Sacramento Book Collectors Club

Last evening the club witnessed a first! Daryl Morrison, who is the head of Special Collections at UC Davis, and president of the SBCC, introduced us. Five book artists were on the panel, each one presenting examples of their work and discussing how they developed their books. I went first giving a quick overview of altering books, and then showed some of my books. I could have talked for the full hour and a half, but had to reign in so the others would have their turns. The audience was very receptive, it was quite casual and we had good interaction. If my books were music, some of them would require a full orchestra, while others are strictly piano pieces. Then Jackie, whose work is very fresh and makes me think of the faint pure sound of a Tibetan bell - are soul touching and personal. With her book arts (she actually is a collage artist) she prefers the found text technique and collages and adds art to illustrate what she has found. Wendy was next on the program. Her work is rich and multifaceted. Layers of research coupled with her own constructions and design sense, bring her themes to life inviting the audience to touch them and be touched by them. She also does what she calls book "explosions" which are full of all kinds of oddities attached - and two sided. Reminds me of a marching band. Susanne then presented her works, some of which are very innovative and only loosely called books. Some of them contain her own poetry, and all of them are awesome. Susannes work is like more like jazz - not everyone will understand it, but those that get it can see how extaoridnary it is. She inspires all of us. Then Sally showed some of her work. Sally is the queen of embellishments. Layers and more layers. Sally is the music of a carousel. Bright and lively and full of fun. She also shared some collaborative works, like decos and chunky books which were new to the club members.

After our presentations, the club broke for chocolate covered strawberries, and then were invited to come up and talk to us and handle (yes, we let people handle our work) our books. Some people went through page by page of the ones they were most interested in. One gal in the audience showed us a purse she altered to become a really nice handbag. If I had seen it earlier I would have asked her to show it to the audience too. Anyway, we had plenty of time to chat with the members and I think we all came away with a good experience. I'd like to thank them for their hospitality and for being so receptive.