books to art

Recycled Library Books Unfolding into Art

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Books and their materials have always been incredible sources of inspiration within my creative practice. As an educator I tried to emphasize the value of life-long learning through reading and research. I grew up perusing encyclopedias vs. google and was fortunate enough to be surrounded by an expansive in-home library. I love the smell, the feel of book cloth, and the intrigue of what might be found inside.

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How it Started

As a graduate student at UW-Madison, I took an artist’s book course that changed my life – and that’s not an exaggeration. From that point on, all of my work has incorporated handmade papers and storytelling to some degree. In my final year of school, I developed a thesis exhibition exploring the questions – what is a book? how do we tell/record stories? These question served as the catalyst for a series of garments which represented significant moments in my life and the live’s of my friends and family members. I asked participants if they could recall a special day in their lives while connecting the memory to what they were wearing. The responses included narratives of a full marathon, a soccer goalie’s save, a prom date gone wrong, and a blind date that turned into 50+ years of marriage. You can view additional information and images of the paper sculptures here.

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How it’s Going

Every time I went to the cafe at the university where I used to work, I would pass a library cart that said, “free books.” They were textbooks that hadn’t been checked out in many years and were on their way to the recycling bin. Sooo, I saved them. At one point I believe I had about 100 or more books in my studio. I cut them apart, collaged with the materials, painted cover sheets, and wove the book spines.

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On Reserve

In January 2021, I participated in Var Gallery’s 30x30x30 exhibition. The show asked 30 artists to work within the parameters of making one piece of art a day for 30 consecutive days within a 6x6x6” dimension.

Using the books I picked up from the cart, I created a school supply series called, On Reserve. The pieces narrate the nostalgic, back-to-school mentality and the centric role of the book within a student’s educational experience.

Read more about the work and see additional photos by clicking below.

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Book Edge Swatch Series

A continuation of experiments with book materials led to a painted fore-edge collage series. I coated closed books with acrylic paint and ink and pressed onto handmade paper. The process revealed unexpected wavy stripe patterns and oftentimes precise detailed impressions of the pages.

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To Be Continued

Next steps include investigations of notes left behind in the margin spaces, pages that were ear marked, and the typography found on due date cards and rare colophons.

(Almost) daily inspiration and process images are posted to Instagram. I hope you follow along!

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View More of Julie’s Paper Artwork

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