Books, articles, catalogs: eight pages of wonderful titles. This is the bibliography from 1976, which means that I spent many hours in the library or at my desk writing up notes, then returning these treasures to their appointed shelves.

This post reflects the fact that the 2012 book is done! Laid out and nearly ready to share. Happiness, indeed. My first impulse when I began working on this project, in 2006, was to buy whatever titles I could find and read them all thoroughly, then reflect in detail on their content and qualities, while assessing my current thoughts against my first encounters.

Did that happen? Nope. It might not be a huge surprise, but I am not a historian, a philosopher, or an art critic. Just a visual artist who likes to write occasionally, is a voracious reader (the Borg of the printed page), and has a substantial history as a professional editor. This combo has proved to be a wild ride that is synthesizing nicely. It brings me great satisfaction and, I hope, a measure of joy to you, too.

Images and words by Catherine Rutgers © 2012