On Artist Books

with Three Chinese Proverbs

"Outside is form; inside is thought; deepest is the soul."
The Chinese character for 'book' is an open mouth with a brush: a story telling with text and images. I create artist books to combine my thoughts into a form that shares my experiences and views with others. My telling is of being an Asian-American woman in this time frame and how the influences of the past and question of the future affect how I live. It is also a reflection of the philosophy that I follow and how the natural flow of my life intersects and interacts with our ever-changing and "unnatural' environment. In books, I wish to share my particular kind of culture in the context of personal ideas and viewpoints.

"...color to words, form to writing..."
The artist book is a complete artistic statement. All elements, images, text, and structure/form are part of the expression and are integral to the theme of the book. I particularly like that the book can be physically configured in different ways to "read" in infinite directions. It can be sculptural and use space, and be sequenced, unfolding, expanding, then contracting, ending or be ready to begin a new cycle.

The book's tactility is one of the attractions. The book can be sensual, make sounds, have various textures and weight. I love to work with materials such as making the paper, images, printing, using found and natural materials, putting them into one container and creating how the piece will unfold and move.

"The sound stops short; the sense flows on."
The artist book transforms the reader to a different plane and keeps he or she in that place for a period of time. It is an intimate, sometimes slow and quiet journey. When the physical reading is finished, that experience will continue, the impression having been made into memory.