Resiliency 2, 2023: Carousel book, black & white linocut hand painted with gouache, 12.5 x 36 in
Resiliency, 2023: Tunnel book, linoleum cut with stencil monotype, 23.5 x 11.5 x 10 in.
Eighteenth annual exhibition of handmade artists’ books, altered books, and book-related materials.
The Art of the Book, 2023: Luz Marina Ruiz
Luz Marina Ruiz has had a career focused on printmaking, book arts, and installation with themes relating to water. The works are visual journeys, not literal representations of water. They are meant to remind us of our planet's fragility and essential connection and dependence on water for our survival. Although she works with challenging themes, the work relates to water's beauty, mystery, whimsy, and power. It’s a way to hang on to optimism and honor what is at stake.
The initial concepts for "Resiliency" were formed during the political turmoil, ardent division, and uncertainty in this country brought on by the previous administration. Ruiz began to make sketches as a way to process these difficult times. The drawings made their way onto a 36” square sheet of linoleum: a boat wrapped in turbulent waters, a mast/white flag for optimism, and birds as messengers of peace and hope.
In the summer of 2022, the artist was awarded a grant through the California Society of Printmakers AIR program to work at In Cahoots Residency (ICR) to complete the Resiliency project for the Art of the Book 2023 exhibit. “While at ICR (In Cahoots Residency),” she said, “I finished carving the linocut. My previous linocut-based artists’ books were printed in black and white and hand colored with watercolor and gouache. During my residency, I chose a different approach to color. I printed elongated, colorful stencil monotypes to be printed under the linocut. The underprints were loosely created with organic shapes supporting the carved linoleum's graphic quality.”
The Art of the Book
Seager Gray Gallery
May 2 to May 31, 2023
Reception for the artists: Sunday, May 21, 4:00 - 6:00
Special Poetry Reading with Charles and Sandra Hobson: Sunday, May 28, 4 to 6 p.m