River of Grass

The semester is over & it means a flood of students come to the library to study for finals, and then they disappear like a magic act. This semester is particularly special at the JCBA because it was the first employment of the Helen M. Salzberg Artist in Residence program. Our AIR this semester was Dorothy "Dot" Krause, an accomplished painter, collage artists & bookmaker. During her residency at the JCBA, Dot created a limited edition book titled "River of Grass," which relates to the Everglades.


The book turned out beautifully & holds complex, layered images of the Everglades from the past that appear to glow. That is the power of the images in the book: they seem to emit some kind of light. The images come from her research & layered the images digitally & with the letterpress here at the Center. It is a portfolio style book & the pages are housed in a saddle brown handmade paper envelope that contains a mahogany tree seedpod closure, which I think is genius.

Dot was truly a welcoming force of creativity & enthusiasm who seemed to cherish the mission of the JCBA & she fitted in very smoothly. We hope to see her around more & she made a great, first Artist in Residence. You can follow Dot & her continuing work at her facebook page.