What Katy Did 2014

What Katy Did
Concertina book  2014

Susan Coolidge’s 1872 novel follows the adventures of 12-year-old Katy, a headstrong and untidy tomboy who is forever getting into mischief, then feeling remorseful afterwards. However she wishes to be good and kind, and dreams of doing something ‘grand’ with her life. When an accident makes her an invalid, her recovery teaches her to be the girl she aspires to be. This artists book consists of 12 double-sided panels: one side made from pages of the original book with words removed to reveal underlying possibility, the other side with new words on a blank slate describing ‘what Katy did’. Together they represent a story rewritten. The panels are bound with twine into a freestanding concertina using figure-of-eight stitch. The twine ends are left long and loose, allowing the playful movement, collision and change that describes young Katy’s life.

What Katy Did won Biblio-Art 2014 (judged by Deborah Klein and Essie Warmuth) and is on permanent display at Blarney Books and Art in Port Fairy, Victoria.

Upcycled book pages, Japanese rice paper, bookcloth
Measures 100 w x 120 h x 80 d mm closed, 1140 mm long fully extended