Crane Designs

Crane Designs ~ Arizona (Marian Crane)

Interview with Marian Crane
Artist Statement
Artists' Books by Crane Designs

Folk Floral By Marian Crane Tempe, Arizona: Crane Designs, 2011. One-of-a-Kind. 3 x 1.5 x 1"; 40 pages.. Pages of cotton and linen with machine stitched edging Coptic bound in wooden boards. Titles and illustrations on front boards. Finished with polyester tassels and glass beads. Marian Crane: "Purpleheart wood covers with printed cotton and inked linen in Edwardian and Craftsman-inspired patterns." $225	Click image to enlarge


Chandler, AZ. By Marian Crane Tempe, Arizona: Crane Designs, 2010. Edition of 2. 2 x 2.5 x 2"; 32 pages. Coptic-bound. Woodburned and painted oak covers. Finished with polyester tassels and glass beads. Marian Crane: "Stylized desert landscapes in appliqué cotton batik alternate with inked cotton street maps of the industrial and residential areas in and around Chandler, Arizona." $210	Click image for more


Glass Flowers By Marian Crane Tempe, Arizona: Crane Designs, 2010. One-of-a-Kind. 2.25 x 1.5 x 1"; 6 leaves. Miniature accordion fold. Net appliqué pages embroidered with glass flower beads. Painted leather covers secured by bone closure pins. Each side of this new miniature from Marian Crane is a tiny world of fiber art. On one side are the glass flowers – embroidered pages with beads forming flowers. On the reverse framed by painted leather are the backs of those net appliqué pages. These as well have a delicate beauty. Holding the pages so that the light falls through shows delicate blue patterns. $75 (On Hold)	Click image for more


Secret Heart By Marian Crane Scottsdale, Arizona: Crane Designs, 2008. Edition of 2. 1.5 x 1.5" miniature. Star structure. Hand painted wooden boards with waxed thread closure. Marian Crane: "Two tiny books fold out to reveal hidden pockets [where one could insert] messages or photos. Valentine hearts in acrylic paint accent the felt pages and wood covers." $70 (Last Copy)	Click image for more


Crane Designs Out of Print Titles:

Rain Chain By Marian Crane Scottsdale, Arizona: Crane Designs, 2008. One-of-a-Kind. A scroll 2.25" high (beadwork makes it 4.5); extends to 21". Linen, acrylic paint, cotton thread, glass, polyester, osage orange wood spindle with rubbed beeswax finish. This painted and embroidered scroll was inspired by a few lines from the early 19th-century poet, Thomas Lovell Beddoes: "Tell me how many bead there are in a silver chain / of evening rain / unraveled from the tumbling main / and threading the eye of a yellow star / so many times do I love again." (SOLD)	Click image for more

Permafrost: A Lament By Marian Crane Tempe, Arizona: Crane Designs, 2007. One-of-a-Kind. 2.25 x 2.25 x 1"; 12 pages. Miniature. Pages of linen, cotton, ramie, and polyester thread. Bound in white and marble lucite acrylic with cotton and bead tassels. Text: "A layer of soil that remains frozen year-round, locking away / carbon dioxide, methane, and water / Hold back early spring / Frozen brown earth traps an ancient poison. / This book is made of, or with, hydrocarbons / Nylon spun from crude oil/ Linen processed by coal-derived Hungarian electricity / Italian Lucite designer belt buckles / And glass smelted in Chinese furnaces / Pretty, isn't it?' Marian Crane: "All too often, modern craft artists champion the use of found and reclaimed materials, on the merits that they are preventing such material from going to waste. However, that material was already extracted and processed using finite energy and resources. I have no idea if craft artists are part of the solution or the problem, but we should not be blind to the ultimate price of our craft." (SOLD)	Click image for more

Winter Dawn, 6:45 am: a city a road By Marian Crane Tempe, Arizona: Crane Designs, 2011. One-of-a-Kind. 2 x 3 x 2"; 32 pages. 16 coptic-bound pages of appliquéd linen and hand-marbled cotton with orange linen thread. Woodburned and painted oak covers featuring a cityscape. Painted leather and purple-heart wood clasp. Foredges tasseled with polyester threads and glass beads. Marian Crane: "Inspired by an early-morning March road trip into Denver, Colorado, the pages contain an abstract impression of the busy city's streets, signs, and skylines." (SOLD)	Click image for more

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