An Alice Clockworks Story in the Round

Artist: Sue Roddis

Blog Post: JABBERWOCKY

Location: Splits time between UK and Kazakhstan

I'm a big fan of the altered artwork featured on JABBERWOCKY. With a blog title like that, you know that talented artist Sue Roddis is an Alice fan through and through.  She began this amazing creation as an entry for the Oh, Alice! challenge to use bling, but it took a bit longer to make than expected and she missed the deadline. Well, I am so proud to say that Sue gave The Altered Alice permission to feature her "mixed media steampunk book/necklace/thingy" which is, indeed, indescribable.

Take a look:

Click to enlarge

She began by fan-folding two sections of a book, a process she describes in her blog post. She also utilized actual clockworks and a real watch. Steampunk style cogs and gears are stamped at the base of the vertical backdrop. I absolutely LOVE the way she continues her use of book text from the base up into the main piece.  

As WONDERful as this piece is, why does it belong here in WONDERLAND? It is difficult to see, but at the very heart of this piece, suspended from the post of the main clockwork component, is a hand crafted Alice pendant!  It is in the shadow of the clock gears, but I think you can catch a glimpse in this photo:

Click to enlarge

The base of the Alice pendant has a winged clock gear with a bit of bling in the center, and an actual watch is dangled from the bottom.  I can almost hear the patter of the White Rabbit's feet as he races away, worrying about being late to meet the duchess, as that is the book illustration this aspect of Alice is taken from. His fear of being late also ties in the clockworks theme quite nicely!

Sue is also a published author, and you can also puchase her book, titled "Handmade Decorative Books - A Passion for Paper" from most major venues.

Sue recently went to see the Lewis Carroll's orginal hand written and illustrated copy Alice's Adventures Under Ground, which is housed in the British Museum! I'm so jealous but also glad she shared her experience with us!  It is also fun to see the original Alice was sketched as a brunette!  Thanks to Lenny's Alice in Wonderland site, you too can see the original pages or purchase your own hardcover facsimile. Not nearly as exciting as Sue's trip but better than nothing!

Please visit Sue's JABBERWOCKY blog post to leave her some love and compliment her on this indcredible creation. There are many more photos from all angles, and she tells us how she made the wonderful book base. I snap up dictionaries and old books at the Library sale every year and I love using book pages in my projects, but Sue has inspired me to start incorporating whole books!!!  I know you will see Sue's artwork featured again on The Altered Alice.

Sue, please grab the Featured Artist blog badge. I hope you will display it on your blog and link it to the blog or to this post! Thanks again for letting us share this WONDERful creation!

Readers, thanks so much for visiting The Altered Alice. This is a new endeavor, so please consider adding the badge to your blog to help get the word out and/or posting about The Altered Alice to share with your own readers!

"Curator" of The Altered Alice