as most of you know, i have been working on a phenominal collaboration with debrina, lisa j, kim and lisa s called “pulp redux” — it’s an altered book collaboration. due to illness and moving and family in town, kim’s book arrived to me a bit later than the others had received theirs, but i have been working away and finally have the first two pages to share. first though, a slight deterrence. when kim’s book arrived i was so utterly surprised to find four tissue-wrapped gifts inside the box, each a different colour. we were each supposed to pick one. after much hemming and hawing and running my fingers over each of the packets, i picked the blue one. inside, was this most magnificent fabric collage from that sweet lady which contains the quote from her book as well as one of the images:

copyright kim palmer of merlin's musings
now, if you have not looked already, please go see THIS POST and THIS POST and THIS POST to view kim’s book as i received it. so magnificent! (read in reverse order if you want to see it properly sequential)
and to my contribution(s) to her book, fragments, vestiges and remains.
part one of two.
although i am not entirely done with the first two pages of kim’s book, i felt i should post an update nonetheless. when i finish the remaining page(s) i will post a few more updates of these.
in short, this two-page spread is about the portland underground, or shanghai tunnels, which were inhabited by white slavers and other nasty people around 160 years ago. they would kidnap men and women and sell them into slavery, prostitution, etc. on page one, you have della’s story — a young lady who was unsuspectingly snatched, and her sister’s efforts to find her. on page two, a wee bit of history and a trap-door such as the ones the “shanghaiers” dropped people down after nabbing them.
the little glass door is not currently attached, nor is the diary behind it, but they will be tonight. i am first coating a layer of the copper tape with wax, and then carving into it like i do in my wee apothecary bottles.
that stupid white string on the right is NOT supposed to be there.
della’s sister stitched a small red heart onto the page as a tribute to her love for her.
page two displays the darkness of the portland underground. a pocket atop the page holds photos from 160ish years ago.
bottom was fashioned to look like one of the trap doors — or at least function like one. underneath is a history of the portland underground, or shanghai tunnels — which i haven’t written yet.
here are some of the photos:
you can actually read about it and see several more photos here on the pulp redux blog. after doing a long post over there i’m feeling a tad on the lazy side with retelling of stories and reposting of images.
18 comments
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10 February, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Serena Barton
The Portland Underground collages are fantastic! As a Portlander I think you have captured perfectly our noir history–great work!
10 February, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Lisa Jurist
what a great topic… you’ve really captured the essence of Kim’s book. This is just fantastic..love your page designs..beautiful to dark. Your story and designs really draw one in…can’t wait to see this up close. Love that textured fabric with the nails and all the various layers of fabric and elements. You should be quite pleased with yourself…this is outta this world brilliant!
10 February, 2010 at 3:08 pm
remnants
Oh Alicia!!! These are so amazing. You know, I am kicking myself every time I see a post from you or the other artists that I didn’t beg my way into this. I would have gladly gone without sleep nights just to participate so I could see these in person. Both of your pages are mesmerizing with all the details and the overall feel. Love them!!!
10 February, 2010 at 3:09 pm
remnants
Now I’m off to the PR blog to see even more. Hooray! This is so fun!!!
10 February, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Sherry Ball Schoenfeldt
amazing work – now I have to go check out the other pages
10 February, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Seth
These are looking quite wonderful already. That second page really calls my name. Love what you have done there. Maybe one day I will get to see one of these books in person.
10 February, 2010 at 11:53 pm
Marie-Aimée
amazing art work
11 February, 2010 at 6:14 am
Kirsten Löser
What a nice post Alicia! So many great and inspiring pieces.
See you! Kirsten
11 February, 2010 at 7:51 am
Dennis
Great stuff. I need to tell you, however, that you will need to get permission to use the images of the Portland Underground or any information you picked up while on a tour. The material is the intellectual property of the Cascade Geographic Society. Best on your project.
11 February, 2010 at 9:19 am
alteredbits
i’ve actually never toured there so we’re good on that front, and i obtained these photo from someone who took them, had copyrighted them and who has granted me permission to use them. thanks anyway though. 🙂
11 February, 2010 at 9:31 am
Dennis
Nice but unless you have permission from the Cascade Geographic Society it is still considered illegally obtained intellectual property. Illegally obtained information can not be transferred to another person. Your friend, unless they had permission from CGS, had no legal right to copyright the information and therefore could not give you permission to use the images. I would caution you if you are going to publish this information without proper permission. CGS would be happy, I am sure, to give you permission with the correct citation. If you would like the information on how to get permission please let me know.
11 February, 2010 at 9:48 am
alteredbits
it sounds like you’re affiliated with the CGS — if that is the case you can just say so rather than being all illusive and accusatory. otherwise, how would you know if i have permission or not?
yes, according to the photographer from whom i obtained these photos (not a friend — a professional photographer), they had permission from the CGS to photograph and copyright seven of the photos they took while there and use with certain restrictions. an altered book that some chick in portland was making for a friend in austrailia was not one of the restrictions and as a result, said photographer said “sure, no problem — use them.” which i did — heavily, altered versions of the photos, mind you.
i will contact the CGS, no problem, though i felt i went through all of the proper steps as i obtained these from, again, a proclaimed professional photographer who has copyrighted them and claims he owns the photos and all rights, and said he had permission from the CGS.
have a lovely day!
11 February, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Donna Watson
I have been on a trip and see that I have missed a few posts..
what an interesting history you are incorporating into your hand made book– a bit dark– and after living in Portland for 7 years have to admit I had not heard these stories– very intriguing
11 February, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Jill Zaheer
Alicia,
What a wonderful set of new pages for your book. As I wrote in the other blog, your work is just fascinating and just love all of the detailed layering and amazing textures in all of your work. This is such a masterpiece!
12 February, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Lisa Sarsfield
Oh, I love your little collage from Kim! Lisa did some too, we are just too lucky. Looks like we have a potential player for another collab..remnants… I will have to check out their blog!
Nice to see your pages again, you really did do a great job and I really love how you found some horrible history stuff to include. I can hardly wait to turn these pages for real!
11 March, 2010 at 10:37 am
fragments, vestiges and remains: final touches « Altered Bits' Altered Blog
[…] the door opens up to reveal a photo of della, a young lady who was captured in the victorian era of portland, oregon (where i’m from) and taken down into the portland underground/shanghai tunnels and held captive before being sold into prostitution. behind her photo are journal pages from her sister who wrote in attempts to find sollace in her despair. you can read more about it in my initial post on these pages here. […]
25 January, 2011 at 12:57 am
a little haunted « Altered Bits' Altered Blog
[…] this place was one of many that men were oftentimes shanghaied from. you can find those posts here and here. people were killed there too, blah, blah, blah… the place was supposedly so […]
9 February, 2011 at 4:42 am
johanna
do not wonder that i comment on a post that is one year old;)
i found you via OWOH and i´m strolling through your blog… it is pure delight! i love how you work with various media and all the texture you achieve in your artpieces! and i ENVY you for vour recent skeletal finds in that san francisco shop!! i´m a biologist and always love such items… but hard to find! i bookmarked your blog and will return frequently!