Jody Alexander: Bibliomuse

Jody Alexander

Bibliomuse

Jody Alexander: Bibliomuse

Jody Alexander: Bibliomuse Exhibition: November Reception for the Artist: Saturday, 5:30 - 7:30 pm Front Cover: , Hemingway and the Art of Awareness #2, 2017, 12 x 12 x .75 in Back Cover: Bibliocube 1, 2 and 3, 2017, 4 x 4 x 4 in each Photo Credits: R.R. Jones Direct all inquiries to: Seager Gray Gallery 108 Throckmorton Ave. Mill Valley, CA 94941 All rights reserved.

Jody Alexander: Bibliomuse In the Bibliomuse series, several discarded library books serve as muses for pieces that incorporate repurposed textiles, stitching, bookcloth and imagery from the covers and pages of the muses.

Bibliomuse is a subseries of KEEP: Modern Library.

All of the stitching is machine done and the work is very time intensive, repetitive, and meditative.

The time spent on these pieces is also time spent honoring the service rendered by these books that had been in circulation for decades, checked out dozens of times, and have educated hundreds of students as they spent time in their homes, their hands, and traveled with them in cars, on buses, and bicycles. These books shaped lives.

The Bibliomuse pieces honor lives well spent. These books have now been discarded because they are damaged, considered obsolete, out of date, unused, incorrect, or are simply exhausted from excessive use and need to be replaced.

I chose the muses for very subjective reasons: usually a cover design or illustration that has caught my fancy. The bookskins are chosen for their breadth and depth of color, for the coffee rings left on them, and the ombre fading effect created from being moved around the shelves over the years.

Largely inspired by the art of repair and reuse these pieces reference textiles from various cultures that incorporate these techniques including Japanese Boro textiles and the quilts of Gee’s Bend.

The imagery from the discarded library books are appropriated and abstracted and float in and out of the pieced textiles like apparitions.

The KEEP: Modern Library series and the Bibliomuse subseries are ongoing explorations about what we keep and the different way we keep things, thoughts, and emotions.

- Jody Alexander, September, 2017

Muse #1 The Art of Awareness by J. Samuel Bois

Hemingway and the Art of Awareness, No. 1 - 5,2017 10 x 10 x .75 in each Reclaimed linen, bookcloth from discarded library books by Ernest Hemingway, stencils, thread, mull

Hemingway and the Art of Awareness, No. 1, 2017 10 x 10 x .75 in Reclaimed linen, bookcloth from discarded library books by Ernest Hemingway, stencils, thread, mull

Hemingway and the Art of Awareness, No. 2, 2017 10 x 10 x .75 in Reclaimed linen, bookcloth from discarded library books by Ernest Hemingway, stencils, thread, mull

Hemingway and the Art of Awareness, No. 3, 2017 10 x 10 x .75 in Reclaimed linen, bookcloth from discarded library books by Ernest Hemingway, stencils, thread, mull

Hemingway and the Art of Awareness, No. 4, 2017 10 x 10 x .75 in Reclaimed linen, bookcloth from discarded library books by Ernest Hemingway, stencils, thread, mull

Hemingway and the Art of Awareness, No. 5, 2017 10 x 10 x .75 in Reclaimed linen, bookcloth from discarded library books by Ernest Hemingway, stencils, thread, mull

Hemingway and the Art of Awareness, No. 6, 2017 (detail left) 7 x 8 x 1 in Reclaimed linen, bookcloth from discarded library books by Ernest Hemingway, stencils, thread, mull Custom made clamshell box included in price

Muse #2 Genetics, Paleontology and Evolution, Princeton University

Genetics, Paleontology and Evolution, No. 1, 2016 (detail left) 23 x 56 in African backstrap woven cotton, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull

Genetics, Paleontology and Evolution, No. 2, 2017 (open page) 8 x 9 x 1.5 in Antique European linen, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull, walnut dye. Longstitch binding.

