I made a book...

 It's not often I land where I have, which is I have made a book and I don't know what it is. I guess that reflects my time at the cottage a bit - I am less purposeful and more explorative; more open to trying a bit of this or that simply because I don't have a full set up or I have fewer commitments or goals to hit.

So I started painting marks with an acrylic ink onto some lovely kraft card squares I had brought with me. Payne's Grey and White.

Not knowing where I was going, I turned them over and kept going.

And then I cut them down and put them together and they were a BIG book - heavy and hard to handle, so B suggested maybe make two books. So I looked for some paper or card to make extra pages and found some beautiful Vintage Paper Company paper which I could use; as well as a test page where I had laid out all the stitching mark for my peg piece - as well as some test  stitching. 

I embossed some lines I had previously cut for my first book in my exchange The Shape of Things with Annwyn way back in 2022 into some black paper/card I had here, and then stitched them using some thread that a friend had passed along to me after her mother died. All together a compilation of things that I found along the way.

Here they each are standing - quite firm paper means they stand well!

And a selection of openings.

So my question is are they done? There is already so much in them it seems to me that it could be hard to add to them. I have pondered writing in tiny writing around some of the marks, between some of the marks and maybe begin to tell a bit of a story of sorts?

Is there any way the marks could guide me to a narrative or story? Could they support and enhance a storyline?

I have pondered are they just lovely things to look at?

Or are they book-like journals with pages begun and space for new ideas to be jotted down, sketched in? Something to be added to?

It's quite the confusement for me. I am usually far clearer in my intention before I begin; these wee ones evolved and became something, but I remain uncertain as to how best to use and appreciate them. 

Thoughts welcomed and gratefully received!

And in a weird sideline; as I was connecting my phone to transfer these photos across, I opened to this photo. 10 years ago I made these books with Susan Bowers, and I was struck by how similar they are to the shapes, tones and marks of the ones I have completed here. Very graphic in their sensibility. In these wee ones we deliberately left the pages unbound so the story could be told and re-told in whatever way one chose. My new ones are firmly bound.

Interesting.

Thursday Thoughts...

“Every act of compassion, kindness, courage or generosity heals us from the story of separation, because it assures both actor and witness that we are in this together” 

 Charles Eisenstein

Gosh, how important are thoughts and words like these right now? This is from an essay Mr Eisenstein wrote back at the beginnings of the Coronavirus Pandemic.  Here we are in continuing uncertain times, still seeking connection.

We need to feel connected and that we are not alone, especially when times are tough and moving fast and uncertainty destabilises us every single day. His way of saying that by observing those acts of compassion, kindness, courage or generosity we can be assured that we are not alone; that in fact we are in this together is made even more lovely by his reference to the fact that they are healing us 'from the story of separation'.

To have such a way with words.

If anybody thinks they might still like some Together cards, to keep for themselves or to share with others,  I have some with me and can easily pop them in the post.

Pens, drawing and flowers

 Recently for my birthday a friend gifted me a journal and a pen. I have loved these pens from the first time I saw them, she didn't know that, and I doubt I would have gotten one for myself; but now I am the happy owner of this one, The Wren from Tom's Studio.

I promised to bring the journal and pens with me and try some ideas in the journal. I am notoriously bad at using journals, but I liked its already worked into look and figured I could work with that rather than simply blank pages.

The pen uses these nibs that you can replace depending on what colour ink you are using; as well as these soak-it-up cylinders which draw the ink from the bottle and can be changed in and out. Quite a fun way of doing pens! I  will have to see what other colour inks I have here and try them out.

And so in line with my commitment to use the pen in the journal I did some blind contour drawings o f a jug of daffodils.

I like blind contour drawing because there is no pressure - you just look at the object and draw the contours and don't lift your pen and who knows what will happen. I was chuffed that she could see daffodils when I showed her!

In typically trepidatious fashion I started with the card that had been in an envelope fold on one of the pages thinking I could throw it away if needed (why oh why do we censor ourselves so much???) and then overcame myself and drew another version straight on the page. Well done me. First actual page in the journal committed to!

I am going to try and do something in the journal with the pen each week, and see where I go.

And just because daffodils...

The late varieties are so different!

