Offerings at the Crossroads.

California:: Cheri Gaulke.. Edition of 100. A pouch made of multi-colored Balinese sarongs contains an artists' book whose design is inspired by traditional palm-leaf books. Indonesian teak covers are held together by a central red cord and batiked wooden beads. Digitally printed on an Epson Stylus Photo 2200 with archival inks and Epson watercolor paper in an edition of 100. Each pouch is unique as each has its own batik design and cloth. Each book is signed and numbered. A true story. One lesbian trying to get pregnant; one gay man dying of AIDS. Life; death. The struggle to make life; the struggle to hold on to life. The ironies compound and cancel each other, until what is left are the dignity of struggle and sanctity of possibility. "Mark began dying of AIDS long before I began trying to conceive, both of us racing against the inevitability of time" begins the text, which tells the story of a journey between birth and death and of a magical trip to Bali. The imagery includes Balinese scenes and the lovely textures and colors of woven, batiked and dyed fabrics that were scanned on a flatbed scanner. The book is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Cultural Affairs Department.