Mary Ruefle, “Some Say,” 2017, 5.5 x 7 ⅝ x ½” x ½ inches (all images courtesy the Robert Frost Stone House Museum)

I am always somewhat ambivilant when it comes to book art that actually damages or destroys books, however, I am a fan of Vermont-based poet and book artist Mary Ruefle’s decades-long project Erasures. Since 1998, she has amended more than 100 books using markers, correctional fluid, paint, tape, and even cuts text cut-outs. Ruefle also adds photos, text, and drawings from other publications, as well as fiber art, pressed flowers, handwritten notes, grocery lists, and other found objects. Currently, a selection of her erased books, along with a set of her humorous, captioned postcards, is on display in Mary Ruefle: Erasures at the Robert Frost Stone House Museum in Bennington, Vermont.

Mary Ruefle: Erasures continues at the Robert Frost Stone House Museum at Bennington College (121 Vermont Route 7a, Shaftsbury, Vermont) through October 31.