About Lore Spivey
Lore is an award-winning book and paper artist whose work explores the tension between beauty and devastation. Through sculptural artist books, she investigates how both natural and human forces shape our emotional and physical landscapes. Grounded in narrative and structure, her work invites reflection, discovery, and intimate engagement—transforming the book into a multi-sensory, interactive experience.
Her creative journey began in her grandmother’s garden in North Carolina, where hours spent sketching plants and animals rooted her in the natural world. Later, living in Japan profoundly shaped her perspective. The contrast between serene gardens and the stark reality of urban homelessness revealed the coexistence of beauty and suffering—a juxtaposition that continues to echo throughout her work.
Spivey’s books often pair delicate, intricate forms with underlying narratives of trauma, loss, or transformation. This interplay mirrors the regenerative cycles found in nature—where destruction often precedes renewal. Her work asks: How can beauty be both balm and burden? How do personal and collective experiences inform our understanding of the world around us?
Drawing from a background in theater and scenic design, Lore holds degrees in Theatre Education from UNC Asheville and UNC Greensboro. Seventeen years teaching theater in North Carolina public schools honed her sense of spatial storytelling, now a defining quality in the dimensional, architectural nature of her artist books.
In 2015, she founded Art With Pop after studying pop-up engineering with Carol Barton at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center. That same year, her artist book 13 was awarded Best in Show at the Focus on Book Arts Conference. She has continued her studies with notable artists including Julie Chen of Flying Fish Press at Penland School of Craft. Her work has appeared in Helen Hiebert’s Paper Year calendar and is supported by memberships in the Movable Book Society and the Southern Arts Society.
Her latest work centers on spherical artist books—rounded forms with circular pages anchored by a central stem. These books pay tribute to the natural world and the tactile legacy of handcraft traditions. Spivey comes from a lineage of makers: quilters, knitters, ceramicists, woodworkers, and basket weavers. The spherical form reflects their influence—the softness of a quilted patch, the looping of yarn, the curve of a bowl, the strength of a woven basket. Each page becomes a meeting place between human hands and the earth’s rhythms. The stem at the center functions as both structural support and metaphorical axis—connecting story, memory, and meaning.
Balancing realism with abstraction, and occasionally brushing the edges of Dadaism, Spivey creates books not simply to be read, but to be experienced. Each turn, fold, or opening offers a new perspective—a subtle shift that invites deeper understanding of complex emotional terrain.
Lore Spivey lives and works in North Carolina with her husband, daughter, and two exuberant pugs.
