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Ritual - an International Juried Exhibition of Book Art

Dreams Printed Exhibition Catalog

23 Sandy

We Fold Open the House is a self-published artist’s book rooted in queer ritual and the act of archiving as a transformative practice. Through poetry, it reflects on the emotional process of piecing together and releasing kinship in times of collective turmoil. I drew from several years of personal journals and handwriting archives, treating them as raw material. To honor the life in these initial transmissions, I screen-printed them onto collected papers, presenting words as both sensory and gestural moments. These moments, layered into the text, transpose embodied and adaptive forms, echoing the fluidity of queer self-presentation. Repetition, misregistration, and spaciousness invite reflection on precarious becoming. Hand stitching throughout the book underscores the labor - it also allowed me to have a final passage to process the past through construction.

We Fold Open the House by Ahnika Wood

Triangular in shape, Reason Belief Truth is a book of philosophical investigations begun with three statements printed on three flaps: The truth can be found by . . .The truth can not be found by . . .The truth can only be found by . . . On the reverse of each flap is another statement:Reason is the search for evidence to support a propositionBelief is the reliance on a personal convictionTruth is found only if what is found is true These illustrated statements are printed on three flaps inside the cover of the custom case which opens to reveal 21 illustrated double-sided cards with terms that may be used to complete the philosophical investigations or initiate further debate. The terms printed on the 21 illustrated double-sided cards are: scientific/mystical, experimental/theoretical, deductive/intuitive, mathematical/hypothetical, destructive/constructive, ethical/corrupt, dominating/subservient, deceiving/trustworthy, selfish/altruistic, logical/theological, radical/conservative, invisible/unmistakable, social/hermetical, seeking/myopic, rapture/indifference, self-denial/indulgence, miracles/matter, order/chaos, salvation/damnation, wisdom/ignorance, leadership/anarchy.

Reason Belief Truth by Thomas Parker and Mary Agnes Williams

This collection of 12 books and two boxes with images and stories that serve as a confession of faith and not faith. Stories speak to the matter of history, belief(s), nature and homo sapiens, of ritual prayers, personal rituals, a sacred art history pilgrimage. There are many Catholic references but there should be no assumptions made about my faith. I have come to the realization that my interest in and collection of the matter of faith expressed but especially of Catholicism lies in the desire to examine and explore the mysteries of faith, how beliefs are expressed through objects, a congregation of saints as intercessors that can ease the assimilation of one faith while secretly retaining original beliefs through substitutions, the significance the acts of lighting candles, polishing beads in recitation, remembering the dead. But what it comes down to for me is that the 12-year-old who never let go of the archaeological wonders and mysteries of the expression of beliefs via matter.

Intersections and Detours by Elsi Vassdal Ellis

On a recent visit, I noticed my sister making small watercolor paintings in her journal, illustrating seemingly random words. That’s how I discovered the online New York Times puzzle Wordle. You are given 6 tries to find the correct 5-letter word. Fresh coffee and solving the daily Wordle has been a popular morning ritual for many folks. I was intrigued by how my sister expanded her morning routine with art making. I suggested that her husband Jack (a photographer) and I join her in interpreting the daily Wordle solutions. It has been a way for us to stay connected even when we are thousands of miles apart. Bonus: book comes with its own coffee table!

Wordle/Coffee/Ritual by Gretchen Treuting

Unique collector's item pays homage to the Tibetan ritual custom of printing and hanging wind-powered protective prayer flags in environmentally sensitive areas to ensure good luck to residents and travelers. It is a Tibetan custom to harness the kinetic energy of the elements of air, water and fire to help generate good luck and circulate prayers. A popular Tibetan New Year’s ritual is to print and install new five-color prayer flags every year. When gusty breezes rustle the flags, the wind empowers the prayers to create a safe environment in dangerous high altitude terrains. The blocks are printed on cotton flags then stitched to ropes stretched between trees, rooftops and temples. Some cross dangerous rivers or the summits of high mountain passes.The accordion fold book contains two pop-up hand-colored reproductions of Tibetan prayer flags and a long life amulet from my collection of over a hundred and fifty woodblock prints on indigenous vintage lokta paper I gathered during a six year artist residency to study book arts and calligraphy in the Himalayas in the 1960s. A folded inserted Note records a short travel narrative about my 2009 visit to a Nepalese Paper Studio in Kathmandu where I found the decorative 4-color silkscreen print on the cover.This unique collector's item celebrates the Tibetan rituals practiced by Tibetan refugees who resettled in Nepal after fleeing the Chinese invasion of their country.Tibetan calligraphy on title page by the artist. Enclosed miniature prayer flag from Nepal.

Tibetan Prayer Flags by Marilyn Stablein

With pages printed using a range of approaches including Risograph, screen printing and letterpress, Exactly Right is a meditation on the labor-intensive process of making an artist’s book. Objects that emerge from any creative practice are a product of years of experience, training and labor—ideas that take physical form through a daily commitment to making. Practitioners of book arts have a special relationship with the search for perfection; I tend to fluctuate between seeking and destroying it. In my studio, I always have several different types of projects going simultaneously, some that need careful attention to detail, and others that feel more spontaneity and experimentation. It’s this balance between craft and innovation that captures my interest. This variable limited edition artist’s book was created one spread at a time over the course of several months. I used available resources and scraps of time in between teaching to puzzle through each page and piece them together.

Exactly Right by Rachel Simmons

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