A single tulip contemplating will it open further, or retreat? It retreated when it started to hail yesterday, but today is pondering emerging once again...

Biblio and words

A friend recently gave me this book, and I took it along to our first Biblio session here to read. I thought it might be nice and enjoyable; I didn't think it would inspire me and get me excited!

It introduced me to the notion of ekphrasis - "a literary device consisting of a vivid, detailed description of a visual work of art". Being a pretty much self taught artistic type person I am often rather late to the party when it comes to well understood notions in this world (strangely my degree in physiotherapy and post grad in public sector management never mentioned it!).

And I got excited and wrote notes.

I read the poems and then spent the rest of the time investigating this new word and looking for exercises to take me through the process of doing it. I read lots of things and wrote lots of notes.

This week at Biblio I decided to try out the exercises on a painting we have in our bedroom here. I love the painting and thought there was so much in it.

We purchased it nearby, and it is called Night Swimming by Rhona Graham. Luckily I had forgotten the title as I was doing this work.

I began by letting my eyes rove over it for 5 minutes, looking at what caught my eye first; what I noticed; where my eye went next; the different things I saw.

Then I simply wrote for 10 minutes and was intrigued where my thinking began to go.

After those 10 minutes, which were pretty descriptive and literal; I turned to do 10 minutes of creative writing, trying to loosen myself up to find words and rhythms and meanings. Some of the prompts were to consider the point of view you might write from, take your observations out of the frame and so on.

After those 10 minutes I went away and thought about words a bit and rhythm. Then the next step was to cull these words and to simply write 10 lines.

It was such an enjoyable process and exercise. I melded steps from all sorts of sources and mixed and matched and changed the process half way through but ended up doing something I really enjoyed and that got me a lot further down the path towards a poem than I would have had I simply looked at the painting and written "an ode to a painting".

My ten lines at the end of it:

Safe harbour, amongst the many moons

All the moons

Expanding to an infinity of stars

Water settles into permanent night

Serene, secure, safe

Ways in and ways out

Steering clear of worries

Breathing in the dark sky

Drawing in the moon glow

Releasing the deep water.

There is more to do in refining and working on rhythms and culling and re-arranging, but I am so pleased that I have the kernel of poem sitting here, speaking with me.

I do love learning!

Thursday Thoughts...

“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.” 

 Georgia O’Keeffe

The older I get, the more I enjoy trying to understand what making and creating is REALLY about. I sometimes think oh yeah it's all right for famous and successful artists to say that recognition or success is irrelevant, but of course no matter their status, they are right!

More and more I am on the side of the folk who think about art as a way of expression; as a means by which our personal slant on the world or thoughts about something can be shown. In particular I love this idea of our unknown becoming known.

So much of art making is a mystery and for sure, much of it is unknown even to ourselves. I imagine Ms O'Keefe is saying here that the important thing is that we bring forth previously unknown thoughts and ideas and imagery and allow them to be seen; and to be known.

And I think it is important that she refers to YOUR unknown, nobody else's.

The Library of Lost Words (2014) - I did not know I needed to do this all those years ago, but loved doing it!

Dabbling and viewing

 It felt good to sit down and get my hand moving again. 

Whenever I need to begin again and feel my way, it's good to sit down, touch things, tidy things, put some things away, pull some things out, and wait to see what happens. 

I sat at my wee desk-studio space and made some postcards out of some left over prints. I also found three strips I had left over, cut from something else last time, and put them together to make a book mark. Nothing earth-shattering or brilliant, but getting back in the groove of putting things together and making stuff.

We visited the gallery at the North Coast Visitor Centre last week and there was a vibrant showing by young people from the area. I was particularly taken with these glorious wings, with over 500 young people participating.

And we have hyacinths, and the first of the lambs...

Cottage arrival and welcome

We arrived at the cottage through the week and were welcomed by big blue skies and the mildest of weathers. Of course this changed to quite chilly weather as well; but no rain and not too much wind means it has been a mild re-entry...

Here are some of ht moments from the first week. I hope to get my hands into some arty things in the next few days, but for now I am adjusting to the beauty of this place and falling in love with it all over again.

The cove with lots of different colours happening.

