Artist Statement
I come to the book arts after years of writing fiction. The miniature book-objects I make are the very opposite of the huge novels I was producing in my writing career, and I have come to recognize this as an instinctive effort to distill expression to something more pure. The painstaking labor of cutting and painting paper in such fine detail, of searching for language that will fit in these minuscule spaces and yet convey the fullness of what I am trying to express, reflects the intense process of examining the unanswered questions in my life. The themes that permeated my novels, of wartime suffering, nostalgia for home, and the battle with profound depression and constant quest for meaning in the face of mortality, manifest now as three-dimensional artifacts of personal memory and experience. I use a variety of papers and book boards, adding color with ink and paint, and incorporating childhood memorabilia, journal excerpts, and other writings. Most recently I am exploring the juxtaposition of unique original artwork with inkjet-printed text, as well as experimenting with duplication. Whether an original or a duplicate, the process of making each book-object is intensely personal, and sharing it is an intimate act, like revealing a fragment of my diary.