Includes hand made clam shell box.

Genetics, Paleontology and Evolution, No. 2, 2017 8 x 9 x 1.5 in Antique European linen, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull, walnut dye. Longstitch binding.

Includes hand made clam shell box.

Genetics, Paleontology and Evolution, No. 2, 2017 (open page) 8 x 9 x 1.5 in Antique European linen, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull, walnut dye. Longstitch binding.

Includes hand made clam shell box.

Genetics, Paleontology and Evolution, No. 2, 2017 (open page) 8 x 9 x 1.5 in Antique European linen, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull, walnut dye. Longstitch binding.

Includes hand made clam shell box.

Muse #3 How to Know the Mosses and Liverworts by H.S. Conard

How to Know the Mosses and Liverworts, No. 1, 2016 (detail left) 35 x 44 in Antique European linen, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull, walnut dye, book pages

How to Know the Mosses and Liverworts, No. 2, 2016 (detail left) 7 x 8 x 1 in Reclaimed linen, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull Custom made clamshell box included.

Muse #4 Incredible Truth by Irvin S. Cobb

Incredible Truth, No. 1, 2017 (detail left) 46 x 15 in Antique European linen, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, front and reverse applique, thread, mull

Muse #5 Manual of Scientific Russian by Thomas F. Magner

Manual of Scientific Russian, No. 1, 2016-2017 (detail left) 52 x 24 in Antique European linen, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, image transfers, thread, mull, tea and walnut dye

Bibliocube, No. 1 (Incredible Truth), 2017 4 x 4 x 4 in African backstrap woven cotton, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull, stuffing Bibliocube, No. 2 (Records Management), 2017 4 x 4 x 4 in African backstrap woven cotton, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull, stuffing Bibliocube, No. 3 (Genetics, Paleontology and Evolution), 2017 4 x 4 x 4 in African backstrap woven cotton, bookcloth from discarded library books, stencils, thread, mull, stuffing

JODY ALEXANDER (abbreviated CV) EDUCATION • B.A., Art History - University of California, Los Angeles • M.S., Library Science - Simmons College, Boston • Graduate work in Museum Studies – John F. Kennedy

University, San Francisco • Studies in bookbinding and the book arts at North Bennett

Street School, Massachusetts College of Art, the School of

the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and San Francisco Center

for the Book SOLO EXIBITIONS Bibliomuse, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA (2017) Artists’ Books and Sculptural Objects, Open Ground Studios, Seaside, CA (2013) Preparing for Evanescence, Cabrillo Art Gallery, Aptos, CA (2012) Sedimentals, Community School of Music and Art, Mountain View, CA (2011) The Odd Volumes of Ruby B.: An Installation, Saffron & Genevieve, Santa Cruz, CA (2011) TWO - THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS Rydell 3, Sanchez Arts Center, Pacifica, CA (2016) Rydell Visual Arts Fellows, Blizter Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA (2015) The Uncommon Thread: Jody Alexander/Lisa Kokin, San Francisco Center for the Book (2013) White Balance: Jody Alexander and Michelle Stitz, Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA (2011) Beyond the Familiar Glance, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA (2009) Remembrances & Transformations of the Book, Cabrillo College Art Gallery, Aptos, CA (2006) GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2017 Musubu, Urawa Art Museum, Urawa, Japan New Threads: Unraveling Traditions in Fiber, Cabrillo Art Gallery, Aptos, CA Small Packages, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN My Mother Thinks I’m a Great Artist, Pajaro Valley Arts, Watsonville, CA

