Book Covers and Concertina Journals 

(virtual show juried by Karen Sullivan)

Comments of Juror Karen Sullivan:

Thanks to everyone who entered this FRCQ virtual show. Participants used a variety of techniques to eco-dye, paint, color, monoprint, stitch, bead and embellish book covers and journals. This made my choices easy but tough to decide the juror’s choice. I’d really choose all of them for the juror’s choice if it were up to me. It’s unfortunate that we cannot touch and feel these lovely creations in person, but maybe it will come to pass in the future. These book covers and journals are a delight to behold and will become treasured family heirlooms for years to come! Great job everyone!

Sunrise – The blue shades in this journal cover feel like a fresh sunrise. The beaded embellishments make you want to touch and feel this lovely book.

Smoke Bush is a treasure of beautiful smoke bush ecoprinted leaves. It would be lovely to see the watercolor paintings and deconstructed fabric art planned for the inside.

Woodlands – The stitched, hand-dyed & quilted background of this journal is a great base for the artist’s images of nests and trees. The artist’s natural images inside will suit this book well.

Spring features a colorful combination of hand-dyed fabric & paper, with lovely textures and embellishments that are decoratively stitched. Such a treasure!

Gate Keeper – The artist’s use of harmonious acrylic paints for this

reconstructed canvas, showcases a unique book cover, and the “gate” closure is so creative!

Lighthearted suits its description and is a great example of how common, every-day items can be used to create a special keepsake journal.

Earth Treasures (Concertina Journal) features hand-painted silks, hand-stitched to an eco-dyed background. The beaded silk yoyo’s, buttons, sea shell, natural stones & an ammonite fossil fixed in hand-beaded cages makes it simply, “eyecandy.”

Triangle starts out as a triangle and can be opened into a flat circle or semicircle which is fascinating!

Text Book – The artist’s use of softly eco-dyed watercolor paper and leaves compliment the haiku text of “whispered sounds”, “stones & grasses again”, “peaceful,” and vintage poetry is my juror’s choice. It’s lovely!

Karen Sullivan

Earth Treasures – Hand-painted silk fabrics and eco-dyed fabrics were used to create this double-sided concertina journal measuring 6 1/2” x 33”. I embellished hand-painted silk prints layered over cotton and linen fabrics on an eco-dyed background with beaded silk yoyo’s, buttons, a sea shell, and natural stones and an ammonite fossil fixed in hand-beaded cages to achieve an earthy, natural journal.

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Susan Brooks

Sunrise – A botanical quilted journal filled with both botanical images as well as cotton and silk art. The outer cover is made from deconstructed cotton fabrics, silk organza, and paints. Hand woven binding with both commercial and hand made beads. Machine stitched.

Smoke Bush – Botanical prints of smoke bush leaves on cotton fabric. The journal is filled with watercolor paintings and deconstructed fabric art. Stitched binding and machine stitched cover.

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Jean Gray

Woodlands, 11” x 7″ – I often don’t think about measurements while playing with paper and fabric. I found an inspiring image of the nests in the trees. I then added it to a hand dyed quilted background and filled the interior pages with wonderful collage images of nature that spoke to me. So without alot of planning, the journal got to be as big it was suppose to be.

Spring, 11” x 8 1/2” – Combining color and texture with paper collage is always an exciting way to create something. The front cover fabric was hand dyed and quilted with additional decorative stitching. The back cover commercial fabric with decorative stitching. The inside was left with blank pages to be used as a journal.

(Click on any image to enlarge and scroll through all images)

Cynthia Jarest

Gate Keeper, 9” x 11” – The journal is called the Gate Keeper and is constructed using painted and stitched canvas with dryer sheets, fabric, and netting, and acrylic paint on the exterior; and a fun fabric for the interior lining. The papers are a mix of watercolor paper, mixed media paper, an old paper bag, colored paper, and several other types of paper. The front opens in the middle with a clasp for closure, the ‘gate’.

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Sue Lewis

Triangle, 6″ x 6″ x 6″ and is approximately 1″ in thickness. It was made as a response to a challenge to make the book a different shape. This book can be opened to a flat circular shape or into a semi-circle or folded into having any 1 triangle with the other triangles stacked behind it. I have used painted dryer sheets, netting, organza, handmade, eco-dyed and watercolor paper, tissue and fabric as well as Washi tape. Techniques include painting, fusing and machine stitching.

Juror’s Choice! Text Book, 6″ x 5″ and is 1″ in thickness. The text includes artist haikus as well as vintage poetry and handwritten or typed text. Materials include painted dryer sheets, eco-dyed watercolor paper, fabric and a button with a hairband as a closure. Techniques used include fusing, stamping, printing and machine stitching. The concertina has pages secured in the middle so one side folds out from the middle towards the back and the other towards the front.

(Click on any image to enlarge and scroll through all images)

Rose Legge

Lighthearted, 9″ x 11″. It’s a combination of fabric and paper: I’ve used tissue paper from an old garment pattern, cotton lace, a paper napkin, and muslin for a backing. I added some hand stitched applique with a modeling paste design I made with a stencil, and hand drawn wings from my sketchbook printed onto inkjet fabric.

(Click on any image to enlarge and scroll through all images)

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