Meet Me in the Meadow

Meet me in the Meadow and trimmings is a quirky creation.

It represents nearly a year of exploring, observing, learning new things, kindling memories and times of play.

My journey of discovery started on May 11, 2024 with our return home from a 5,000 mile, 7 state, two-week trip. Our two-rut driveway was barely passable. The grass had grown.

This is an accordion book - the front side has 8-panels with images of meadows which show a subtle change from spring to fall.  

I made an ink drawing for each plant. Using Adobe Photoshop I added individualized color before layering each single plant into 7 different meadows.  The composite images were then printed onto cloth.

The eighth image, was my first stitched piece, was solidly filled with stitches. Life being short, the other 7 cloth prints were selectively stitched.

A wise book artist once said, never leave the backside of an accordion book blank.

Black Eyed Susan, the teller of this story, did not. She filled the pages telling about my project, a difficult decision I had to make, all about my Artist Residency and field work, Camp Olyanna and our art activities and merit badge work. She shared how my Adobe Photoshop efforts nearly cracked my brain, and lastly my Existential Moment. In other words, she has spilled all the beans.

And yet... it was Black Eyed Susan who reminded who I was back when and who I am still today. Yes, I am, unapologetically - A meadow lover. 

Colophon:

Meet Me in the Meadow, reflects the trials and tribulations of an extensive artist residency/field study/camp ‘intensive’ I experienced during the hot summer of 2024 and cold winter months of 2025. The collaborative story is told by Black-eyed Susan. She is a perky, tart, 8-year-old who knows all my childhood memories. In the end, the ‘field work’ about the meadow was simply a metaphor for a much deeper exploration into my inner/outer world of beliefs.

 

Structure:  

Book: Accordion, embroidered cloth, Cason paper 

Spine: acrylic paint, adhesive binding tape.

Doll: wire, adhesive cloth tape, fabric, jewelry.  

Sash: embroidered patches on repurposed cloth, buttons

Rock: a special "sit-upon" for small storytellers

# pages: 8

Height: 4.5”

Width: 6.5”

Depth: 1.5 “

Accordion length: 54”

Black Eyed Susan and book are currently on display at the Collins Library, University of Puget Sound and will be there until August 3, 2025. From there it will go to Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.

For more information about Puget Sound Book Artists - here's a  link:   https://pugetsoundbookartists.wildapricot.org/