Shelagh Smith
Natural Transformations: a portfolio of paper decoration evocative of natural phenomena
Portfolio of five back-to-back papers decorated by the artist, housed in a wrapper; traditional and contemporary decorating techniques: marbling, paste-paper, dyeing, sponging, spattering, sprinkling, pulling, throwing, painting; Colophon watercolour marbling colours on caragheenan size, oxgall, wheat starch paste, methyl cellulose, acrylic gel, watercolours, iridescent acrylic paints, vegetable dye; Hahnemuhl Ingres and Strathmore Charcoal, and other papers.
Folder: 24.7 x 20 cm x 6 mm; sheets: 23.9 x 17.7 cm each
Artist's Statement: The sheets in this portfolio are titled: Snow/Sleet; Ice Crystals/Spring Ice Break-up; Rain with Puddles/Fog; Early Spring/The Garden; and Heat/The Richness of Autumn. These papers are not representational, but are intended to evoke reactions associated with changes in weather and the seasons. Every Canadian probably has a list of their own that evokes these same feelings.
Shelagh Smith has been a professional bookbinder, paper decorator, and marbler since 1980. In 1983 she became the founding president of the Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild, serving in the position for several terms, and has continued as its managing director since then. For the past five years she has been experimenting with a combination of many paper decorating techniques on a marbled paper base with much enjoyment and ever changing and developing results. She is particularly fond of the use of incompatible materials
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