The Future: Education for Girls and Women (Altered Book)

The 11 two-page spreads in this book create a visual tableau celebrating the ancestors and traditions of Ghana. 

Proverbs (nuggets of wisdom and a key to understanding African life) accompany the collages. Additionally, a few illustrations from Speak to the Winds: Proverbs from Africa (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1976) are incorporated with the numerous photographs I took while in Ghana. The book celebrates the importance of educating children- especially girls-because that has the  greatest impact on eliminating poverty in developing nations. (World Bank: Investing in Education for Half a Century)

I have well remembered John Marsden’s poem Prayer for the Twenty-first Century since it’s publication in book form in the mid-90s. I wrote and spoke about the power of this book to educators before Y2K and beyond.  

The horror of 9/11 and other worldwide atrocities since then have sent me back to Marsden’s book time and time again. Free of religious messages, the prayer addresses modern anxieties with the universal hope for a peaceful future. May the young (and old) read this poem through the coming years and be inspired to not repeat the mistakes of past generations, but to use wisdom to make a better future for mankind.

​My altered book is not a replacement for Marsden’s book. It is my personal expression of his poem and the impact it has had on me.

Zen + Tangle  This book includes a combination of Zentangle definitions, quotes about art and drawings to explain the roots, mechanics and process of creating tangles following the Zentangle Method®. The last two sections celebrate the Buddhist tradition of mindfulness and creativity, which a meditative state often sets free. (Japanese Orihon/Accordion Book (6.5"x4.5" with 20 "pages" going in both direction)