The Book As Art
The Decatur Arts Alliance presents The Book As Art, an annual exhibition that showcases beautifully made volumes, sculptural and conceptual interpretations, and one-of-a-kind approaches to the book format. Â

About the Exhibition
The Book As Art exhibition is produced through collaboration by the Decatur Arts Alliance, the Decatur Branch of the Dekalb County Public Library, and the Georgia Center for the Book with support from the Dekalb Library Foundation.
Exhibition Run: Sep. 12 – Oct. 25, 2025
Location: Fourth Floor Gallery of the Decatur Library
Gallery Hours: Thursday to Saturday, 1-5pm

The Book As Art v.13: Mixed Messages is the thirteenth edition of an art show celebrating books: objects that, in an increasingly digital world, stubbornly survive.
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“Mixed Messages” draws on the layered complexities of language, saying one thing but meaning another. In a world inundated with myriad ways to communicate and connect, messages are muddled, signals crossed, meanings distorted. Ambiguity is the native tongue of nuance. The book, as both object and idea, holds space for these contradictions.
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The objects in this exhibition should interpret the concept of the book and invite the viewer to look beyond the printed page to where ideas, words, and symbols are transformed and transfigured. Artists are challenged to embrace the dualities and paradoxes of communication—to celebrate the static and the shifting, the familiar and the foreign, the clear and the cryptic.
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The Book As Art series seeks to showcase beautifully made volumes, sculptural and conceptual interpretations, and one-of-a-kind approaches to the book format.
2025 Exhibition Events
Opening Reception
Friday, September 12, 2025
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Be the first to experience this unique exhibition with over 50 artworks from across the United States.  Join us for an Opening Reception on Friday, September 12th from 6:30 – 9:00 pm and enjoy light refreshments while visiting with fellow art lovers and some of the featured artists. Access the gallery by using the rear entrance nearest the parking deck for this after-hours event.
Artist Talks
Graham Cassano
and Ashley Kauschinger
Monday, Oct 20th
Doors: 6:30 pm
Start Time: 7:00 pm
End Time: 8:00 pm
Join us for an Artist Talk & Reception for The Book As Art v.13: Mixed Messages as we head into the final weekend of the exhibition. This will be a great chance to see the show in the evening (outside of gallery hours) and enjoy some light refreshements. We will listen to two of the artists talk about their work, Graham Cassano and Ashley Kauschinger, and we will also enjoy music provided by Graham’s band Blue Pontiac. See you there!
White Glove Day
Saturday, October 25, 2025
1:00 – 5:00 pm
Interested in a more intimate experience with the artworks?  You’re invited to the “White Glove Day” on Saturday, October 25th between 1-5 pm for the opportunity to interact with participating artworks.  Gently turn the pages, explore, and engage with the one-of-a-kind works of art.
Gallery Prizes & Purchase Awards
Each year, jurors select three “best of show” artworks that are awarded with a cash prize of $1,000 for first, $700 for second, and $500 for third place. An award is also granted in memory of Dot Moye, who was instrumental in the development and facilitation of The Book As Art exhibition for many years.
Gallery Awards
Savannah College of Art and Design Purchase Award
Check back soon for more details...
Over 50 artworks comprise The Book As Art v. 13: Mixed Messages exhibition. Find more information about the unique artworks from across the United States below, and follow these links to download the full exhibition catalog with artist statements or the consolidated price list. See an artwork you love? Submit a purchase request during the exhibition run using the form below and a Decatur Arts Alliance staff member will be in touch to complete the transaction. Titles with an asterisk (*) indicate that artwork has already been purchased.
Caught in the Crosshairs
by Patty Kennedy-Zafred
Murrysville, PA – 2022
Bookmaking/Printing/Fiber. Hand photo emulsion screen printed images on hand dyed fabric; digitally printed images overdyed, machine quilted, machine stitched binding techniques, creating a two sided accordion book.
64 x 12 x 12 inches
*Photo Credit: Larry Berman
$2,500
Caught in the Crosshairs
by Patty Kennedy-Zafred
Murrysville, PA – 2022
Bookmaking/Printing/Fiber. Hand photo emulsion screen printed images on hand dyed fabric; digitally printed images overdyed, machine quilted, machine stitched binding techniques, creating a two sided accordion book.
