Things circular

When last in Scotland I purchased four double, dos-a-dos accordion books that I thought maybe I could use for an exchange of sorts. When I received them I realised they were way too big to post back and forth, and would take a very long time to fill, so instead I decided to gift three to my friends and keep one for myself.

When we got together recently we decided we would all simply try to fill the book, and we would check back and see how we went in a year's time.

Far less pressure than a monthly exchange!

But because there are four parts to the book and because I am me, I have been pondering what to do, where to start, how to start, what to focus on and the like. None of that pick up a tool and make a mark and we're off!

Interestingly I came around to the notion of circles. I think I was wandering through Pinterest randomly and a series of circles caught my eye. And then I saw them everywhere. And then I thought I might spend time with circles for a bit.

So I collected images of circles that appealed.

 

 I collected thoughts or quotes about circles, and explored their symbology and what circles mean. I also just sat and thought of things circular.

I settled on circles and the sense that they can portray wholeness, completion or perfection (less on the perfection side) and also that they can be thought of as timeless, and endless with no beginning and no end...

Other options included - circles of protection, circles of friends, running around in circles, circling back  and so on. I must admit it was an interesting concept to dive into - so many ways of thinking about circles!

Once I knew the thinking around circles I was trying to explore, I tried to sort the images a bit. Whilst I love multiples and a grid, these weren't really speaking to me of the wholeness or perpetuity of a circle. Hold them over for another time.

These were differing designs...

 

And these were different techniques...

I ended up selecting ones I thought may play a part in the evolution of this part of the book, and cut them down and stuck them in my journal with a few notes to self alongside.

I will take both the books with me to Scotland and see if I make some progress there... 

Thursday Thoughts...

“We should not see print and electronic literature as in competition, but rather in conversation. The more voices that join in, the richer the dialogue is likely to be”. 

N. Katherine Hayles

I really like the idea that all forms of literature are in conversation rather than in competition. This suggests to me flow and movement between the different forms, that at one point the hard copy book is the main voice whilst at others the electronic or audio version enters the conversation.

It feels particularly pertinent to me a little way out from a long haul flight.  Every single time we travel the lead up is filled with me thinking - which book will I read? How many books will I need? Will I take a hard copy in case I run out of battery? Will I buy an electronic book or just borrow one? Should I download a few mindless magazines from the library too?

Laugh.

So much time in my head preparing for my reading in all its forms on my flights! Which is OK - its about 24-25 hours of flying time and if the movies are no good...

I have moved to reading on my iPad on the plane because it doesn't require me to put on the overhead light and shine brightly, perhaps when others are trying to sleep. I can sit in my nook with my screen lit just enough for me. But I do need a back up because once you are in flight you can't download another book if the one you chose is rubbish.

It does feel like a conversation between the different forms; or a bit of choreography perhaps. My preference is always for a book I can hold in my hand; but I am grateful that the other forms have joined my chat!

Flowers

 In the last little while, the winter blooms have blossomed a bit and I am making haste to gather some into the house.

I always feel happiest when here are fresh flowers inside with me. I always used to think that if I won the lottery, my big indulgence would be to have fresh flowers delivered every week.

I still try to have fresh flowers every week, despite no lottery wins.

Dad brought me along a stem of his orchids and suggested I could cut it down to make several vases. I love the angular nature of them here on the kitchen bench.

Our irises are just beginning to show their shy faces and I managed to gather a couple for inside

We helped a friend with some gardening and she gave me a couple of her early freesias - the scent! And so I collected a few of our remaining snow drops and some violets and made a posy.

Outside in the late afternoon sun - I love the low light - this lone camellia sat shining.

And gardening mid-morning, this frail and persistent hydrangea gave a smile.

And more late afternoon sun - picking up the first of the blossoms on the cherry tree so vibrantly.

And along the way, I began a rainbow doodle. 

Life is good.

Finishing

 I managed to finish my last pin through the week.

