Susan Collard

Portland, Oregon

The Winter Palace

For me, Winter Palace suggested something both intricate and provisional. I sawed the front and back covers from a salvaged piece of old tongue-and-groove fir, and inset piano hinges to form the basic structure. Meant to function as a sort of stage set or curiosity cabinet, it contains two removable books with 2" square pages. These are perfect bound with Japanese repair tissue and Tyvek, after a board book structure developed by Hedi Kyle. Materials include reclaimed fir, walnut, birch aircraft plywood, basswood, various metals, glass, mirrors, Tyvek, found objects and paper. 11 x 9 x 6.5 centimeters. Created 2006.

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Susan Collard is an architect and book artist in Portland, Oregon who makes one-of-a-kind collaged and constructed books. She has exhibited work in numerous shows, most recently N x NW : 6 x 6 x 6 at the 2005 Standards of Excellence conference, and The Boys’ and Girls’ Bookshelf, a Denver exhibition of altered books. Her book Life Stories of Dying Penitents received both The People’s Choice Award and First Prize for Use of Found Objects at the Northwest Bookfest in Seattle, 2001. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University and a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from the University of Arizona.