Back in my old Facebook days, I used to post a pun every day. Really bad ones. Anybody guess that my blog's name is a pun? Days of Books, Book of Days, get it? I told you the puns were bad. 

One of the earliest known Books of Days was also an artist's book, leading me to today's blog topic: what the heck is an artist's book? 

"Artist's book" refers to a work that takes the book structure and goes way outside the box with it. The  art is usually 3-dimensional, might contain several book formats in one art piece and often challenges our idea of what a book “should” be. 

Although an artist’s book can take many forms, from western traditional bound books, to wherever the artist wants to go, many book artists use a few common elements. I lean towards including telling a story or poem in my artist’s books when I use a wild and crazy format, but then go with abstract art when I create a traditional journal style.

Check out some examples of books I’ve made over the years. Then go forth and make your own.

In Freedom’s Work  above, I used a Coptic-stitch journal format. It is on display at Front Porch Gallery in Carlsbad until January 9^th, 2026.

 

Who remembers Pluto? is an Altered Book that began its existence as a Little Golden Book about the Solar System back when Pluto was still considered a planet. It will be on display June 1-July 30, 2026 at the Rancho San County Library.

Spring, 2012  an accordion (sometimes called concertina) paper book with hard covers. I sold this lovely (back in 2012) but I'll be teaching how to make it in 2026, at least twice.

Joker Horse uses the same accordion format as Spring 2012, but no paper at all. The materials are up-cycled metal, cork, electronics. The list goes on. It will be on display May2-June 10, 2026 at the Fallbrook Center for the Arts.

Until next Sunday, take care.

Good Sunday, the second one of my ditching Facebook and moving back to my Days of Books blog.

I love collaborative efforts. And I'll take collaboration wherever I can find it: with another artist, an animal that walks across my still-wet paste paper, a printed book that I have altered. The list goes on. This past weekend one of my grand nieces, also an artist, suggested that she and I could do collaboration sewing that we would mail to each other across the country. I LOVE this kid!

A couple of art seasons ago, I was invited to be in an exhibit of collaborative art, and I could pick my own artist to do the work with me. Enter my friend, fused-glass artist  Jacqueline Bridge  Her glass, my sewing and we have "Kendi". We even wrote him a back story:

"Kendi is a young musician. His family roots reach to the Biafran area of Nigeria. He is well known to music-lovers for his hit call-and-response duet “Calm Down”, with its signature line “and that’s the risk you take”.

Now fast-forward and I am still inspired by the stories of Nigeria. Below is "She wears History on Her Head".  Four strands of her hair end in small artist's books that describe aspects of the country now called Nigeria, from pre-colonialism to the 21st century. 

She is on display at Front Porch Gallery in Carlsbad https://www.frontporchgallery.org/ until January 8th, 2026. Please go check her out. 

Facebook has failed again. 

I'm done with it. Better I go back to blogging and posting art images here. 

A renewed learning curve, but I'm up for it. 

So today's image is REAL. 

Art + Alternative Facts = ???

Oh, my heavens. If that recently coined phrase, "alternative facts" isn't an inherent "Call to Artists", I don't know what is. 

The merger of art with "alternative facts" has a tradition literally going back millennia. 

Remember these guys?

The Terracotta Army from the late 3rd century BCE? Believed to be created under the rule of Qin Shi Huang shows us a boatload of alternative facts, starting with "They will accompany me after my death". Well, who am I to say that's alternative? Maybe they did. (Names of the estimated 700,000 artisans involved in the installation's making are lost to us.)
State-sponsored 20th century propaganda posters, aka alternative facts art, may arguably be among the most significant tools for influencing public opinion in the Soviet Union. They gave rise to the art movements Constructivism, Suprematism and, later, Socialist Realism.

 Artist unknown

Alternative facts of a different nature kicked in when this famous beauty by Klimt, shown restored to her owner, kicked off an international lawsuit over it's provenance. Seems the Austrian's icon, kind of equivelent to France's Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty in the U.S. was obtained through, well, state-sponsored theft by Nazi Germany. Yikes.

 "Alternative Facts, the exhibition" I'm thinking we need it. Who's in?

