Coloring Book
CT: Ellen Schiffman. A unique artist's book. Ellen Schiffman has worked as a professional artist for over 30 years in her Connecticut studio. She is a multimedia artist working in a range of modalities including fiber art, collage, sculpture, photography, printing, cyanotype, eco printing and, most recently, book art. She often combines multiple media in a single piece. Throughout her career, she has been an avid explorer of both material and technique, often including found objects and everyday humble items in her pieces. Serendipity and surprise are hallmarks of her singular work. She has exhibited her work nationwide, including numerous museum shows and solo exhibits. She has received multiple awards for her work and has been featured in online and print publications, including several books. Her work reflects a fascination with texture, pattern, color, organic shapes, sculptural forms, the majesty of nature, and the beauty of imperfection. The pandemic shut-down provided Ellen with an abundance of time to explore and experiment with some media that were new to her. She started making books during this time. She felt an immediate connection with the materials and the techniques of this compelling art form and found the process of making books a meditative balm for stressful times. Books have allowed her the opportunity to present her work in new and exciting ways. She celebrates the fact, unlike most other forms of art, the viewer gets to touch and interact with a book, thereby becoming an active participant in the process of the book becoming a meaningful piece of art. She frequently uses her books to present a body of related art work, while just as often she uses them as vehicles to capture the essence of memorable places, issues and moments in time. As the worst of the pandemic has subsided, Ellen has continued her book making journey, exhibiting her books in notable book art exhibits nationwide.
According to Schiffman: "A traditional cyanotype is a camera less photograph created by coating paper or fabric with a chemical emulsion, placing an object or a negative on the surface when the emulsion dries, and placing it directly in the sun for a short time to develop. The final photo which emerges is a rich, Prussian blue imprint of the original image. By adding water and other substances to the paper before it is exposed, a wide range of dramatic color and fluid movement takes place throughout the development process. This unfolding is a serendipitous display which mimics the organic transitions in nature. While the images that emerge are lovely, like many of nature’s best moments, they are fleeting. To preserve some of this journey, I take photographs of the process as it unfolds.
This Jacobs Ladder book flips back and forth between images created with the traditional cyanotype and the wet cyanotype methods. On one side you find raindrops created directly as the rain fell on prepared cyanotype paper. On the flip side you find traditional cyanotypes of plants nourished by the rain. It serves as a whimsical display of the cycle of life.A Jacobs ladder is a classic toy or book in which tiles appears to cascade down a ribbon as it is flipped from one side to the other. I cherish the fact that, unlike most other forms of art, the viewer gets to touch and interact with a book, thereby becoming an active participant in the process of the book becoming a meaningful piece of art."
This non-traditional Jacobs ladder book structure is constructed from eight panels of book board, cloth, paint, collage, and digitally printed reproductions of the artist's cyanotypes, photographs, and paintings. It is bound with white and blue ribbons. A handle is affixed to the first panel allowing the viewer to manipulate the pages of the book. Housed in a drawstring off-white muslin bag with paper title label and illustration pasted down to the front panel. The bag was handmade by the artist. [16 pages.] Size: 8.5 x 3 x 1.75 inches. ARTB/100224. Fine.
Item #37373
Price: $450.00