Artist's Book: Come Undone | inconcertwithglass

Come Undone (2011)

Silk, pigskin, bi-chromatic prints, bookcloth, ink. 15in x 13in x 1.5in (closed book)

'Come Undone' is a companion piece to 'Bound to Break' and also examines mental trappings through the very feminine accessory of the corset. This book goes a step further and posits that flesh and skin can be seen as both accessories and trappings as well. To open the book, which is the size of a small female torso, the reader/viewer must spend time unlacing the corset bindings to get at the text, images, and secrets stitched into the supple, leather interior. Once unlaced, the right and left book flaps open to offer different ways to read the book. Rather than physical glass in this piece, I used the glass concepts of 'reflection' and 'mirroring' throughout it. This work was shown with 'Bound to Break' as part of the juried group exhibit Bibliophoria II: The Art of the Book at the Sebastopol Art Center, 2011. (Images: Lisa Naas)

A closer look at the ties and bindings: 'Come Undone' has two spines and this is a detail image of the right side. I hand bound the book using French and kettle stitches.

The interior pages have words and images stitched into them.

Once unlaced, the book opens out, revealing the leather pages inside.

This image shows interior pages with stitchings and images. the reader chooses how to turn the pages, but the images and text still line up to tell the story.