The Art of the Book, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA Faculty Exhibit, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN 2016 In Remembrance, San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA This Is Not a Book: Chapter 2, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA The Art of the Book, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA Sculpture Is, Pajaro Vallery Arts, Watsonville, CA 2015 The Contained Narrative, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN Codex Finds, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR Unhinged: Book Art on the Cutting Edge, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA The Art of the Book, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA Ten Years of Artist Books, Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY 2014 Behind the Personal Library: Collectors Creating the Canon, Center for Book Arts, New York, NY Fibers inForm, Michaelangelo Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA UnDressed: An Exposé of Conceptual Garments and Accessories, Pajaro Valley ArtsCouncil SCRAP Art: Creative ReUse in the Bayview, The Reclaimed Room, San Francisco, CA Faculty Exhibit, Shakerag Workshops, Sewanee, TN 2013 Book Art Inspired by the Vatican Library, 3 locations: Falum, Stockholm and Rome Superstition XIII, San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA Cullowhee Mountain Arts Faculty Invitational, Cullowhee, NC The Art of the Book, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA Alter Eco, Santa Cruz Institute of Contemporary Art, Santa Cruz, CA Material Matters, Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA Sleight of Hand, Pajaro Valley Art Council, Watsonville, CA

2012 Exploding the Codex, San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA The Art of the Book, Seager/Gray Gallery, Mill Valley, CA Outfitters: The Contemporary Art of Clothing, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA Femme Fatale, Works, San Jose, CA Re-Modified, Hartnell College Gallery, Salinas, CA Yuma Symposium Exhibit, Yuma Art Center, AZ 2011 The Book: A Contemporary View, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE Fifteen Year Anniversary Exhibit, San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA Reconstructions, Conrad Wilde Gallery, Tucson, AZ Encaustic with a Textile Sensibility, Kimball Art Center, Park City, UT The Art of the Book, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, CA Without Art, Cabrillo College Art Gallery, Aptos, CA 2010 By a Thread, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA Book as Medium: Holding/Withholding Text, Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery, UC Santa Cruz Visual Conversations with Women Artists II, Pajaro Valley Arts Council, Watsonville, CA The Art of the Book, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, CA It’s in the Pulp: The Art of Papermaking in Santa Cruz, Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz CALIFORNIA: All Media Exhibition, Cabrillo College Art Gallery, Aptos, CA Modified, Art Ark, San Jose, CA 2009 Marking Time, an Exhibit of the Guild of Bookworkers, multiple locations 2009-2011 Polygot: Expressive Media in Book Arts, Gualala Arts Center, Gualala, CA Visual Conversations with Women Artists, Eloise Pickard Smith Art Gallery, UC Santa Cruz, CA

The Art of the Book, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, CA In This House That I Call Home, Pajaro Valley Arts Council, Watsonville, CA Assemblage+Collage+Construction, Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA ECO-Morphosis, Santa Cruz County Bank Arts Collaborative, Santa Cruz, CA Altogether: Collage/Assemblage, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA Conversations, Martin Luther King Library, San Jose, CA 2008 New West Coast Design: Books, San Francisco Center for the Book Conceptually Bound 3, Chico State & Community Center for Music & Art, Mtn. View The Art of the Book, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, CA Art for Art, Mill Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA ReDo Fashion Show, Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA Annual Michelangelo Fashion Show, Santa Cruz Civic Center, Santa Cruz, CA Bookworks 2008, San Francisco Public Library Banned and Recovered: Artists Respond to Censorship, African American Museum and Library, Oakland, CA Recollections: Celebrating 30 Years of SCRAP, Market Street Gallery, San Francisco 2007 The Art of the Book, Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael, CA Action/Interaction: Book/Art, Columbia Center for Book & Paper, Chicago, IL Groundbreaking, Tannery Arts Center, Santa Cruz, CA Fiber + Book, Fiber Art Center, Amherst, MA ON/OFF: Art in the Digital Era, Cabrillo College Art Gallery, Aptos, CA Cutting Edge Books, Cal State, Hayward, CA Book Arts Jam, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA San Francisco Open Studios, San Francisco, CA Conceptually Bound 3, University Art Gallery, California State University, Chico for a full CV including teaching, awards and publications go to www.seagergray.com Jody Alexander artist page.