoughts in peoples’ minds as they settle down to their books. Did you remember to turn off the oven? Is that iron still on? Door really locked?

 

A while ago I mentioned my design idea to my acupuncturist. She was horrified and accused me of being not very nice to people with OCD. In reality, I was thinking of my own tendencies.

 

This reminds me of a story. One day as I was leaving the house and had just locked up, I had to go back in to double check that I’d really, really remembered to turn off the iron. As I unlocked the door and walked back to the room where I’d been earlier, I silently chided myself for my compulsive neuroticism. Of course I’d turned it off. And as I entered, there it sat. The iron was turned on and steaming away….

 

All of the previous years’ Bookmarks projects are archived online. I was involved with Bookmarks 5 and Bookmarks 6. Links to previous years are available from those sites.