Adele Shaw, Unique Abstract Watercolor Handmade Artist Book in Vellum Envelope

Shaw, Adele. Circle A Studio, Davis, CA.

No Text, Near Fine softcover, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" hand-bound, unpaginated, ~8pp. in 6" x 9 1/2" vellum envelope

In the artist's words: "These artist books are meant to be beautiful, daring and provocative. They include smaller paintings and studies made while developing work for the exhibit of larger paintings. 

Some of my artist books are hand-bound using traditional methods and materials and some are made with repurposed, up-cycled materials. Not much is off limits, my books are known to be made from things like cowboy boots or alternative materials like security envelopes. I find the strange, mysterious offers and requests that arrive daily out weigh the ephemeral importance of financial information and bills. This inspires me to make something real out of these unusually beautiful resources.

Perhaps more experimental than the paintings, these artist books speak their own language.  Being visual in nature does not mean they’re without a narrative. I meticulously piece together the sequence into a visual story. Sometimes they bleed through the page to the next, sometimes the compositions are cropped and juxtaposed to a facing page. I find by tapping into the visual rhythm of turning the pages these books become visceral and full of mystery and drama. Maybe a little hope, too, as books often do."

Adele Shaw is a contemporary artist, painter and book maker.  Her work is influenced by perception and the power of nature. Bringing these together in her studio fuses her interests in contemporary art, impressionism, abstract and action painting.