JUSTARIP Press ~ New Jersey
(Maryann Riker)

Balance
By Maryann Riker
Phillipsburg, New Jersey: JUSTARIP Press, 2007. One-of-a-Kind.

4.375 x 4.2" x 1.375". Mixed media sculptural work with found objects and collage. Cloth-covered box with paper collage lid and edges. Top cover opens to a single opening: recto a shadow box with pull-out drawer.

Maryann Riker: "This piece influenced by this philosophical nugget from the Tao incorporates that which is seeking and that which is known.That which is seen and that which is hidden. And, it is the balance that is struck."

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: "Ever desireless, one can see the mystery; ever desiring, one sees only the manifestations. And the mystery itself is the doorway to all understanding."
$275

Looking Again 2
By Maryann Riker
Phillipsburg, New Jersey: JUSTARIP Press, 2007. One-of-a-Kind.

5.375 x 4.5 x 2". Mixed media sculptural work with collage and found objects. Cloth covered box with paper collage lid and edges. Top cover opens to page with window opening, which lifts to reveal shadow box.

Maryann Riker: "The immutable cycle of life is what it is...life, no life, life. All things come and they go. Life materializes in a variety of forms but at some point ends. Coming and going seems to be a temporary condition...but look again...it the ultimate constant because it never ceases."

Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: "Things flourish, each by each, only to return to the Source ... to what is and what is to be."
$325

Games
By Maryann Riker
2006. One-of-a-Kind.

6 x 6 x 1.5" lidded cloth-covered box divided into two sections. One side houses a small book, the pages of which suggest a checkerboard and open tab-style. Playing cards, poker chips, and scrabble letters abound. Two dominoes reveal further secrets when flipped.

Maryann Riker: “A checkerboard page setup designed by Michael Jacobs is the premise for this book. This book speaks about strategy, tactics, and chance. Having worked in Advertising and Public Relations for a number of years, this book is a tribute to those people who create strategies and tactics to make the consumer buy what they don't need. It's also about the politics of the marketplace and the power of the medium. But, when all is said and done, it's nothing more than mere chance or a lucky roll of the die to make the consumer buy.”
$375

The Watchers
By Maryann Riker
Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Maryann Riker, 2008. One-of-a-Kind.

3.5 x 3 x 1.75" house-shaped sculpture with Jacob's ladder hinging. Collage. Found objects.

Maryann Riker: "The Watchers watch...oh so carefully to keep things in the correct balance. A small house book structure that can open 360 degrees using a Jacob's ladder hinge allows the viewer to position the work to view different sides at different angles. The windows can be viewed through simultaneously creating a layered affect. Parrots watch as each other may make the next move in upsetting or keep the ‘balance.’ Visual symbols may provoke the viewer to create associations that allow for the keeping of the balance and that tells the story here. Enjoy! "
$165

Time Out
By Maryann Riker
Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Maryann Riker, 2008. One-of-a-Kind.

5.5 x 5 x 2.5" house-shaped sculpture with Jacob's ladder hinging. Collage. Found objects.

Maryann Riker: "Time Out is a house structure that can open 360 degrees using a Jacob's ladder hinging mechanism. The viewer can open the work to create new views that can be viewed inside as well as out. Based on Einstein's theory of relativity, time flows and there are many moments that can exist simultaneously in parallel dimensions. A glowing orb sits collecting moments for the parrot to view ... a vision into the future ... who can tell and see what moment the orb wishes to present ... other parrots ponder symbols and objects ... do they create their moments ... do they wish them away ... do they become prisoners of their own time? Or do they all experience these things simultaneously? Only they can tell."
$375

In the Company of...
By Maryann Riker
2006. One-of-a-Kind.

7 x 5 x 2.5" decoupaged box accented with beads, feathers, mirrors, and flowery pink wallpaper.

Riker is a mixed media artist whose handmade books are sculptural and visual. This work does have a spine, pages that turn, and text (but in the form of images rather than words).

Maryann Riker: "Soft whispers, subtle hues, and scented bouquets fill this artists' book with the images of a woman reclining in confidence. She offers us a world of roses and looking glasses..We can see her as she wants us to see her, looking out at the world without fear, beckoning us to join her in this safe abode."
$375

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Into the Blue
By Maryann Riker
Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Maryann Riker, 2008. One-of-a-Kind.

3.625 x 1.875 x 2.25" Mixed media sculptural work with collage and found objects. Cloth-covered box with paper collage lid and edges. Top cover opens to page with window opening, which lifts to reveal shadow box.

Maryann Riker: "Based on the song Beyond the Blue Horizon, this piece speaks of what awaits for me: A journey with a happy ending? A sojourn with a spiritual intent? And, does the traveler dare to take the hand and follow where it may lead? Each of us travels differently."
$165

Blue Horizons
By Maryann Riker
New Jersey: JUSTARIP Press, 2007. One-of-a-Kind.

5.375 x 4.5 x 2". Mixed media sculptural work with collage and found objects. Cloth covered box with paper collage lid and edges. Top cover opens to page with window opening, which lifts to reveal shadow box.

Maryann Riker: "Being creative means trusting your inner calling, ignoring criticism, judgment and releasing resistance to one's natural talents. Without fail, it reveals its presence...without fail it journeys to its own perfection...and then the creative muse whispers to the creator to let go. As one gazes towards the blue horizons, one realizes to just sit there right now...don't do a thing...just rest...and it shall follow."
$325