Book 6  Patterns Penn, C and Kraus, C. (2008) (Fig 4). Patterns. Unique collaborative artist’s book. 22 double sided pages Mixed Media including drawing, painting, printed acetate, fabric. Signed and dated by the artists Cheryl Penn and Charmaine  Kraus. 30cm x 41cm. Book 6. Collection: Cheryl Penn.

Charmaine Kraus was one of my students who agreed to work with me on a collaborative book.  I began a book by painting A3 pages in acrylic paint, loosely  inspired by the work of Mark Rothko.   I had rescued two books depicting fashion through the ages from a paper recycling factory and Kraus decided to paint items of clothing from these books.    This rather haphazard collection of little paintings needed some sort of narrative;  I began by sorting the clothing into the year it was made.

As the book consisted of twenty one pages,  I  bought a 21 piece pattern (a representative pattern of all the clothing).  The pattern was attached to the back of the paintings, along with fabric samples which referred to the material of the clothing.  In order to add another layer of meaning,  I researched the wars that occurred during each of the years the clothing had been made.  This became a symbol of the ‘patterns’ of men and woman.   The book took eight months to complete.

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