Greensboro, NC
Wrightsville Beach, Summer of '42 (top) $900
Common Threads (middle) $900
Portions of a Matriarch (bottom) SOLD!
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In 2005 my parents sold their home of forty years and downsized. My siblings and I selected items to save while cleaning out their house. I kept numerous old photographs and other odds and ends. Months later, I began to sort through these objects while pondering my family history.
The women in my family were masters of needlework. My father built furniture and we had numerous antiques, which he’d refinished. This exposure nurtured my appreciation of old objects, which speak of a past. Having learned sewing from my Mother; I use it in my artwork.
I began seriously making books twelve years ago. Their use of space, text, and touch appealed to me. The tunnel book form worked in combination with the old sewing machine drawers, which are the foundation of these pieces.
Common Threads and Portions of a Matriarch are about my mother’s family. The small accordion books, which accompany them contain reflections, descriptions of relatives, and poems. The third assemblage Wrightsville Beach, Summer of ‘42 is based on a photograph taken by my father.
This ongoing series entitled Family Matters has allowed me to explore my personal thoughts about the meaning and dynamics of family.
Artist Biography
Mary Beth Boone lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. She specializes in unique books and assemblages. Mary Beth received a BFA in Design from UNC, Greensboro and an MFA in Sculpture from the University of South Carolina, Columbia. She has received numerous grants and shows her artwork extensively.
All images and text copyright the artist. All rights reserved.