64 x 12 x 12 inches
*Photo Credit: Larry Berman
$2,500
Pat & Judy
by Rachel Simmons and Ben Rinehart
(Juror Invitational Work)
Orlando, FL – 2025
Letterpress and digital prints on paper and vellum, with typewriter text enclosed in two engraved acrylic box houses. Each house contains five flexagon structures: cross, square, single-sheet, tetra tetra, and magic wallet. Edition of 20.
9 x 6 x 6 inches (closed); 5 x 5 x .125 inches (open)
$1,800
Pat & Judy
by Rachel Simmons and Ben Rinehart
(Juror Invitational Work)
Orlando, FL – 2025
Letterpress and digital prints on paper and vellum, with typewriter text enclosed in two engraved acrylic box houses. Each house contains five flexagon structures: cross, square, single-sheet, tetra tetra, and magic wallet. Edition of 20.
9 x 6 x 6 inches (closed); 5 x 5 x .125 inches (open)
$1,800
Nevada Still Lifes
by Suze Woolf
Seattle, WA – 2024
Accordion-fold book of 8 paintings from Great Basin National Park residency, all with human and natural detritus. Covers are Ponderosa bark and smoked acrylic, backing iron-oxide-dyed fabric. Sean Petrie poems hand-lettered on abaca fiber overlays.
11.25 x 81 x 4 inches
$2,800
Bryan Christopher Baker
Bryan Christopher Baker is a letterpress printmaker. He received his BFA in printmaking from Ohio University, and MFA from the University of Tennessee. He has taught classes and workshops at Arrowmont, Ox-Bow, Penland, The Center for Book Arts (NYC), UT Knoxville, Signal Return, The Arm, Clarion University, and the College for Creative Studies. Bryan moved his family and studio, Stukenborg Press, to Georgia not long ago. He is currently teaching classes at the Atlanta Printmakers Studio. He has been doing traditional letterpress work for over twenty years, specializing in the use of hand-set type to create custom posters, limited edition prints, and various other kinds of ephemera. He is known for doing projects that utilize other materials on his presses; mainly shapes cut on his table saw and actual dice. Printing directly from physical objects on the bed of the press, his designs capture the visual interactions of many simple shapes on the page.
Anne Meyers DeVine
Anne Meyers DeVine has worked with the rare book collections at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia since 2003, where she plays a central role in fostering research, teaching, and engagement with the library’s rich holdings. She collaborates closely with university faculty to create meaningful learning experiences for students through hands-on interaction with rare books and manuscripts. In addition to her outreach efforts, Anne is responsible for acquiring printed and manuscript materials that support the library’s mission and reflect the evolving needs and interests of the academic community and beyond. A particular focus of her work has been the development of Hargrett’s fine press and artists’ books collections—one of the library’s notable strengths. Under her guidance, this collection has grown not only in scope but in depth, with a concentrated effort to include a broader and more inclusive range of voices. Through her thoughtful curation and commitment to representing a wide range of perspectives, she tries to ensure that the Hargrett Library’s collections remain relevant, dynamic, and accessible to a broad audience of researchers, students, and book arts enthusiasts.
Rachel Simmons
Rachel Simmons is an artist and educator in Orlando, Florida, specializing in book arts and printmaking. A Rollins College faculty member since 2000, she founded and directs the Rollins Book Arts Collection, which supports student learning and research. Simmons actively promotes artists’ books through leadership roles in the Book Arts Guild of Central Florida, Orlando Zine Fest, and CBAA The Association for Book Art Education.Â
Driven by a deep curiosity about a wide range of topics including creativity, astronomy, philosophy, and nature, Simmons often ponders unanswerable questions in her work. Her artist’s books are housed in prestigious collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Newberry Library, and the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, as well as numerous university collections across the United States. She enjoys curating exhibitions focused on book art. In 2024, she co-curated Critical Reading: Book Art in Dialogue with the Collection at the Rollins Museum of Art. Her current curatorial project, Printed & Bound: Contemporary Book Artists and the Press, opens at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in 2025.
Click on the volume logos to view the corresponding catalogue of exhibited works. Visit the Georgia Center for the Book Youtube channel for even more content – including author talks and virtual tours.