“Steampunk Flight” by artist Kathleen Rice, part of her “Altered Books” collection of artwork. Rice will be showing an exhibition of her recycled and embellished books at the Southside Art League’s Off Broadway Gallery from July 3 to 31.
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Books have always been known to have magic within their pages.
This is something entirely different.
Curled and folded pages and accents become an ornate chapel in the mountains with doves circling around it. Another creation unfolds with hot air balloons and mechanical gears in an ode to steampunk innovation. Ruby red and pink hearts combine surround a checkerboard floor in a Valentine’s Day motif.
For artist Kathleen Rice, her book-based creations are painstakingly crafted to inspire wonder.
“I consider it making little crafty things rather than making fine art. But that’s fine,” she said. “For a long time, I was much more serious about my art. But I think you get to a point in your life where, it might not be the same as it was before, but it keeps my happy and gives me pleasure.”
Rice’s collection of art, “Altered Books,” take center stage through the month of July at the Southside Art League’s Off Broadway Gallery. The recycled and embellished books depict scenes full of whimsy and fun-filled detail, making each one a visual adventure for viewers who come across them.
After a lifetime doing varying types of artistry, from painting to illustration to dress-making, Rice is proud of these creations that infuse a bit of light-heartedness into art.
“I hope they take some joy from it. A lot of them are rather nostalgic, so hopefully they see something in it from their past and a little memory they can hold on to,” she said.
Rice’s experience in the art world is as varied as it is impressive.
“Growing up, I was always interested in art. I guess I had a gift for it. In school, I was known as the class artist, being asked to do different things for students and teachers. So it was almost like it was mapped out for me,” she said.
The lifelong resident of Indiana earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana State University in fine art. As a student, she represented her school in the Miss America Pageant — as her talent, she presented a skit on dress design, and won an award for “Most Talented.”
After school, Rice went into art education, teaching for Indianapolis Public Schools, the Indianapolis Art Center and IUPUI. The bulk of her teaching career, though, came for Center Grove School Corp., where she worked in various roles for 25 years.
“I’ve done a lot of different things,” she said.
Outside of art education, Rice worked as a painter, but also an illustrator, muralist and doll artist. She traveled around the country painting murals for Chi-Chi’s, the Mexican restaurant chain.
One of her largest commissions came from the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
“That was an exciting one to do,” she said. “The only problem was, after that, I started getting a lot of commissions to paint things on walls. That was a little bit out of my wheelhouse. I was doing a mural on gym wall, up about 20 feet in the air on scaffolding, and after that job, I decided to move away from that.”
The interest in her Altered Books stems a chance encounter in the local Red Dog Books. Rice was speaking to one of the women working there who had made folded book art.
“They weren’t embellished like the ones I do, but they were really kind of cool. I thought they were so neat. I bought a couple of her books, just to look at them,” she said. “I started looking around and doing my own. They turned out to be really fun.”
Unlike much of the other art Rice had made throughout her career, these works were less serious and more easy-going.
“It’s fun, it’s creative. But I don’t call it ‘fine art.’ They’re not like the paintings I’d done,” she said. “I didn’t have to set the world on fire with these; I just wanted to do some things that are fun.”
Part of the appeal of the artwork is the flexibility it affords her.
“I can kind of pick it up and put it down as I choose,” she said. “I’m not going to sell all of these and make a lot of money, there’s no illusions in that area. But they are fun, and people have enjoyed them. I’ve given some talks about it.”
“Altered Books” will hang in the Southside Art League gallery from until July 31. Rice will host an open-house reception from 6 to 8 p.m. July 12, where people can meet the artist. Light refreshments will be served.
AT A GLANCE
“Altered Books”
What: An exhibition of recycled and embellished books by Kathleen Rice, a lifelong artist and former Center Grove School Corp. art teacher.
When: July 3-31
Where: Southside Art League Off Broadway Gallery, 299 E. Broadway St., Greenwood
Gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday
Reception: Rice will host an open house reception from 6 to 8 p.m. July 12. Light refreshments will be served.
