Mary Patton

I use the historical practice of bookbinding to create a contemporary dialog of questions. In this mechanized world, where books are made by machines, and read from a digital device, I question the future of printed matter. Are we left with refuse? If how a book is read no longer matters, does the way it is made matter? Is the tactile presence of material important? It is important to continue historical ways of making?

Each stitch is a held breath in anticipation of answers to these questions. It is my belief that the how of making; of the process, is a valid form of content. Text and image are not alone necessary for the book form to be interesting.

The malleable quality of stitches paper is an exciting thing, lending itself to be stretched, compressed, and twisted while remaining completely joined and still recognizable in form as part book, part sculpture.

© Mary Patton