Upcoming show in Pittsboro! Opening reception on Sunday, April 6th

I Ching #64: 'Unfinished'

After an unusually wintry winter here in North Carolina, today the air had a distinct smell of green to it. Not the green beer of St. Patrick's Day (although there may still be a whiff of that around), and not yet the visible yellow-green tinge of pine pollen in the air. Just the first, barely noticeable taste of Spring. And the much more noticeable increase in temperature to 70 degrees.

With Spring this year has come an exciting opportunity. My work and Lisa Gilbert's work will be featured in a wonderful little gallery in downtown Pittsboro called Liquidambar. Here are details:

• Where: Liquidambar Gallery and Gifts, 80 Hillsboro St., Pittsboro, NC
• When: The opening reception will be part of Pittsboro's First Sunday celebration on Sunday, April 6th, from 2-4 p.m. 
• When else: The show will be up for a nice, long, two-month run from Sunday, April 6th through Sunday, May 25th.
• When else else: There will be another reception on the First Sunday in May, too.  Sunday, May 4th, from 2-4 p.m.

I'll be showing a mix of work--old and new, artists' books and handmade blank books of different kinds. Depending on space constraints, the giant Book of Mister Miracles may make another appearance, along with his smaller cousin Doctor Mister Miracles's Guide to Miracle-Making: A Manual (Abridged).

2 copies from the 5-copy original edition of Doctor Mister Miracles's Guide
 to Miracle-Making: A Manual (Abridged)

I've also just had a larger edition of DMM'sGtM-M:AM(A) printed, which I'll be picking up from the printshop tomorrow. It consists of scans of my favorite version of each page from the original edition compiled into a new version and digitally printed. It's my first foray into publishing a larger edition (100 copies) that's neither print-on-demand nor an open-ended edition of handmade copies, and I'm excited to see how it goes.

There will be copies of Surf Book #3 at Liquidambar, too, as well as copies of I Ching #64: 'Unfinished.'

I Ching #64: 'Unfinished', open

There's other new work in the works, but it's not quite ready to be photographed yet. A scroll inspired by the flooding Haw River, painted using water from the river itself; and a new book in the I Ching series: I Ching #3: 'Difficulty.'  

I'll see if we can't post some photos of the newer work before the show opens, but if we don't, I hope you'll come out to Liquidambar and be surprised.

Mr. Miracles begins...

When you haven't heard from me in a while, you can assume I've been busy in the studio...

The past couple of weekends have been big for the Mister Miracles giant book project! (Click here for a reminder of what the project's all about and to see what the empty giant book looks like...)  Last weekend Rio did a 24-hour-long drawing blitz to create panels for it, and this weekend I've been putting together the large panels for the front of the book.

Have to get back in the studio to continue working on it, but here are some teaser photos of the first panel, which will be the book's title page!

The (Blank) Book of Mr. Miracles

We're starting to get some ideas about what Mr. Miracles will do to change the world. For example, it has been suggested that he creates The Infinite Ham Sandwich which he then donates to a food bank; that he enables people to select produce that is always of the perfect ripeness; and that he will be responsible for something called The Miracle of the Unmurdered Children.

Before you start to feel giddy with a sense that we have enough material, though, let me assure you that we're going to need more. Because, this...

...is the book we need to fill. Oh, and this:

The Book of Mister Miracles is going to fill this hinged, room-dividing screen, which is six feet tall and six feet wide (when fully opened).

The front of the book (seen in the top photo), consists of four large, blank panels that will be filled with one continuous piece illustrating Mr. Miracles' interventions in the world. Think "Hieronymus Bosch meets Looney Tunes." The back of the screen is divided into small, comic-book-like panels:

It will feature episodes from Mr. Miracles' adventures in comic format. If you're counting, there are 336 panels on the back.

So yes, continue to send us your stories and ideas! They don't have to be detailed or fleshed out--part of the fun of it for us will be filling the gaps in what you tell us. And we will keep sharing what we get from you.

Feel free to send us your input any way you like--in the comments below, by contacting me or Rio directly, or by emailing us jointly at mistermiraclesproject@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Mr. Miracles prompts

As you help us to get the ball rolling on what Mr. Miracles can do in the future, it would probably be helpful to know a little bit about what he's done in the past.

I've made several books and collages about Mr. Miracles (originally known as Miracle Man) over the past 15 years or so. They've been ephemeral little things like booklets of altered postcards and drawings on white styrofoam cups. Mr. Miracles' first act was to stomp on a city, Godzilla-style, but that was in his moody adolescence. He has matured, reformed, and dedicated himself to doing good in the world (although he still has his mischievous side...)

I don't have many images of Mr. Miracles' past acts to share with you because they were mostly given away to friends, but below is a collage showing the beginning of one of his frequent explorations of the afterlife. He's the guy on the bottom left in the walrus mask--he looks a little different than usual because he's in disguise.

So keep all of this in mind as you help us to brainstorm about Mr. Miracles' life and times.

See the original blog post for more ideas. Please send us your input either in the comments, or by emailing us at mistermiraclesproject at gmail dot com.

Thanks for the ideas so far, we look forward to hearing more from you, and will share more soon!

Help us with our next project: Mr. Miracles

We've got many projects a-brewin' here at Blue Bluer Books, and there's one in particular that we need your help with.

I'm working with Rio Aubry Taylor of Light Riot to create a large-scale, one-of-a-kind artist's book for a group show in December. We're soliciting your help in developing the content for it.

The book will feature a character named Mr. Miracles, who is capable of whatever you tell us he is capable of. We will gather your stories into a crowd-sourced mythology or hagiography, recounting how the life and adventures of Mr. Miracles changes the world as we know it.

So tell us...

• What can Mr. Miracles do? 
• Who are his friends, supporters, and antagonists? 
• What are the titles of some of his most famous adventures, achievements, or parables? 

You don't have to go into great detail--we'll work from what you give us. Most importantly, tell us, if a little egg-shaped man with stick-figure arms and legs and a funny hat were to waltz into the world with the power to change it, what would change look like?

You can drop us your ideas in the comments below, or by emailing us at mistermiraclesproject at gmail dot com.