I oftentimes find that how I see something being worn, isn't always the way that others do; so I felt I should probably make one for myself, so that I could wear it and let people see how it might work. And so it came to pass that I made another pebble pin/brooch.

I don't tend to wear brooches/pins up on my lapels so much. Rather I tend to wear them along my hem line. Like this. Apologies for the background lighting - who knew it would be so sunny! Plus I took the shot using my watch connected to my phone which is a first for me, so I got what I got!

Barry also took a photo of me wearing one of the long thing bar ones - which I think looks best vertically, so I might have to wear one like that too. I am however wearing this one on a lapel type thing on a great winter cardigan.

Enough of the modelling. I also finished off a final pice of calligraphy using the five lovely S words. This one is purple on black, and I now have five pieces that can be popped into frames. I trimmed them all yesterday, signed them and put them in a bag for transporting. Finishing, finishing.

So I think that has brought me to the end of production and making for the Pop Up in Scotland. The job now is to inventory, price and pack. Always so many associated tasks.

Including writing some explanatory notes about my Conversations with Women Friends and the Glimpses book-ets. I sometimes think my work and its purpose can be a bit obtuse or opaque, yet I find people grasp it if I tell them a story about it. Of course, I can't speak to everybody all the time, so I thought maybe a few notes here and there might allow people to pause and read and understand a bit of where I am coming from. Maybe.

And then to inventorying and packing. I put out all the jewellery in my stash and worked out which pieces I would take. I decided on 10 pairs of earrings, 7 pendants and 4 brooches/pins. Fingers are crossed.

Two of these will stay in Maleny

Two pairs of earrings will stay in Maleny.

As you can imagine, our suitcases will be full of arty things! Fortunately we keep most of the clothes we need in Scotland the cottage. We are edging closer...

Thursday Thoughts...

“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” 

Barbara Kingsolver

So many quotes about life spend time with ideas like this I think, but I chose to spend time with this one because I saw the image of living inside hope in my head.

And then I began to investigate (such a big word for ponder!) it and thought about how she had chosen the words least and most as part of it.

I think she suggests that understanding what you hope for, and wish for, is a key element of living a satisfying and rewarding life. It's not only the least you can do - it's the very least. She really thinks it is the baseline. Her use of figuring out also made me think that perhaps it an ongoing process, and that it changes, modifies and moves around as we grow, move and change ourselves.

I am not sure if the use of the word most equates to the best you can do. Or if it is more about scale - the largest amount of time or energy. Whichever way that falls, it seems that she thinks it is almost the ultimate goal, the notion of living within that hope.

I like both these ideas and recognise that I probably don't spend all that much time considering how they are being enacted in my life.

The inside of my head visualisation of this didn't involve a house and a roof so much as an umbrella.  Perhaps that is because I might find it hard to commit to a full dwelling. I might not be brave enough to build my life of hope and live completely and utterly within it; instead I can find ways of being sheltered from weather and storms beneath my hope.

There is a whole other way of interrogating those notions I am sure, but not today.

Building a house, July 2007.

Small moments in a week and success

 The making has slowed a bit and the final to-do-before-we-go lists are being ticked off.

There are still so many lovely moments in a week; and it is always a good reminder to me to slow down and notice them.

This early morning moon rise was just over a week ago, but it stopped me still when I arrived at the Showgrounds for exercises just before 6am.

Then through the week, the serenity of this sunset, with fragment moon, was bewitching.

And inside I have a big bunch of Geraldton Wax flowers which I have been cutting down and popping into smaller vases and placing them here and there.

On Saturday I finished the jigsaw! A moment of joy and satisfaction.

And I completed my third Daily Doodle... and drew up ready for my next one, which I think might be a rainbow one.

In terms of success, the main thing I did was turn my brooches over this afternoon and check if they were OK (having been out all day). I think we can say yes to success with the glueing.  Phew!

