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a bright resource

Betty Bright is a scholar, curator and advocate for the book arts. She specializes in book art because, in her words: "I think it is the most challenging and enlightening art form invented." Amen to that.

Her most recent contribution is a blog, letterpressbkart, focused on the state of letterpress printmaking since the 1980s. In response to a request from the magazine, Craft in America, she's compiled a rich list of book arts-related people, organizations, events and resources in one place.

I first heard Betty speak at last fall's APHA Conference and was moved by her call for more critical discourse on the art of the book. Perhaps her new blog will be one such forum. Thank you, Betty!

marketing 101 for the book arts

Calling all book artists! In preparation for a workshop that I’ll be doing for graduate students of a book arts program, I’m collecting data and examples of how people in the book arts are successfully marketing their work.

In exchange for the 5 to 10 minutes of your time that this survey will take, I’ll send you a summary of the results.

You can take this confidential survey here.

If you know of anyone else who would like to contribute, please pass this link along to them: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/marketing4bookarts The survey ends on March 4th.

winter 2011 update

 

Time again for a quick summary on places you can find my work this winter and into early Spring:

Haiku exhibition, pairing co-op members' art with haiku, Printmakers Inc Studio 325 at the Torpedo Factory Alexandria, VA January 1 - February 28, 2011

In Three Acts: Work by Kelly O’Brien exhibition, National Institute of Health Clinical Care Center Gallery, Bethesda, MD January 14 – March 4, 2011

Photo Book Works exhibition, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR January 27 – March 12, 2011

Our Nest exhibition, Printmakers Inc Studio 325 at the Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA March 1 – April 30, 2011

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joseph cornell and ballet

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Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Celestial Fantasy with Tamara Toumanova), Early 1940sI love a good surprise, the kind that tips over into delight, especially when my two great passions collide: book arts and ballet. Little did I know that when I started my research on assemblage artist Joseph Cornell, I'd also learn that he was obsessed with ballet. It inspired some of his work, in fact.

For a run-down on a range of pieces he created for or that were inspired by ballerinas, The Australian Ballet's blog, Behind Ballet, does a nice job here.

Now that's the second thing we have in common - no wait, the third: we're both into the book arts, we're both inspired by ballet, and neither of us is (was) a formally-trained visual artist.

I realize that it's a bit ridiculous to compare myself to Cornell, but I feel like I'm in good company. My path into fine arts has been unconventional and intuitive, not formal or structured. It's little signs like this that tell me to just keep going.

if you're in new york in february...

...why not try something fresh and unexpected in Manhattan, like attend my friend Irene Chan's live performance of her latest artist book, An ABC reDiscovers Appearance? Yes, that's right - she's performing with her artist book. She debuted at the Stockholm Fringe Festival this past October.

In Irene's words:

I start every week with my identity and sense of belonging intact, only to have it fractured into pieces. My look of ‘Asianness’ has led to a great many misunderstandings: from the humorous to the demoralizing absurd. This performance explores whether old stereotypes affect how others see me today and whether growing up with American popular media has affected how I see myself and other Asians.

Sunday, February 6, 2011, 5pm
The Strawberry One-Act Festival
The Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th Street, NYC,
Between 9th & 10th Avenue in Chelsea

Program and Tickets (Irene is in Series J):

This is a competition and the audience votes. Please ask your NY friends to attend! Check the website for updates. If Irene advances, she will perform the show again the following week.

NIH Clinical Gallery: installation photos

Today's installation at NIH went very smoothly, thanks to hands-on help from Judy Coady and support from the gallery's curator, Lillian Fitzgerald. Getting onto the NIH campus was a breeze as well - they have it down to a friendly but thorough system.

In Three Acts is a way for me to take advantage of the unique opportunity that three empty glass cases presented. It's a lot of fun to see it come to fruition.

What a healing atmosphere there! There is art gracing most walls and quiet spots to contemplate beauty. I'm thrilled to have my work included. The exhibition is open to everyone, and runs through March 4, 7 am to 9 pm daily.

Act One: Moving PartsAct Two: Finding GraceAct Three: Telling SecretsIn Three Acts: work by Kelly O'Brien

haiku exhibition: installation photos

With the help of fellow Printmaker Judy Coady and my hubby, I installed my first exhibition at our co-op studio. Each member selected a print and paired it with a haiku. Some wrote their own, others drew from the master, Yosa Buson. I love that my sister, Katie Engen, collaborated with me to write the haiku for Leap Year.

The exhibiit is up until February 28. If you're near Old Town Alexandria in Virginia, stop in and spend some time in our gallery, Studio 325. The haikus take the prints to a whole new level, and it's a nice way to spend a winter's day.

bound in japan

My very talented friend, Kieu Lam, is embarking on a big adventure in 2011 to Japan. Bound in Japan will bring a community of non-native residents together in Japan to create, talk about, and exhibit their book art. The goal is to increase awareness about diversity and cultural issues faced by non-natives in a host country.

All of this - the travel and living expenses, book art workshops, materials, an exhibition, publicity - is being facilitated and funded by Kieu, and she could use a little help! For a very good cause (what could be better than spreading awareness about the book arts around the world? okay, the diversity and cultural awareness stuff is good too), please consider making a donation.

