Bessie Smith Moulton ~ Maine

Artist Statement: My artist books explore a wide range of themes...many inspired by my travels. In some way they all investigate my main interest in origins: of words, religions, colors, foodways and many other things we often take for granted. Unlike many artists' books, which have immediate impact on the viewer, my books ask to be read and pondered. They are intended to illuminate and inform but also to invite the reader into a greater mystery. I find the artist's book ideal for my personal expression--as if my background, education and experiences led me to this medium.

Taking the Soup
By Bessie Smith Moulton
Falmouth, Maine: 2007. Edition of 10.

7 x 4.75 x 2.5" hinged box. Lid image of a hand holding a mug of soup under the shadow of a cross. Title and closures handmade of brass. Introduction pasted in interior of lid. 23 cards: 3 divider cards; 20 individual stories on 6 x 7.5" cards, folded to 6 x 3.75". Photograph illustrating the story printed on the front of each card. Printed on an Indigo Press.

Bessie Smith Moulton, Introduction: "Nearly every social event, whether it is two family members sitting down together or a lavish wedding celebration, a business meeting at a sushi bar in Japan or a church gathering, is around food.

"Each culture uses food to heal, celebrate, nurture, honor, welcome, commemorate, bind, sanctify, control, or even wound.

"Because food is our most basic necessity, it bonds us to each other and to the earth. Throughout history good has had power and meaning beyond the mundane. Whatever the association, food as a symbol, as connection, power or weapon, most of us experience food on more than one level.

"Taking the Soup is a collection of food stories I have written and illustrated with my photographs and drawings. Looking at the origin, myth, ritual, or history of foods that we often take for granted may add another dimension to our appreciation of what we eat.

"This book is dedicated to the day when each person on this planet will have enough to eat. Twenty-five percent of the sale of each boxed book in the edition of ten will go to a charity organization working toward that goal."

In the form of a recipe box, with each recipe card containing a food story. The stories are divided by subject cards: Food as Metaphor, Connection or Power & Weapon, etc.
$1000

Tunisia
By Bessie Smith Moulton
Falmouth, Maine: 2003. Edition of 25.

8.5 x 8.75"; 56 pages. Fonts: Body text is Journal; initial cap is ExPonto. The artist's handwriting made into a font named Dewie Guru. Printed using an Indigo Press on Mohawk Superfine paper with pages of varying heights. Hand-bound into a leather folio opening in the reverse. Title stamped in gold foil.

Bessie Smith Moulton: "A montage of drawings, photographs, and journal entries illustrate my travels through Tunisia nd the Sahara; presenting an uncommon view of its colorful history and people:

"Like the multicolored pieces that make up the mosaics dotting its landscape, Tunisia itself has a rich and varied composition. Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Spaniards, Turks, and more recently the French contributed to its unique character, although the Arabs and Phoenicians provided the corner-stones of its national identity.

"Perched at the top of North Africa, below the Strait of Sicily, crossroads between Europe and Muslim North Africa, Tunisia could not escape being drawn into the turbulent history of the Mediterranean.

"Its own history reads like a colorful novel: jousting Berbers, dressed in robes the color of red earth; an army traversing the Alps on elephant back; holy prayers echoing from the top of minarets; the unrivaled color and patterns of a Berber woman's dress, tattoos and rugs; the mysterious contents of thousands of urns at the Tophet of Tanit in Carthage; sacred prostitutes; holy marabouts; people called 'troglodytes;' subterranean Roman villas serendipitously protecting the original, early mosaics which tell us tales like the pages of a picture book; desert caravans; snake charmers; souks and mosques; Roman baths; curse tablets; the coliseum at El Jem."

Pages of varying heights and widths to allow images to interact among the pages. Hand-bound into a leather folio opening in the reverse, with a flap to protect it from the dust of the desert, in the tradition of an Arabic book.
$900

Saint Maximon
By Bessie Smith Moulton
Falmouth, Maine / Guatemala: Bessie Smith Moulton, 1999. Edition of 10.

8.25 x 6.5 x 2" hinged wooden box. Metal title plate on front of box. Left interior of box shadow box (votive) constructed of found materials (dried beans and corn etc). Book: 7 x 5.25"; 16 pages. Printed on Renaissance Duo archival paper with archival inks on Epson Stylus 2000P. Bound in leather, hand stitched, pamphlet style. Set in Trixie with embellishments in Cezanne. Oration pasted to right interior lid printed in English and Spanish.

