The Angel is my Watermark

www.ipcny.org/paperprint Ausstellung International Print Center New York "The Angel is my Watermark" wurde 2016 ausgestellt im Rahmen von "American Hand Papermaking, 60s to today.
Artist's book residency 7.january-11.march 2009







From January to March 2009 I produced an artist’s book titled ‘The Angel is My Watermark’ at Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) in Rosendale, New York, which is the largest publisher of hand printed artists’ books in the United States of America. In my book art residency I wanted to do a book about birth and creation.

 

 

I hand made each paper of the book

from raw flax as well as linen rags, added abaca and cotton linter to make pulp for 900 sheets. I experimented with different beating times to get paper which would be crisp and create a rattling sound so when the pages are turned the “song of paper” is heard.
Apart of the sound of the turning pages there are three voices in this book: The first one is ‘Song of Paper’, written by Pater Imberdis, 1693. I silk screened the song hand written on the spine and end sheets and in the book in antiqua font. Jean Imberdis had written the 'Song of Paper' in Latin. In this book it is translated in six languages: English, German, Spanish, Italian, French and Czech.
The second voice describes Henry Miller’s story ‘The Angel is My Watermark. ’ I printed the etchings, when the new made paper was still damp. “Every birth is miraculous and inspired.” Miller's voice is silk screened in a type writer font.

 

 

 

The third voice is my own one, about the watermark angel and the emancipation of watermarks. It is printed in the Century font. “I am free now. I must not serve the paper millers anymore. I must not stay in the corner. I can dance over the whole page.” The watermarked pages are created on screens, where I sew on everything, buttons and hooks, threads and wires. Leslie English assisted for the bookbinding. The 56 pages, 30 x 24 cm, are sewn on a concertina folded spine in an edition of 47 copies. 1,600$

This book is in the following public collections:Gutenberg Museum Mainz; German National Library Leipzig; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington; Rochester Institute of Technology; University of Delaware, Indiana University (Bloomington); Virginia Commonwealth University; Vassar College; Yale University and Library of Congress, Washington USA