Becky Broun

Book arts/Mixed media – Carrboro

This is one in a series of posts about artists in the Orange County Artists Guild.

What is your medium?

I make handcrafted boxes and books, and my medium falls under the label “book arts.” My passion for this art began with a weeklong book-making class at Penland School of Crafts and I was immediately hooked. I love the tactile nature of folding and cutting beautiful cloths and papers as well as the precision needed to make it work! With boxes and books there are endless possibilities in construction, form and decoration so I never get tired of creating new things.

Do you work with unusual materials?

I have a large flat file FILLED with paper and book cloth, jars of beads and buttons, bins of fabric, and drawers of ephemera and my own collaged bits. There are some unexpected items such as mica, found metal, magnets, keys, stamps, tiny lightbulbs, ball bearings, dried seed pods, rocks from NC beaches –all housed in a cabinet with dozens of labeled drawers!

Describe your process or technique.

All of my pieces begin with a large piece of very dense, acid-free cardboard called “book board” that is the base for all the box pieces and the book covers. I cut this down to the shape and size I need using a board shear. This is similar to a paper cutter but has two large blades. This tool was the biggest financial investment I had to make many years ago, as cutting book board by hand is really tedious! Color, pattern and texture all play a role in my choice of materials. Usually I am inspired by some bit of cloth or printed matter that I realize would look amazing with a certain paper I have. I then begin to imagine the shape it should take. Should it have a drawer and a lid with a magnet closure? Should it go on the cover of a sewn book? This thinking period is what takes the longest in my process and is why my studio floor is soon covered in pieces of paper and cloth as I try to choose the perfect combination of materials! Next I use an acid-free glue called PVA to stick the pieces of book board together into a box shape or, in the case of a book, I fold the paper into signatures and cover the outer boards for covers.

Do you have formal training in your medium?

I was an art major in college and got an MFA in graphic design, but I never like working on the computer nearly as much as I love working in my studio making boxes! Every three or four years, I try to take a class at Penland School or a similar place and this is wonderful, for not just learning new techniques, but sparking my creativity. I am self-taught to some degree because I learn from books or postings online to figure out how to do different book bindings or create new shapes. This helps keep my work fresh!

What are the main subjects in your artwork?

My work isn’t so much about a particular subject as it is about color and shape. There is a Japanese aesthetic to much of my work partly because I use the beautiful, decorative papers from that country. I try to create visual and tactile complexity by introducing unexpected materials to my pieces. I hope to connect to my audience by creating things that attract them for their beauty but also for intimate access to the shape – opening the box to reveal a tiny book, discovering the object housed in a drawer, unclasping the book cover. Experiences like this that go beyond the usefulness of the art.

Do you have a hobby that intersects with your art? How?

I have been trying to get better at embroidery and took a class on “Stitching As Drawing” which was fascinating. The cloth that I embroider or stitch can then be used on a book or box cover. I also have learned gel printing by watching YouTube videos on the process and I add these to my stash of decorative material! I love absorbing these other mediums into my style of work.

Tell us about your studio.

My studio is a room in my house with lots of natural light. It’s the first time I’ve had a dedicated room for my art and one bonus is that I don’t have to clean up as often! It is filled with materials and tools of all sorts, big and small.