Original work, photo courtesy of Jody Alexander
In 2016, I was selling my naturally dyed fabrics at the Squam Art Fair when the inimitable Jody Alexander stepped up to my table and purchased some of my fabrics.
Original work, 2016, part of KEEP: Modern Library. Photo courtesy of Jody Alexander
Lo and behold, a handful of months later, Jody published her first book, The Boro Aesthetic and graciously let me know that she used my fabrics in a few of the pieces featured in her book. Quite tickled, I've ordered my copy and can hardly wait to savor every delicious page!
To properly introduce Jody to my readers, and because I certainly can't say it any better, with her permission I've "borrowed" Jody's profile page on Blurb Books:
"Jody Alexander is an artist, bookbinder, librarian and teacher who lives and works in Santa Cruz, California. She binds books with found and discarded papers and fabric in a number of historical and modern binding styles, and rescues discarded books and gives them new life as scrolls, wall pieces and sculptural objects. Her pieces celebrate collecting, storytelling, and odd characters. Her characters, books, sculptural pieces and found items are often combined to create installations.
She has taught book arts at San Francisco Center for the Book, The Center for the Book in New York City and University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work appears in a number of publications including Masters: Book Arts: Major Works by Leading Artist, 500 Handmade Books, and 1000 Artists' Books: Exploring the Book as Art.
Jody is the 2015 recipient of the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship."
Original work, photo courtesy of Jody Alexander
In addition to being a working artist and a librarian, Jody teaches workshops all over the world. I'd love to spend a day in her company, learning from her and seeing her work in person. For those of us unable to make it to a workshop, Jody offers incredible online bookmaking classes at Creativebug!
To follow along on her textile journey, see a broader range of her work or purchase any of her collector-worthy books, you'll find links to her blog, Instagram feed and each of her three incredibly beautiful books here:
Original work, photo courtesy of Jody Alexander
Now that our long hot spell in upstate NY has just broken, I'm ready to fire up the oven and try this delicious looking recipe from Ina Garten. It's her Crispy Mustard Roasted Chicken, and I'm looking forward to it this weekend!
Do you have a favorite recipe you make the moment fall arrives? Tell me about it in the comments below - I'm on the hunt for new tasty meals!
As always, I enjoy connecting with you, so please say hello on IG or in the comments below.