This book is a "Poetry Manifesto" that I have been working on and modifying for the seven years I have taught English Literature to Grade 10 students. This book incorporates collage, pointillism, printmaking and sewing into a Visual and Tactile exploration of pages. The pages are varied -- some are made from handmade paper and sewn, while others are marbled and collaged. Some of the pages are actually window screen lined with aluminum tape and sewn Braille text and still others have handwritten text.
The covers of this book are made from steel plates which have been drilled, counter sunk and sanded with both a belt sander and a hand sander. Some of the plates were roughened by hand with steel wool (Grade #0) to create a dappled luster. The plates were then polished with Hagerty 100 Metal Polish to obtain the mirror-like finish. The mirrored finish reflects the content of the book. The poetry is sometimes nostalgic and sometimes sacrastic, sometimes ironic and sometimes playful -- much like most humans.
This book was created as part of my Capstone course at the Corcoran School of Art + Design. Many thanks, to Georgia Deal, who teaches Book Arts and Printmaking, and Barclay Wellman, who teaches Metal smithing, for their advise, encouragement and expertise in the development of this book.
