Artists Books

The Artist has a new obsession that he is slowly drawing me into.Our flat is a mess of cut outs and folded bits of paper: origami is his latest porn, I return to a room to find him pouring over sites with diagrams for intricate folds, he quickly closes the laptop guilt oozing from every scrap of paper on the table. Tiny boxes are turning up in the loo and by the kettle. We discuss the pros and cons of  paper types , the advantages of short grain folding for book pages. Folio? Octavo?
This is all leading up to what constitutes An Artist Book - If I say my book is one does that make it so? Does it have to have pages? Are words vital? What else can be used to to make pages?
We both have stashes of books we have made previously, many before we met, in a time when I didn't know such a thing as artists books existed. I made little books for my daughters to amuse them and keep up the pretence that I was still able to be creative whilst full time mummying. This in turn leads me to question whether (how) one can be an artist and a mother; more folds and layers; turning corners debate, debate......  I fold a paper chooser with my choices hidden. Mummy? Artist? Wife? Baker? Gardner? Decorator? Chauffeur? Slob?
The Artist gives me a little book with his thoughts: An Artist's Wife?