St. Paul, MN
Every Morning Is an Entrance to a City
$2,200
To Purchase Contact 23 Sandy Gallery
About this Book
This hand painted accordion book, with seventeen panels that are 3.75 inches wide and 13.25 inches tall, is designed so that it can be opened fully to be viewed and read in its entirety. Because light plays a central element in this work, the paper (Rives) and painting technique (acrylics, wheat paste, and some graphite) were chosen to create a translucent, layered appearance, an effect that is enhanced when the book is opened and lit from both sides. The text was composed in Centaur; images are from original charcoal and pen and ink drawings. Both text and images were electronically translated and letterpress printed with photopolymer plates. The book is housed in an elegant cloth-covered box, and is published by Cedar Fence Press in 2009. Unique book in a series of 24 variations.
In the fall 2007, with the support of a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, I spent a couple of wonderful weeks working in the art studio at Pendle Hill, a Quaker study center outside Philadelphia. While there, I read, wrote, and painted pages in preparation for this book. Every Morning Is an Entrance to a City is the book in its finished form. It is a contemporary, universal “book of hours,” a meditation on time. Words and imagery are informed foremost by the writing of Abraham Joshua Heschel, Bach’s organ fugues, and readings from my daily morning meditation. My poem touches on the subject of labor and repose, community and solitude, loss and return. The theme of city is prominent. It is in cities where strangers come together, shaping a common life.
Artist Biography
Regula Russelle makes fine press artist’s books independently through Cedar Fence Press, and with others through Accordion Press Collaborations. She loves teaching at Augsburg College and Minnesota Center for Book Arts.
Honors include a Minnesota State Arts Board Grant, a Jerome Book Arts Fellowship, and an award from the International Society of Bookbinders for The Complete Book. Her work is shown and collected internationally.
Last year, Russelle collaborated on a public arts project, dispersing nearly 5,000 folios with portraits and poems on the theme of kinship circle. She now explores ways to integrate democratic multiples in more of her work and teaching.All images and text copyright the artist. All rights reserved.
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