Earth, air, fire and water ground, breathe, inspire and flow through the art created by Bonnie Bishop and Mary Howe of Maine, U.S.A. as well as Anne Graham McTaggart of Windermere, Muskoka.

  These three book and paper artists met at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts located at Deer Isle in Maine, nine years ago and have stayed connected through the love of their craft. By folding, layering, stitching, cutting, gluing, beading and painting, with a variety of media each artist combines the elements of book arts to create one-of-a-kind forms.

  As a graphic designer with over 30 years of experience, Bonnie was introduced to book making in 1992 when she attended Haystack for the first time. Here, she learned how to make paper and books. "It changed my life and the direction of my art," says Bonnie who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts. "I use the book as a container for a particular message," explains Bonnie. "Using the basic book structures I have learned, I adapt them to my own stories, poems, themes and interests. Book art works beautifully for me because it is so versatile and magical. I make traditional and non-traditional forms. Some of my books fold up into boxes, some are meant to be hung and others hold memories that are very personal."

  Mary’s first step into book making began ten years ago when she was creating prints and wanted to find a use for all the prints that did not work. She started by cutting and applying them to boxes she had made. Some prints found their way into books and a course in book making at Haystack added this art form to her artistic repertoire. Mary’s books are structures that are manipulated in order to understand and enjoy their elements of surprise. They are intimate and detailed, constructed with multiple layers of materials. Inspiration for Mary’s work comes from many sources. A story may be kindled by an interesting letter or a postcard from the past. Sometimes, she will address the challenges in nature that occur naturally or with human help. For example, a body of work Mary completed over a two year period came from her involvement as a volunteer testing ocean waters for toxic phytoplankton. "In my books, I transformed water sampling into wonder, danger and warning. Some of these books are included in this show," Mary comments.

  At the age of 49, Anne decided to take a "left hand" turn and move on from her career in teaching to enroll in a one and a half year study with Arscura, an exploration of art as a healing force. "From the first time I stood behind an easel and watched colour flow, felt the movement of clay through my hands and brought light and dark onto the page with black and white conté it just felt right," recalls Anne. "Sometimes there are no real reasons why a switch happens." When Anne and her family returned to Canada after spending a year travelling the world, she bound three sets of family journals. "Executing this difficult task raised many questions for me," says Anne. "Getting to Haystack in 1995 was an intuitive step for me. I had heard about it from a friend, got a hold of a calendar, saw a course in making books and paper and found myself there that summer for twenty-one blissful days. That is where I met Bonnie and Mary who are in the show with me." Anne’s books, which have been made as accordion, flag, envelope and pole books or as alter, pop-up, Jacob’s ladder or Coptic stitched books will all begin one of two ways – being inspired by the combination of materials or having a particular feeling or experience that she wants to bring into form.

  "Book arts holds it all. No other art form contains so much possibility and magic as far as I’m concerned," says Bonnie.

  An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, February 28, 1pm-4pm. The dhow runs to March 20^th. For more information call the Chapel Gallery at 705.645.5501 or visit the website at www.muskokaartsandcrafts.com. Thank you to Elene Freer of the Chapel Gallery for providing the copy for the article above.