Coming out of a deep appreciation both for craft and fine art, my work since 1978 has merged fine art and folk art by way of reinterpretation of traditional forms using contemporary modalities. Through the process of studying traditional crafts and incorporating these techniques into my art, I have become captivated by bookmaking. I am inspired by the concept of the book as a container/holder of memories, studies, personal reflections, and observations. I see my role as an artist to make a vessel worthy of the content that it will one day hold.
My books begin with the process of making paste papers. I first carve stamps of birds, insects, fish, stars and such and cut combs from plumbing gasket material. I then cook a paste with wheat starch which is later mixed with PVA glue and pigments. These tools and paints come together to create layers of color and pattern in a process called paste painting. Most of the papers have at least two layers of color and pattern which interact to achieve moire effects. Often a third middle layer is added with metallic oil paint sticks to introduce a subtle glimmer of iridescence on the surface. These papers are used to create handmade journals and photo albums using a variety of structures including Six Needle Coptic, Secret Belgium Binding, Accordion, Japanese Ribbon Binding and Pamphlet Bindings. These non-adhesive bindings are sewn with archival linen thread. The text pages are archival, acid free papers such as Canson Mi-Teintes and Mohawk Superfine. The paste papers are used for the book covers, end pages and text block covers.
Rosa Dargan Powers Artist 