The Stuff of Everyday Magic is an adventure through the terrain of artist Madelaine Corbin's research, practice, and notes supporting over two years of portfolio pieces. This non-linear path traverses an incomplete history of blue to the imminent loss of this color in our greening seas and graying skies in order to offer the idea that the climate crisis is also a crisis of color. Corbin considers a constellation of questions about the seemingly simple elements of the everyday—from cornflower-spotted fields around, to the Detroit Salt Mine below, and the sun hovering beyond our blue sky above. Along this trail of vast ideas, artworks guide the way. Questions take root (and soil asks them) while the sun exhales, and values are composted while a version of hope is fertilized. Here, blue, salt, plants, soil, dust, wishes, and gifts compose the stuff of Corbin’s everyday magic.

Details:
Length: 264 pages
Language: English
Publication date: November 11, 2020
Dimensions: 6 x 9 x .75 inches
Cover: Softcover
© 2020 Madelaine Corbin

“Since I met her, Madelaine Corbin has been teaching me what art is. Some of us may love art, may find it beautiful, but this book cracks the soul of what it means to be an artist wide open and shares it with us. It's equal parts history, science, poetry, the ethereal and the earthbound, and serves as a lesson in the ways that creating art is not simply aesthetic, but a way of interacting deeply with the world around oneself in an effort to understand it. One of the hallmarks of Madelaine's work, at least to me, lies in her principled view of the need to make art accessible, removing the pretension and elitism from the culture surrounding it so that everyone can participate in the work, and this book is a perfect example of that. It's precise in its language, clear and approachable, while still being eloquent; she draws the reader into her artistic process and shows us it through both the stunning photos and the thoughtfully chosen words. This book can remind us that art is not only an expression of emotion, but also a way of presenting and interpreting reality, truth, and fact; Madelaine's depth and breadth of knowledge regarding her materials and their origins inform the pieces she creates, and this book gives us a more complex eye into exactly how. Not to mention, the book itself is its own work of art; the colors, images, and text are beautifully designed to enhance our understanding of the content. Thank you for sharing your mind, your process, and your work with us through this story!”

- Avery J. Unterreiner