Paper Ponderings
FIONA DEMPSTER - MAKER WITH WORDS
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Thursday Thoughts...
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Lots of stamping and letters
The red book continues along. I have made a cover and am happy with the way it worked out; although piercing all the holes for the hand stitching took a while and a lot of control to stop the covers slipping. I tried some tape but it didn't hold, so I just had to be very careful.
I like the contrast between the single red line of machine stitching and more rugged hand stitched black running stitch.
More stamping on the pages inside.
Sunday, January 19, 2025
Componentry
I have been able to go back and forth a little bit to the jewellery making workshop and put into play a few ideas I have had. So far, I have made lots of components, and not necessarily turned any of them into jewellery; but you can't do the latter, without the former!
I am still keen on oxidising and am also keen on getting surface texture onto the silver. So I set about making pebbles forms: cutting the wire; forming it; soldering it and rolling it.
Thursday, January 16, 2025
Thursday Thoughts...
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Circles of Concern...
In between times I have been doing the small tasks in the production line of these Circles of Concern, Circle of Control cards.
The steps involve printing the words, drawing the square, drawing the circles, laying on the gilding medium, waiting, then applying the gold leaf, waiting, and then brushing off the gold leaf.
And now they are done.
I managed to grab a few photos along the way - here are a couple where the gold leaf has been applied and is waiting to adhere, then be brushed off. You can see by how the gold is kind of all over the shop how flighty a sheet of gold can be!
Despite the weird angle, I think these two show the 3D nature of the leaf application.
I was quite pleased that I managed to get 20 good ones.
And then there are 5 wobblier ones. In the end, I kind of don't mind these ones as they suggest to me that even when we try to operate in our circle of control, we might be clumsy and/or imperfect!
This one definitely has the wobbles.
As does this one.
Sunday, January 12, 2025
The red book continues
So I had sorted out the look and feel of the pocket, the title and the cards for this wee book; but the cover was making me think long and hard.
I knew it would be black. And then I could see segments of red machine sewing and threads dangling. That feels like me, and the jagged nature of the stitching felt a part of the story I was trying to tell. But when I tested it, it just didn't work for me. It was way too messy and disrupted, and did not feel nice at all.
I then moved all the dangling threads inside and tidied up the front to see if the helped. It helped a lot, but still wasn't quite right.
So I think I have landed on a single continuous line of red stitching about a third of the way down. Yet to be tested!
The inside cover will be attached to the outside cover by a frame of hand stitching. I needed to check if red was the way to go; or black. This is what it would look like on the outside cover. I chose the black.
So many choices! So many decisions!
Thursday, January 9, 2025
Thursday Thoughts...
Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Pondering a new book
I have had an itch to make another book about domestic abuse and the terrible tragedy that is the regular murder of women by partners or former partners.
How or why our authorities and systems just can't seem to give the issue the priority it needs just leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. And so, in response, I feel the need to respond in some small way, to keep the story being told, to encourage to look at the issue, to consider it, to respond to it.
I tried an idea when we were in Scotland and it really never did come together. It intrigues me when I start with something firm in my head, but I just cannot realise it in a good or coherent manner. Somehow you know if you have to work that hard for it, it probably isn't a good idea...
I wrote some more notes to myself and then had one of those absolute Ah-ha moments and scribbled it down on a couple of post it notes and headed straight to the studio the next day to see if I could make something of it.
The thought involved some cards in a pocket. I wanted to use red and black and white. I don't have a lot of red paper or card, so I tried to dye some using acrylic ink. I absolutely adored this colour red (Derivan Acrylic Ink, Red)! It got a big tick and I then worked out which paper worked best and what size.
Sunday, January 5, 2025
New Year cards
And so after faffing about as much as I did in trying to work out how to set some simple numbers, I managed to print the New Year cards.
I had also hoped to do a bit of a blended ink print and so that meant I inked and printed each card individually. It was no drama really, and good practice for me re inking.
I went with a gorgeous green and a deep blue - and they melded nicely. The colours were a bit hard to photograph, but in real life they worked.