“The Secret Garden”

The art of painter and found object artist Patricia Hartnett is on display on the first floor at Central Library for the month of June.

We asked Patricia a few questions about her work:

How did you get the inspiration for this work?
I collect books and I’m a painter. So this was a way of combining my love of books and art. Very often the book is the inspiration for a piece of art. I love to create small intimate pieces of art that can been held in the hands and books lend themselves well. It’s also a way to recycle books and give them a second life as art. I have great respect for books and I only use discarded or damaged books for my art.

How long have you been working with books in your art?
I started altering books into art about 3 years ago. The first books that I altered were antique hymnals that I found at the thrift store. They were lovely, well worn books with navy blue and gold covers. They had a nice feel and smell. I thought about how many hands had held them books in song over the century, no doubt many of those worshipers were gone now. So I sealed them shut and embedded paintings inside niches that I carved through the covers. I’ve altered many books since then. I love how versatile they are.

What are you working on next?
I paint every day in my studio. I usually have a painting or two in progress. My art book projects are a nice diversion. Lately I’ve been working on art journaling and also building some art book shrines. The book shrines are assemblages that contain a small book with them. A couple shrines are one display currently at the library.

You can view more images of Patricia’s work on our flickr page, or come into Central Library and see it in person.