Debra Disman

Artist

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Handmade Books

Community Bookmaking Workshop at the Brentwood Art Center!

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Join us to create the fun, innovative and versatile flag book structure and learn “found writing” techniques to take the anxiety out of the writing process.

Learn to fold an accordion spine, attach covers, and add multiple flag book pages which create a pattern and move and groove when the book is opened and shut. Discover the artist, writer, designer and collagist within and learn essential bookmaking skills at the same time.

Open to all ages. Children under six should be accompanied by an adult. Register now!

“All Stitched Up”

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I am thrilled and honored to be showing my work “Prairie”  in “All Stitched Up”
An international juried book arts exhibition
September 3rd – December 11th, 2019
September 14th – opening celebration
Collins Memorial Library University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA

“To stitch is to join together, to mend, or fasten as with stitches – to sew. To stitch is to bring together fabric, paper, wounds of the body, or cultural divides. Stitching can be an act of healing, hope, practicality, creativity, and revolution. All Stitched Up recognizes and celebrates the work of book artists’ where stitching has become an integral part of the visual design. Curators Catherine Alice Michaelis, Jane A. Carlin, and Diana Weymar will jury the show and a print catalogue will be created.

We are particularly (but not solely) interested in works that showcase collaboration and focus on building a sense of shared community. That may include collaboration between two or more artists, two or more communities, or crowd-sourced projects. Sewing that joins people and ideas link us to historical social and political sewing circles from the abolitionist movement of the 1800s, to the corporate resistant DIY movement kindled by the Riots Grrrls in the 1990s, to the knitting collectives of today that focus on the anti-war, pro-science, and pro-choice movements. In addition, you may draw inspiration from the embroidered books of the Victorian period, the rise of needlecrafts during the Arts & Crafts period, and family traditions of sewing by machine or hand stitching.

This exhibition will include pages from Diana Weymar’s Interwoven Stories project. This includes Refashioning Identity, which was created by members of the Puget Sound community in 2016/17 as facilitated by Weymar.” —All Stitched Up

 

Tunnel Vision

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It was fantastic to teach a workshop on Tunnel Books for families, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The Tunnel Book is comprised of two accordion spines, or “sides”, connected by a “backdrop” and “cross pieces” or frames attached to the accordion folds working from the back fold and moving forward in space.
The mise-en-scène is then created through the addition of images/shapes/materials attached to the crosspieces and creating actual depth of space between them.

Students of all ages employed tremendous imagination and creativity as they “tunneled through” the process of making, adding pop-ups, folds, “doors” and even a “floor” to their works.


The work of our hands…


Tunnel Book “doors” employ illusionistic effects as the image transforms when they are opened.


Heart “balloons” floating up into the “sky”…


A work depicting the perfect day…with drawings of the Calder works in the Directors Roundtable Garden in front…


The artist wants the viewer to finish the sentence!


Happiness, happiness…


One really feels like one is entering a theatrical space here…


This young maker worked very hard to design this piece so that the images moving back in space made sense on all fronts…BRAVO!


And what is inside this book? The structure in front of it is a home for the five-year-old maker’s new pet ladybug!


ROAR!

Art, Theatre, Life and Literature… come together, at our beloved LACMA!

Scroll-making and Paper Marbling Workshop atthe Granada Hills Library!

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Join us for an extraordinary scroll-making and paper marbling workshop in honor of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month!

Everyone is welcome!
All materials provided, just bring yourself, your creativity, and friends and family!

This program is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs

FORMATION at UCLA: The Artists (4)

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“FORMATION”: The Guild of Book Workers 2018-2019 Traveling Juried Exhibition is currently showing at UCLA!

University of California, Los Angeles
Charles E. Young Research Library Lobby Gallery
Los Angeles, CA
March 15–May 25, 2019

“Simply defined by Merriam Webster as “an act of giving form or shape to something,” ‘formation‘ can insinuate process, history, creation, change, beginnings, an arrangement, botany and landscape, personal narratives and impersonal storytelling. As artists, designers and craftspeople with our own histories that form us, we also play a vital role in the formation of objects and experiences; pulp molded into paper, paper folded into books, books shelved into a library.

What is the final product, if not for the methods used to create it? What makes us into the artists we are? What pushes us to continue to create?” –FORMATION

I am extremely honored to have two pieces in FORMATION, The Guild of Book Workers 2018-2019 traveling juried exhibition, with a theme evoking a wide array of interpretations.

In this post, I share my contribution, “Hang Out”, and “Black Hang Out” to the show.

I leave it to you to interpret the titles. One knowledgable artist upon seeing my work asked  if it was “Hedi Kyle meets Eva Hesse?” She may be right. Hedi and Eva, born 1937 and 1936 respectively, in Germany, with vastly different life trajectories., both unforgettable and profoundly impactful during their time, and for future generations. It is a fascinating supposition, and bravo, Karen Schiff for the insight and intuition.

Thank you for taking a look, and please check back soon as I share the work of many other talented artists who grace this Show!

 

 

FORMATION at UCLA: The Artists (3)

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“FORMATION”: The Guild of Book Workers 2018-2019 Traveling Juried Exhibition is currently showing at UCLA!

University of California, Los Angeles
Charles E. Young Research Library Lobby Gallery
Los Angeles, CA
March 15–May 25, 2019

I am extremely honored to have two pieces in FORMATION, The Guild of Book Workers 2018-2019 traveling juried exhibition, with a theme evoking a wide array of interpretations. However, in this series of posts, I will highlight an array of the talented artists participating in the show. What wonderful company to be in!

“Simply defined by Merriam Webster as “an act of giving form or shape to something,” ‘formation‘ can insinuate process, history, creation, change, beginnings, an arrangement, botany and landscape, personal narratives and impersonal storytelling. As artists, designers and craftspeople with our own histories that form us, we also play a vital role in the formation of objects and experiences; pulp molded into paper, paper folded into books, books shelved into a library.

What is the final product, if not for the methods used to create it? What makes us into the artists we are? What pushes us to continue to create?” –FORMATION

 

More to come!