1. Cawley, Crystal. 100 Burning Houses [book
art]. Portland, ME: 1995. Unique Work. Materials:
Watercolor paper, watercolor, markers, metallic thread.
Black cloth boards. Small 8vo. (4463) $1,100.00
In the artist's words: "One of a number of
books based on a vivid, haunting dream, possibly fueled
by an overdose of Leonard Cohen poetry (“all
your houses are burning”...)." In a period
where a fair bit of "book art" is glib, Cawley's
work is subtle and engaging. Where much is to be seen
once, enjoyed and forgotten, Cawley's begs "rereading",
as with each rereading one is able to trick out another
nuance...another wee tale. Cawley is emerging as a
fresh and sophisticated voice in American book arts.
2. Cawley, Crystal. Family Portrait. Portland,
ME: 2002. Unique Work. Materials: Victorian photo album
with drawer and stand, old photographs, various papers,
mica, embroidery, photocopy transfer, graphite, collected
objects. Mounted oblong 4to with drawer in base. (4429)
$3,500.00
In the artist's words: "This wonderful object
was discovered in a musty antiques barn by my partner.
I put it out in the sun and air for almost a whole
summer, to get the fusty smell out of it. The front “doors” were
off so I made the leather hinges, and I also did the
embroidery on the outside. The photos and objects inside
are of my own family, and anonymous people found in
antique stores. Please read the poem on the first few
pages, which ends, 'I only perceive the strange idea
of family traveling through the flesh.'" In a
period where a fair bit of "book art" is
glib, Cawley's work is subtle and engaging. Where much
is to be seen once, enjoyed and forgotten, Cawley's
begs "rereading", as with each rereading
one is able to trick out another nuance...another wee
tale. Cawley is emerging as a fresh and sophisticated
voice in American book arts.
3. Cawley, Crystal. History of Modern Art [book
art]. Portland, ME: 2007. Unique Work. Materials:
Altered book (History of Modern Art): book covers,
shredded pages, picture frames, wire mesh, collage,
black waxed thread. Framed 8vo. (4465) $5,500.00
In the artist's words: "There was something
wickedly satisfying about shredding the pages of this
book, which had been someone's (not mine, but it could
have been) college textbook-pink and yellow highlights
and handwritten notes throughout. I used all parts
of the book-the label on the frame is the cutout from
the front cover. This piece is from a new series of
altered books that are framed somehow, called “Books
Do Furnish a Room,” from the title of a novel
by Anthony Powell, part of his A Dance to the Music
of Time series."In a period where a fair bit of "book
art" is glib, Cawley's work is subtle and engaging.
Where much is to be seen once, enjoyed and forgotten,
Cawley's begs "rereading", as with each rereading
one is able to trick out another nuance...another wee
tale. Cawley is emerging as a fresh and sophisticated
voice in American book arts.
4. Cawley, Crystal. House of Lost Things [book
art]. Portland, ME: 2002. Unique Work. Materials:
Tracing paper, photocopy transfer, embroidery, cast
paper covers, acrylic paint and matte medium. Burgundy
paper boards. 32mo. (4461) $750.00
In the artist's words: "One of two small house-shaped
books address a similar theme, that of what gets lost
through the years. The photographs are from thrift
and antique stores, images of people that no one now
remembers." In a period where a fair bit of "book
art" is glib, Cawley's work is subtle and engaging.
Where much is to be seen once, enjoyed and forgotten,
Cawley's begs "rereading", as with each rereading
one is able to trick out another nuance...another wee
tale. Cawley is emerging as a fresh and sophisticated
voice in American book arts.
5. Cawley, Crystal. House With Ghosts [book
art]. Portland, ME: 2003. Unique Work. Materials:
Various papers, embroidery, collage, old photographs,
ceramic covers, acrylic matte medium. Rust ceramic
boards. 32mo. (4460) $750.00
In the artist's words: "One of two small house-shaped
books address a similar theme, that of what gets lost
through the years. The photographs are from thrift
and antique stores, images of people that no one now
remembers." In a period where a fair bit of "book
art" is glib, Cawley's work is subtle and engaging.
Where much is to be seen once, enjoyed and forgotten,
Cawley's begs "rereading", as with each rereading
one is able to trick out another nuance...another wee
tale. Cawley is emerging as a fresh and sophisticated
voice in American book arts.
6. Cawley, Crystal. Ledger. Portland,
ME: 2005. Unique Work. Materials: altered book (late-1800s
concordance), beeswax, book cloth hinges. 4to. (4428)
$2,500.00
In the artist's words: "I found this book
at our public library's spring book sale, and was attracted
by its size, weight, and subject. I've always thought
a concordance a very strange kind of book, reflecting
a somewhat obsessive/compulsive approach to words.
Not only did this particular concordance list all of
the occurrences of words like angel and wheat, it also
included listings for words like “it” and “an,” and
I still can't think why that would be useful to anyone,
but perhaps usefulness is not the point. I carved out
the two compartments and used melted wax to solidify
the remains of the book into a sturdy container. I
folded the cut out pages into sections (four sheets
each) and put them back into the compartments. The
inside front cover resembles an ancient wax tablet,
the kind that would have been used for recording an
inventory of grain or other commodity. I made it by
carving out a shallow rectangle in the cover and filling
it with black wax. I “wrote” into the wax
several times, remelting it or adding more as needed.
