Catch these teensy handmade books at Rockland Public Library before show ends January 31


ROCKLAND — “The universe is not made up of atoms; it’s made up of tiny stories.” ― Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Midcoast Maine Book Arts collective, which the PenBay Pilot covered for its first group exhibition in 2018 (see that story here), is back at it again with a Miniature Book Exhibition at the Rockland Library. The imaginative work made by 15 artists has to be seen up close to appreciate how beautiful they truly are.
Miniature books, by definition, are expected to be no bigger than 3" x 3" x 3," something book artist and founder of the collective, Sandy Wiseman, already knew when she visited the Boston Public Library's miniature book collection.
"They have Bibles; they have Shakespeare," she said. "I was amazed. How can you read Shakespeare in a book that's two inches by two inches?"
Wiseman's gallery of miniature books, called "Troubled Books", is a commentary on the obstacles of accessing physical books and a cheeky reference to the foibles of specific authors.
"Thinking about how hard it is to read Shakespeare in that tiny font, I thought, 'What other troubles do we have with books?' Some of them you can't get into ('Imprenetrable'). Some you can't understand. ('Inscrutable.') Some you can't even get the book. ('Out of Print.') Some you just can't get through. ('Interminable.') And some you just can't understand. ('Incoherent — the little book that goes haywire in the back.')
Artist Richard Reitz Smith's tiny folding book was created using tetra pack plates, which are milk carton materials.
"My inspiration for the work is a long accordion panorama of winter in Maine," he said. "The snow, evergreen trees, open spaces, and the sky. So in the bleak mid-winter, there is peacefulness."
For artist Laura DeGrace's spiky miniature book, she said: "When planning my miniature book, I was reminded of the concept of 'glimmers.' Glimmers are small, fleeting moments of joy that bring a sense of happiness, peace, and calm—often found in the simplest of things. In a world filled with constant motion and distractions, I believe we are all searching for these subtle yet meaningful experiences. This idea of finding beauty in the small, often overlooked moments became the core inspiration for my piece."
The Midcoast Maine Book Arts collective meets every other month with more than 55 members. According to Wiseman, the members' main interest is to work toward a collective exhibition.
Members determine the theme and get to work on their individual projects. Since 2018, they've produced work for a yearly exhibition, but due to the collective's popularity, this year, there will be three.
Find the Midcoast Maine Book Arts on Facebook, or join to get notices of meetings and exhibitions by emailing sandy.weisman2@gmail.com.
Note: the photos only represent a few of the members' work. Visit the library's glass display cases to see them all.
Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com