Bessie Smith Moulton: "While traveling in Guatemala I was introduced to the worship of a local saint who is said to be a blend of ancient Mayan gods, a fierce conquistador of Guatemala and the biblical Judas. A custom-made wooden box on one side houses a black, leather-bound book with a red foil, die-stamped title. The book contains iconographic representations of the dark saint of Guatemala, including photographs of his place of worship and translations of Spanish orations. The images and text illustrate the power of 'St. Simon' and the reverence of his devotees.

"On the facing side of the box is a copy of an authentic votive, generally made by a curandero (medicine man) from talismanic materials readily available to the local worshipers. The votive is covered with a piece of hand-blown glass framed in lead. When the book is removed, it reveals an oration, which guides one through the use of the box as an altar."
$1000

Bibelots
By Bessie Smith Moulton
Falmouth, Maine: 1996. Edition of 13.

4.75 x 4.75 x 1.75" clamshell box housing three 4 x 4" books. 23 Sins: 52 pages bound in black linen with a red foil stamped title; hand stitched pamphlet style. Sui Spiritus: 20 pages bound in black linen with a silver foil stamped title; black and white images; letterpress printed on Mohawk Superfine paper; hand stitched pamphlet style. 13 Superstitions: 13 pages, bound in black linen with a mat-black foil stamped title, hand stitched pamphlet style. Combination of handset type, polymer plates and blind embossing.

23 Sins

Bessie Smith Moulton: "23 Sins was created in 2002 for a book competition in Lithuania. I chose to illustrate the given theme usin the simplest graphic symbols which encourage the viewer to participate by deciphering the pictograms. The leading character on most pages is a red or black dot. Although the treatment is simple it delivers a deeper message.

"Arshile Gorky wrote, 'Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes ... to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind ... an exploration into unknown areas."

'3 Sins is an edition of 23 but 13 have been set aside for this edition of Bibelots.

13 Superstitions

Bessie Smith Moulton: "It has been said that to practice magic is an attempt to control the supernatural world. Although, I was raised in a strict Baptist tradition my paternal grandmother's Scottish/Celtic beliefs infiltrated our lives through my Father's superstitions. Each day was laced with sayings, talismans (from rabbit's feet and horseshoes to four leaf clovers) and rituals which straddled both worlds. There were times we were unable to reach our destination because a black cat crossed our path. This book illustrates 13 of those frequently heard superstitions."

Sui Spiritus

Bessie Smith Moulton: "Sui Spiritus is a letterpress book of images and poems that could be considered incantations and talismans, from the Arabic word Tilsamen, meaning to make marks like a magician.

"Author/artist Georgiana Peacher says, "This book is like a prayer book for a religion of her own making; experience distilled into a symbol, a poem. As a totem maker, Bessie imbues each image with power."

Much is hidden in the symbols. For instance a simple ink painting of an ant surrounded by dots and dashed spells out a message in Morse code (suggestive of the obscure language of ants) saying, "Our wisdom will not be lost." A symbol representing the phases of the moon waxes or wanes throughout the pages, like a flip book, further connecting it with the lunar mysteries.
$725

Eire
By Bessie Smith Moulton
Falmouth, Maine: 1996. Edition of 25.

7.5 x 7.5 x .75"; 24 pages. Printed in Gill Sans on Renaissance Duo archival paper and inks. Blanket-stitched binding. In boards covered with hand-painted paper and black linen spine. Title label on front board is a postage stamp reproduction of the artist's painting of the village of Glen Minard. Housed in black linen slip case.

Bessie Smith Moulton: "Many travel experiences spark my curiosity and lead me on further figurative journeys as I attempt to unravel their mysteries and make deeper connections. I dig beneath surface to find the threads that bind us to the world and to each other. I am drawn to cultures where people still believe in magic. The trivium of nature, religion, and art is often made visible through their rituals and practices.

"Eire, the poetic name for Ireland, is a collection of my writings, paintings, photographs and found quotations expressing a fondness for the people, the place and the mysteries of Glen Minard on the Dingle Peninsula."
$600