Paper Ponderings
FIONA DEMPSTER - MAKER WITH WORDS
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Thursday Thoughts...
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Prepping for the Pop Up!
We are holding a Pop Up Art Show at the Armadale Village Hall this Saturday and Sunday. We are excited at the same time as uncertain about what might happen and how it might go, but looking forward to it and to chatting with folk and talking about art!
The show is mostly about Barry's small watercolours of buildings and boats along the North Coast of Scotland; and my sterling silver pebble and stone-inspired jewellery; but we decided to also add in a few more pieces that we have made (and are making!).
I have been testing out my jewellery-making capacity in our shed and this week completed three pairs of earrings. I was able to texture them and oxidise parts oft them, so I feel right at home now!
My inside art-making space is quite the clutter!
At a lunch a few weeks ago I chatted with a woman who had previously seen our work at markets here and she said" I love your cards, I hope you have some more". So I thought, right I had better make some more! This one became Welcome to the World when I completed the Letraset.
I also have a few of my black and white photographs. This one is called Safe Harbour.
I have matted up the 6 collages working from the imagery of the fishing sheds here.
Our kitchen table is multi-functional that is for sure - currently typing on the laptop here, but we also do art finishing here as well. Oh and we eat at it too!
And last but not least, in line with my love of the house/cottage form that I always seem to end up playing with as I travel back and forth, the form that keeps me pondering what home means, and the form that just makes me feel good when I look at it, I have worked with B to to create these wee hoosies. I selected the timber and the size and the shape and B cut them for me and did an initial sand; but I have done the finishing sanding and the wire brushing and will add the varnish once we have bought it! They just make me smile.
It feels like we are almost ready for whatever happens, and we look forward to hopefully sharing time with folks we know and people we will meet...
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Art from our travels
A quick follow up to Tuesday's travel post, to show some of the art we experienced whilst we were away.
In Norway we saw a fair bit of street art which brought smiles to our faces. We didn't get to any museums or galleries (May Day public holiday in Bergen) but we saw some lovely pieces on the streets.
In between flight arrivals and departures in Aberdeen, we made it to the Gallery there. There was a wonderful exhibition of embroidery samplers which was a joy to spend time with.
I like that these artworks have survived the centuries and they tell us about the women and young women who worked them. Their names are stitched into them. They are foregrounded, not backgrounded.
I also like the layers of symbolism in some of them - peace wreaths, forget-me-nots, doves and more. Here are a few of my favourites.
The oldest sampler there - by Hannah Bosvile, age 13, 1755
Mary Margaret Payne, 1827.
And the local embroidery guild has also put together some modern samplers which are bright and beautiful!
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Thursday Thoughts...
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Norway...
B and I are just back from a quick trip across to Norway! My brother and his wife were travelling there and it seemed too good an opportunity to pass up - to hang out together on the other side of the world to usual.
We arrived in Bergen and it was beautiful, especially the old town of Bryggen. We wandered around and poked our heads up alleyway and side streets, admiring the weathered and worn timbers and buildings.
Thursday, May 1, 2025
Thursday Thoughts...
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Narratives - an artists' book exhibition
Whilst we are away, another beautiful artists' book exhibition is occurring in Maleny. As part of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland Writer's Festival some good people are once again showcasing artists' books at The Little Red Cottage in Coral St Maleny. Details below.
I am sad to be away, but so grateful to be included.
The theme this year is Narrative - Connecting hearts, minds and nature
I have two entries in the show. This will be the very first showing of my book Simply Being.
The nature of the book, about slowing down and taking time to be, and to be present, resonates with the theme I think - connecting your own mind and your own heart; and particularly connecting with nature.
The words in this book emerged from time spent here in Scotland where I do look slowly, and try to listen softly, and of course, go gently...
I have also contributed my three Grief is a Stone book-ets.
It felt to me that these book-ets also tell a tale of connection with our hearts and our minds. They speak of how we try to make sense of loss and grieving and how it shifts and moves and changes over time...
It often intrigues me when I look back over a year of making say; or like this when I put two books together that are unrelated in theme and thinking and realise how closely they seem to be related. These books feel very 'me' and I hope that a few folk I know might get to see them and enjoy them, on my behalf whilst I am away.
Sunday, April 27, 2025
Some collage art
I discovered a large folder of imagery waiting for me when we returned. It contained images that I had printed when I was doing my Fibre Arts Take Two course last time with Sally Tyrie.
They were all about the fishing sheds and the fishing net drying poles at the end of our road near the cove, and they didn't belong back in Australia. It was nice to reacquaint myself with them and I began to play with them back here.
I really liked their softness and their tonal togetherness and went on to make more collages. My little studio space was somewhat cramped on Thursday as I had taken the laptop upstairs so I could watch an online sketching course, whilst Barry did his watercolours on the kitchen table.
Nevertheless, after watching for a bit I was able to continue with the collages and have ended up with six that I like.
But now I'm not so sure. Barry has ordered some square black mats and I am wondering if they might actually look better as matted artworks? Who knows, these things evolve and become what they will become.
There are two other postcard sized ones too. A nice dilemma to have.
And just because Spring flowers are cheery and beautiful, here is a tub we planted at our front door.