I still need to tidy up the pebble (a couple of days in blu tac has left a slight grease mark; but that is manageable as I have to sort of oil them anyway).

So.... that is pretty much it for the Pop Up sale in Armadale!  I have one more pin I want to make for myself; but the main production is complete. Another Phew!

Patience with the process

 After last week's morning of set backs and learnings, I have taken it slowly this week with the pair of brooches that I have seen in my mind's eye, and am working towards.

Without planning to, I decided that in fact the brooches would look good if I textured the silver background a bit, and I do like what happened when I did that.

Here are the pieces ready for finalising with a super strong glue that can handle pebbles and metal. You can see the silver bobble-headed pins that wouldn't drip or melt last weekend.

The plan being to use the blu tac to hold the pieces in place as I glued, and as they dried.

So I put them together and glued each step and then left them. Herewith the patience in the process. I moved the laminated sheet they were on after a couple of hours and then didn't approach them again until the next morning.

Then I snipped the silver pin off, and filed down the nub that was left. I then sanded the back of the silver to create a surface for the glue to key into; and did the same with the pin back.

And then with, what felt like it had to be, surgical precision I glued the pin back to the silver and once again left them alone.

And they are still waiting to be able to be moved, and turned up the right way. I so hope that they look OK on the right side!!!

Thursday Thoughts...

“If you find something natural and enjoyable, it doesn’t mean it’s not worth anything. In fact, I would take it as a sign that you may be going in the right direction”. 

Ruth Ander

This quote made itself known to me as I scanned through my list, because it links closely to something I have been thinking about. The space between being comfortable in what you do and how you do it; and the other of pushing, challenging and extending yourself.

There are things that I do and make that feel so much like me - my colour palette, my materials, my sense of narrative as I make books, my love of words and stitching, and my analogue means of production.  I am comfortable in this world and enjoy time working in my zone. And then on the other side of this stream or gulf, lies a bunch of things that would extend me, challenge me, change me and my work.

Somewhere in this place are the rather muddled threads of an artist story - the satisfaction of knowing yourself and your way versus the risk of becoming complacent. The desire to continue to grow and learn versus the darker side of envy of wishing you could do what others do. Such a tricky place to navigate, and such tricky intentions to excavate.

With this quote I think Ms Anderson is giving us permission be ourselves; to follow our own paths and to do the things we are good at! Success should be a positive feedback loop! Struggle is not always necessary!

Isn't it strange to think that because we find something natural or easy that it is worthless? I imagine that says a whole lot more about how we think about ourselves, than about the art being made. Instead we should feel that it is a sign of our value, our experience, our skill level and our proficiency. Being good at something should feel natural and enjoyable.

Ahhh, feels very much me.

Testing out a new design

I have had in my mind some earrings that are in pebble-form, but cut from sheet silver; and joined by thread. Sort of bringing together my love for pebbles, and my stitching.

Barry helped with this prototype, by showing me how to use the die cut we have to cut the different pebbles - but from silver plate only until I have tested the idea to see if it works!

There were a lot of instructions to follow.

That last photo is an excellent reminder - I went back to do some more drilling by hand on something by myself and thought that because the piece was longer I wouldn't need to hold it with the pliers. Note to self - rotating drill bits create heat and make the piece of silver VERY hot. I will use pliers from here on in. Laugh.

And the prototype is here, kind of sort of. There needs to be some sort of overlap I think; although not like this. I played with several different ways of stitching and holding the pieces firmly and I think the overlap ends up helping keep the earrings stable. The thread is too pale for the plain silver - but then I wondered what if I oxidised the silver? And then where can I get some of the silk thread in other colours?

So a fair way to go yet - thread to find and ways to tie off tidily to work out, getting the overlap right, and working out if the thread will support them well enough, and sheet silver to price which given the state of affairs with precious metals these days might just mean they would be too expensive in the end.

I am also not sure if they will hang well, so they may not go anywhere, but it has been fun exploring new techniques and new designs!