Days of Books is Back

O.k., I took a loooonnnnggggg blogging vacation, right? Enough. I'm back at it, with pictures and words and ART. Regarding the words part, I'll keep them to 300 or less. Well, hold-on. Maybe more if I'm blogging an on-line lesson. You're o.k. with that, yes?
As for pictures, no holds barred. Since I last was blogging, I got a smart phone with a really sweet camera. Rocked my world.
See me here. See me on Facebook. It's all good.
Happy 2017

Selfies Rock My Art World

Recently I became the proud owner of an iPAD mini, a big step for me given my firm, but often paralyzing, belief that whatever technology is out there, I can buy it cheaper if only I just wait.  Essentially, this has turned out to be true, but in the waiting, I’ve missed out on using some fine techno-advancements. Well, so be it.

Back to the iPAD. Last fall I was showing it to my two-year old grand-niece. Both her parents have iPhones. Bet you know where this is going. Yep, Ms Thang, who still speaks in 2-3 word sentences, is all over the selfie-taking capabilities of Auntie Néna’s new toy—even taught me some tricks. And learned to use the simple editing functions in the iPAD after two demos. Just call her the Cropping Queen.

I have long been fascinated by selfies. Even before the term made its way into the Oxford dictionary last year, I was keeping an eye out for unique examples of self-portraits that used any photographic technology. Timers, mirrors, window reflections; I’ve been a sucker for all of them. Since getting my iPAD, I’ve learned that there are “sub-genres” of selfies such as “Went there, Saw that” and Went there, ate that” to name but two. Who knew?

Until the iPAD joined my studio, I was exclusively interested in selfies taken by others, and I basically still am. There are some fine, creative Selfographers out there, and I’ve loved their ego-art for years. For Selfie which opens February 8^th, I reviewed over 1500 images asked for boatloads of permission, and have pulled together 20 examples by 15 Selfographers whose crazy-strange sense of the world, and themselves in it, put some pizazz into my imaginings.

Selfies Curated by Renée Richetts, with Selfographers B. Binkowski, B. Hambelton, V. Huckins, J. Love, A. Magana, Michayla, C. Nguyen,  B. Plummer, R. Plummer, A. Robertson, P. Richetts, R. Richetts, S. Richetts, and

K. Richetts-Nguyen will be on display at:

Richetts’ Space, 262 E. Grand Ave, Escondido CA 92025.

Hours are Tuesday,  and Thursday-Saturday (closed Sunday, Monday and Wednesday) 1100-4 p.m.

February 8- March 29, 2014.

Opening reception February 8^th, 5:30-8p.m.

2014: A Show in the Midwest Every Month-It Can Be Done!

I've been living in the Chicago Northshore for just over a year and have managed to tuck a number of quintessential Midwest experiences under my belt. 
The WINTER, yes, yes, there's always that. But these days what comes more to mind for this 4th-generation California transplant is the bounty: the public art which is over-the-top amazing, the people who are genuinely friendly and kind, the nearby forest reserve that is a constant source of four-legged and feathered visitors, and every time I take the Metra into The City, where I feel like the world is my oyster. 3 monster-sized Dick Blick outlets? Free music in Millennium Park? Eye-candy everywhere you look along Michigan Avenue? Bring it on!
Throwback trip down memory lane to 2001. I decided I needed to up my art career game in the West, so I made myself commit to having art work on public display, in an exhibit,  every day of 2002. S.e.r.i.o.u.s.l.y. hard to do, but the results in terms of work produced, what I learned about the business of art, and the contacts I made were incredibly positive.
Fast forward to next year. I'm feeling the need to do a repeat, kind of. Basically, I know that if I want folks out here to have a sense of my art, I need to get hopping. Expect work on public display in the Midwest every month of 2014. That's the plan and I'm sticking to it. On-line posts won't count. Gotta be real work at a physical address. 
Fortunately, January and one day in February are set
(http://theartcenterhp.org/exhibits/future-exhibits January 10 – February 1st, 2014 Opening Reception: Friday, January 10th 6:30-9:00pm), and February/March is about to be juried.
Wish me luck.
TTFN,
Renee