I can vouch for Kieu and that your money will be very well-managed and appreciated. C'mon...for as little as $2/month, you can make a nice statement about your support for the arts. And for $20/month, she'll send you a handmade hard cover journal AND monthly mail art subscription.

How cool is that?

For more info and to support the cause (all tax-deductible, mind you), click here.

ballet is hot

Is it just me, or is ballet hot these days? And I'm not refering to the Nutcracker. This sense started nearly two years ago for me, back when I started work for the CityDance project. I noticed a trend in couture fashion that was ballet-inspired, with designers using lots of tulle, soft colors and draping. At the time, I thought it was just me having ballet on brain for a dance-related project.

Then this fall, I read about Rodarte's involvement in costuming for Black Swan and got pretty excited. This week, I bumped into this exquisite piece, Little Ballerina, by photographer David Eustace for the ANTHROPOLOGiST. Today, I listened to Terry Gross' Fresh Air interview with Jennifer Homans about her new book, Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet.

This all makes me very happy, of course. I was feeling a little nerdy about my obsession with sewing layers of tulle onto handmade paper. But now I just feel rather fashionable.

the healing power of art

Proof that art has the power to heal, The National Institutes of Health has a permanently rotating series of exhibitions in the Clinical Center Gallery. My work will be shown in three glass sculpture cases. In Three Acts will feature my artist books and paper sculpture. Curated by Lillian Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Fine Art. Open to the public 7 am to 9 pm daily, January 14 - March 4, 2011. For more information, directions and parking, click here.

if you can make it in new york...

This was a big weekend for the book arts, here in the Northeast. I think we're all still recovering from the wonderfully successful Pyramid Atlantic Book Arts Conference & Fair (more on that in a later post), and New York was buzzing with bookish delights at Printed Matter's NY Art Book Fair. I love that the art form is getting some attention in the blogosphere, even if it is from "one of our own," book artist Marilyn MacGregor.

thanks to pinkline project for video short!

A couple of months ago, we gathered together at the venue for this weekend's Book Arts Fair with a little handheld camera and shot this video short. It's a fun way to learn about the event. Thanks to Philippa Hughes of the Pink Line Project for being our interviewer, and Pyramid Atlantic's Gretchen Schermerhorn, Jose Dominguez, and Matt Sole for a great job.

Hope to see you there!

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good advice: proceed and be bold

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I'm sitting here watching the documentary, Proceed and Be Bold, about printmaker Amos Kennedy. The man is calling my name.

Amos left a well-paying career as a systems analyst at the age of 40, returned to school to get his MFA, and hasn't looked back. He's figured out a way to make a living doing what he loves and apologizes to no one.

Some Kennedy-isms I particularly like:

"What do I have to do in order to make my stuff?"

"Life is short. But as long as you got it, make something of it."

"Instead of being afraid to leave something you don't want to do, leave it and do something you want to do."

"Nothing is permanent, so why are you going to put your faith in something you have no control over? At least you have some control over your own life."

You can catch a local screening of this terrific film on November 6th at 1:15 pm here.

photo works exhibition opens this weekend

If you're in Denver next month and looking for something different to do, stop by Abecedarian Gallery. Owner/curator Alicia Bailey holds a flame for the book arts in the Denver Arts District, with special exhibitions in the Reading Room.

Photo Works opens this Friday with a reception and shows through Oct. 30.

This is the debut for my piece, In Case of Panic, an artist book about what I did to thwart a panic attack while driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Moving Parts on the move (still!)

Photo credit: Paul Gordon EmersonIt's been a long haul, Moving Parts. It was a year ago July that we kicked off the boxed edition, and well before then that the idea was hatched and put into motion.

We've been steadily making progress, one clamshell box and one tiny artist book at a time - there's a dedicated handful of talented people who give of their time and talent bimonthly to make the boxes, not to mention the ten artists involved who continue to chip away at their artist book edition of 50.

So it's a nice lift when we get a little visibility and a reinforcement for our mission (to sell these lovelies to collectors and raise funds for Pyramid Atlantic and CityDance). Recently, we've been on a bit of a roll.

I'm happy to report that the edition has been accepted for consignment by both the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts and Vamp & Tramp Booksellers. The project's documentarian, Francisco Campos-Lopez, has some of his films (including Moving Parts) featured on SONY Worldwide's Professional Site.

autumn update from TurningPointe Press

Photo credit: Jim VecchioneTime again for a quick update on places you can find my work this fall. I've been doing these updates by email as a way to stay in touch with people I meet at book arts workshops, conferences and events. Can't hurt to post here as well, right?

Pyramid Atlantic 11th Biennial Book Arts Fair, November 5-7, 2010, Silver Spring, MD. Moving Parts project demonstration: Nov. 7, 1:15-2:15 pm

Beyond Text: Contemporary Books, invitational group exhibition, Montgomery College Cafritz Foundation Arts Center, October 15 - November 15, 2010, Silver Spring, MD. Opening: Nov. 4, 5-7:30 pm

Small group show, ArtSpring-Pyramid Atlantic retail store, November 4-7, 2010, Silver Spring, MD

Sequenced Fibers juried exhibition, University of Nebraska at Omaha, October 1-29, 2010, Omaha, NE. Opening: Oct. 10, 1-4 pm

Photo Book Works juried exhibition, Abecedarian Gallery, Denver, CO, September 30 – October 30, 2010