Pieces of Eight: Collaborative Artist Books*

Eight women artists from different walks of life came together in November, 2005, with the single purpose of collaborating on a unique series of artist book.

Artists' books are not books about art; they are art expressed through book form. Each artist “set the tone” by creating a theme, book structures and introductory pages. The book forms varied from handmade volumes to paper dolls to boxes to stacks of loosely bound papers and fabrics. The themes, broadly defined, left room for each artist to bring her unique talent, experience and perspective to the books. The plan was for each artist to pass their book from member to member with each artist adding to it.

The books are filled with pages of techniques and mediums including painting, metalwork, fabric arts, sketching and layering of textures. In March, 2007, the books were finished. Those involved agree that working with other women art- ists from Topeka and Lawrence has been a very rich and rewarding experience for inspiration, learning and encouragement.

Exhibitors:
Reinhild Janzen
Lois Kruse
Maria Raquel Morales
Marguerite Perret
Betsy Knabe Roe
Barbara Solberg
Mary Dorsey Wanless
Barbara Waterman-Peters

*Original article from the Washburn Center for Kansas Studies newsletter, April 2007.