Charlene Matthews ~ California

The Clouds Are Diving
By Charlene Matthews
Los Angeles, California: Charlene Matthews, 2008. Edition of 10.

5.5 x 6"; 11 foldout pages; one front free end page. 12 long pages, each randomly folded in three, cut-up pinhole photos of the desert tipped in randomly. Each book, cut-ups differ. Tight back soft covers. Katmandu paper-covered window screen. Title overtyped. Paper covered wood spine piece with decorations. Housed in a custom clamshell box.

Charlene Matthews: "I discovered Faye in a Men's magazine, TAB, circa early 1950's. In all the black and white photos, the women seemed drugged and in great need of money to pose naked like they were. There I came upon the photos of Faye.

"She haunted me. In her four photo shots, some one had drawn thick black glasses over her eyes on the negative, prior to the magazine printing! She had a style to her that I related to. And I knew that this was the only time that she had posed for these kind of photos, she needed the money. I also knew that she had a full adventurous life, I could tell by looking at her, and I wondered what that life was. I also felt we were in some way entwined, destined.""

This is #4 in the Faye Series: a hand typed story of how Faye falls into the lost black gold mine, and is rescued by Mule, Cloud and Woody. During the correspondence series (#2 in the series) Faye describes her life with Woody and her eventual divorce, and a search for a profession. It is during this time that the events of The Clouds Are Diving take place.
$400

Charlene Matthews Out of Print Title:
• Desert Twins, a Novella
• Phone Booths