Ft. Lauderdale: Dorothy Krause, 2010. This is an intriguing unique artist's book from noted book artist Dorothy Krause. This unusual work beautifully demonstrates Krause's approach to creating artists' books. The book is based on Shakespeare's "Seven Stages of Man;" however, this version has been rewritten to reflect the life stages of women. This rewritten version includes infant, schoolgirl, lover, mother, matriarch, Sixth Age (of forgetfulness), and Seventh Age (a return to childishness - without teeth, sight, taste, etc.). Following is an excerpt: "... Then a mother. Full of strange oaths, and aware of her children's needs. Jealous in their honour, sudden, and quick in response. Seeking their good reputation even in the tempting life. And then matriarch in fair round belly. With good capon lin'd with eyes severe. And dress of formal cut. Full of wise saws. And modern instances. And so she plays her part ..."
It is made from Katie MacGregor's lime green handmade paper over multiple layers of mat board in which dimensional objects, including brass stencils for numbers 1 through 7, unexposed glass negatives, padlocks and keys are embedded. It is housed in a vintage green silk dome lidded box embroidered with cream and dark green threads. It is lined with ivory silk, with a vintage linen napkin hemmed to the size of book and tied with tea-dyed trim that enables the book to be removed from box. Shakespeare's "Seven Stages of Man", rewritten for Woman, is printed digitally in olive green ink on a sheet of vegetable vellum paper and laid in the box below the book. In fine condition. Measures 9.75 x 5.875 x 2.25 inches, [14 pages].
Krause is a painter, collage artist and printmaker who incorporates digital mixed media into her art. Her work is exhibited regularly in galleries and museums and featured in numerous current periodicals and books. In her artist's statement she says: "My work includes large scale mixed media pieces, artist books and book-like objects that bridge between these two forms. It embeds archetypal symbols and fragments of image and text in multiple layers of texture and meaning. It combines the humblest of materials, plaster, tar, wax and pigment, with the latest in technology to evoke the past and herald the future. My art-making is an integrated mode of inquiry that links concept and media in an ongoing dialogue – a visible means of exploring meaning." Fine. More