half stories

one half of the story. bowl made from concrete and book pages. Ines Seidel

to see the inside
of your story
or the other one,
you have to open them.

two half stories. concrete and book pages. Ines Seidel
I have covered two paper bowls (with text from a found book in Spanish) with concrete. One of them has a bronze varnish on the outside.

They remind me of fruit. Stone fruit, with a hard skin. But when you cut the fruit open, you find no stone inside.

weaving

three woven stories by Ines SeidelConverting stories and joining them to form new patterns has something conciliatory and healthful to it. The new stories that are created through weaving with wool acquire a warm and soft quality. They are not told for differentiation but make bonds.
woven story with feathers by Ines SeidelThe story with feathers talks about longing: longing to be free as a bird, being able to fly and leave the limits of a familiar horizon. I used strips from songs and from a book about the history of spaceflight in combination with the feathers and wool.
The woven story with twigs is all about growing and greening. Maybe it is just a story about spring. woven story with twigs by Ines SeidelIf you want to see more woven pieces, check out this woven selfie at flickr and a pattern from weaving plastic bags.

growing on

the story goes on - Ines Seidel

once the promises are covered with moss
soon grass grows all over this story,
later there will be dandelion, clover,
a flock of sheep and
who knows what else will grow
where words were planted
*

pattern (detail) - Ines Seidel
The book out of which a story grows and greens will be part of a new installation that I am working on. The hand sewn net with paper circles will get longer still and it will climb up the wall.

*the poem in the German original is slightly different in meaning

Departure of Books

signs of departure by Ines Seidel I’ve started to alter books again. I want to show the book as a temporary state of halt, before the next movement sets in.

The starting point for “signs of departure” have been a few cracked eggs which I altered with Indian ink and scraps of text. The moment of breaking the egg, the departure itself, is already over, but it can still be deduced from the shells that are left here.

signs of departure on egg shells by Ines Seidel

The second altered book is ready for departure. It has packed its valuables into a bundle. The most important thing for the new adventure has been placed at the top, where it is easy to access. And that “und” – German for “and”.
packed and ready to leave by Ines Seidel

Memories of an earlier departure influence the third book that is undergoing transformation. I transferred a photograph of a stack of wood – complete with marks for further processing – to the left side. The pattern of stacked circles and marks repeats on the pages on the right side. What the next processing phase will bring is yet unknown.
pattern of preparation by Ines Seidel

The astonished book

The astonished book - detail
The book
Got older
And into the cellar
Nine years of hope
Motionless, in yellow
End abruptly with a yearning
for simplification:
To rip out pages
Separately, in sections
Wordwise, folding the cocoon
Nine months or hours
Later, with the first sun ray
Opens slowly
The binding und releases
A tender and still unguarded
Little letter
o
The astonished book - Ines Seidel
The poem from March 2013 led to the astonished book which had a different name before its transformation.