Pat Schad is a book artist whose work spans the old and the new.
Pat makes origami books — handmade folded gems of brightly colored paper with covers made from original papers of her own design.
Her other specialty is altered books. An altered book is an artistic transformation of well-used and weathered old books into something of a piece of art. Pat’s altered books often contain drawers, pockets, pop-ups, hardware and other surprises. It’s no surprise that Pat’s interest in transforming old artifacts led her to her latest project.
Pat’s studio is part of Atelier on Bay, studios and gallery in the renovated upstairs of Beaufort’s historic Lipsitz Department building. During the renovation of the building, old linoleum was ripped from the floors, uncovering local newspapers dating to the 1940’s. Knowing that she could incorporate these artifacts into her work, Pat recovered as much of the linoleum and newspapers as she could. Today, if you visit Studio 8, you can see the results.
Pat calls her latest works “Lipsitz historic journals.” Each journal is covered with patterned papers that are reproductions of the designs of the salvaged linoleum. A whimsical binding holds the blank journal pages on place. But not all pages are blank: Tucked randomly between pages you will find some of those old newspaper pages (copies, of course!) Each book is unique and a part of Beaufort’s colorful history.
Atelier on Bay is a unique studio and gallery space that offers a variety of original art for purchase, as well as the opportunity to visit with 14 different artists as they create in their studios.
Atelier is located in the heart of historic downtown Beaufort, 203 West Street, just off Bay Street and upstairs of the old Lipsitz Department store.