The word ledger has several meanings: account book,
a flat slab of stone covering a grave, a horizontal
timber in a scaffold." In a period where a fair
bit of "book art" is glib, Cawley's work
is subtle and engaging. Where much is to be seen once,
enjoyed and forgotten, Cawley's begs "rereading",
as with each rereading one is able to trick out another
nuance...another wee tale. Cawley is emerging as a
fresh and sophisticated voice in American book arts.
7. Cawley, Crystal. Oblivion [book art]. Portland,
ME: 2006. Unique Work. Materials: discarded library books,
waxed linen thread, rug-hooking canvas. Yellow cloth
boards, custom slipcase. 8vo. (4459) $950.00
In the artist's words: "This book was so quirky
and inexplicable in its original form that it almost
didn't need to have anything done to it, however I
think drilling holes in it did improve it. When it
was first done, the drilling caused the pages to be
stuck together; as it has been read and handled, it's
become more splayed and unwilling to close completely." In
a period where a fair bit of "book art" is
glib, Cawley's work is subtle and engaging.
Where much is to be seen once, enjoyed and forgotten,
Cawley's begs "rereading", as with each rereading
one is able to trick out another nuance...another wee
tale. Cawley is emerging as a fresh and sophisticated
voice in American book arts.
8. Cawley, Crystal. The Prison of the Past. Portland,
ME: 2006. Unique Work. Materials: antique cash book covers,
various slivered book pages, copper wire and tacks, handmade
copper chain. 4to. (4427) $3,250.00
In the artist's words: "I had this beautiful
old cash book in my box of old books and book parts
for several years. I read the phrase “prison
of the past” in a book I was reading (can't remember
what now) and it stuck with me. Back when books were
rare, and mostly one-of-a-kind, they were chained to
shelves with slanted tops, where one could read them,
but not take them." Cawley is speaking, of course,
of the "chained libraries" that existed in
Europe from the Middle Ages through the 18th Century.
Most were reference libraries and the books of significant
value, the chains kept the books...and the knowledge
bound therein...safe and secure. In a period where
a fair bit of "book art" is glib, Cawley's
work is subtle and engaging. Where much is to be seen
once, enjoyed and forgotten, Cawley's begs "rereading",
as with each rereading one is able to trick out another
nuance...another wee tale. Cawley is emerging as a
fresh and sophisticated voice in American book arts.
9. Cawley, Crystal. Slate Wood Stone Water:
Portland Book Suite. Portland, ME: Artist
Book, 2006. Unique Edition. Slate: Flag book with cut
and torn handmade paper shapes, painted with acrylic,
paper covered boards, letterpress title label. Wood:
Accordion book variation with hand-cut, paper-covered
boards and letterpress title label. Stone: Accordion
book with painted, shaped pages of watercolor paper,
paper-covered boards, letterpress title label. Water:
Flag book with handmade paper, watercolor, paper-covered
boards, letterpress label. Box: Paper-covered board,
letterpress label. Hardcover. Fine in Fine Custom Box.
(4724) $2,500.00
In the artist's words: "I love living in Portland
for lots of reasons; this piece celebrates some of
the more visual ones. Almost every day, I come to a
spot where there's a breath-stopping view of water,
or an astonishingly large old tree, or a building with
a spicy array of architectural doodads, and I think
happily to myself, 'I live here.'" In a period
where a fair bit of "book art" is glib, Cawley's
work is subtle and engaging. Where much is to be seen
once, enjoyed and forgotten, Cawley's begs "rereading",
as with each rereading one is able to trick out another
nuance...another wee tale. Cawley is emerging as a
fresh and sophisticated voice in American book arts.
10. Cawley, Crystal. Stone Heart [book art]. Portland,
ME: 1999. Unique Work. Materials: stone, various papers,
acrylic, collage, photocopy transfer, waxed linen thread,
bone clasp. Cream paper box. 16mo. (4462) $750.00
In the artist's words: "I found the heart-shaped
stone and kept it around my studio for several years.
After I took a book-in-a-box workshop, I realized I
had a solution for how to use the stone in a book.
I had a lot of fun poring through old dictionaries
for images and text, and this is one of the first books
in which I used found images and altered text exclusively." In
a period where a fair bit of "book art" is
glib, Cawley's work is subtle and engaging. Where much
is to be seen once, enjoyed and forgotten, Cawley's
begs "rereading", as with each rereading
one is able to trick out another nuance...another wee
tale. Cawley is emerging as a fresh and sophisticated
voice in American book arts.
11. Dwiggins, W. A. Gargantua & Pantagruel:
The Five Books (uncut spine labels only). Limited
Editions Club/Southworth-Anthoensen Press, 1935. Pencil
marks for cutting, else bright and clean. 8vo. 1p.
Illus (color plate). Fine. (2641) $425.00
Possibly the only one of its kind not in an institution.
A stunning addition to a Dwiggins or Limited Editions
Club library. This is a complete, uncut image that
was used across the spines of the five volume Gargantua & Pantagruel
set by Francois Rabelais. Pencil marks show where cuts
would have been made. This plate is especially signficant
because the inks used in producing the labels tended
to fade and there are nearly no bright copies...this
complete image is as bright as the day it was produced.
From the Southworth-Anthoensen Press. A unique and
wonderful item.
