art with and within words

i think sometimes the most interesting things can be from something so ordinary. just black and white. it's all about the space used or not used and how its plays around and within.... i don't know, that's just me, i could just be talking shit...what do i know. here's an interesting artist that makes art out of old books. it reminded me of back in a time where i had this book of cross word puzzles and at night once i completed a puzzle, i would draw a picture on top. it was my strange ritual of completing a puzzle. i still have the book..... somewhere......

Recycled words
"I rescue, salvage, and recycle other people’s words.

Browsing through garage sales, street markets and used bookstores I search for interesting, preferably discarded, old books. When I find a good candidate I explore every page. Like an archeologist I hunt for the words that speak to me with new meaning. Intuitively, one word at a time, they turn into a kind of haiku or philosophical poetry that I can call my own.

At some unpredictable point along the way, in my mind, the images start to invent themselves. Using colored vellums, graphite and or India ink to highlight or obscure my words; I create the image of that invention. Though I strive to make each document visually engaging I find it is the words that I value most.

The majority of this work comes from several different copies of The Essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson printed from 1887 to 1927. Something about working with these pages quietly reminds me that a part of our culture is about recycling ideas."

Will Ashford

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