Morning light on the crofts - so many lovely dividing lines of fences..

Waiting at the old school gate...

One of my favourites - our neighbour's sheep along the top of our stone dyke and some of our sculptures and daffodils.

Speaking of which, I brought a real variety inside to enjoy.

But there were plenty of lovely ones outside to be enjoyed as well.

And the cottage looking gorgeous in the sunlight with the blue sky and daffs in front.

One of Barry's peace doves still flying, in the plum tree, which very happily is flowering!

And then a different bird on a sunrise wire...

A truly lovely return and much beauty around us.

Thursday Thoughts...

"A story can always break into pieces while it sits inside a book on a shelf; and, decades after we have read it even twenty times, it can open us up, by cut or caress, to a new truth." 

Andre Dubus

I oftentimes wonder about which books to keep on my shelf. Which books might I re-read? Which books should I say I have read you once and that is all I need? These words suggest that perhaps I should keep them all and regularly re-read them! I doubt that I could, but I do agree with the sentiments that suggest that even after a very long time, book can be re-read and utterly shatter us.

So much of the joy and wonder of reading is the equation that a book = author's words plus reader's perceptions. And each and every one of us brings our experiences and thoughts and beliefs to the reading of a book; and of course, these change over time. 

I love the phrasing here of how, after re-reading, a book can open us up by cut or caress - it can wound us or enfold us. So true, depending on where we are and where we have been in the intervening years.

Also the notion that what we had thought of as "the story" can itself, break into pieces and be re-formed or re-shaped into a new story based on who we are now.

Sigh, so many big ideas, and so much to think about and consider about the process of reading and re-reading.

A week of words

 Every morning for a long time, Barry and I have chosen a word for the day. We stopped the other day and realised that in fact, I had written out these cards in 2004 when we were living in Hobart. So for 21 years, we have paused, first thing in the morning, with a glass of juice, selected our words, and pondered on how the words might move with us through the day.

In my mind's eye I can see us doing it in Hobart, then in an apartment in Canberra, then again in the shed in Maleny, then the house, and now in our unit. 

We used to have them in a different bowl, but a while ago now Barry hammered a bowl so that we could combine the two us and our work in our daily words practice. I daresay this colour blue ink would not appear in any set I made today!

It is a lovely practice - even when the words are challenging and I wonder what on Earth the Universe has in mind for me when I select them. We always do the selection without looking.

The other week, just before we headed off, this was our selection. It was so beautiful and so perfect that I photographed it. I then thought I should photograph a week's worth of words, just to see the variety of words to ponder, so here we are.

Sunday.

You could just tell it was going to be a beautiful day.

This was Monday. It always interests me when I get a word like truth. How will I work with that word? Will it be a day for truth-telling? Or truth-seeking? Always interesting to me!

You can see the wear and tear on some of the cards, and certainly the foxing that has occurred in our moist climate and with lots of handling. The originally sharp corners are all now curved as well

And on to Tuesday.

Humility always gets me - reminds me to think of others, not assume I am right and so on. I am often humbled just to get the word - it feels like the Universe reckons I might need reminding...

As often happens, one of us selected the same word two days in a row! We even try to work out what we are supposed to learn from this? Another chance for happiness? Bring more happiness to the world - it needs it?

Wednesday. We got another repeat this week - truth; and it was nice to get creativity, even tho the day ahead had not many moments one could foresee where creativity may take place! Still, it felt to me like a reminder that creativity is a part of my life, and that I get to live a creative life (even if not every day).

Thursday... Trust is a good one to get when I am worried about stuff - it helps remind me to let go of anxiety and fretting and trust that things will be as they shall be. And of course, release is an equally good reminder to let go of things, like worry! Occasionally one does wonder if the Universe isn't being a bit solid with its reminders...

And so to Friday where there was a real change of pace and the sensation of a delightful day to get into and enjoy. I must say that delight is one of my all time favourite words. I adore the sensation of the word as well as the way it feels as I say it. To join it with inspiration set these scene for a good day. I love to think about where one finds inspiration; what word or image or conversation might spark a little something...

And on Saturday we got one of the ones we are never really sure about. We often look at each other when one of us selects the blank. Does it mean that anything could happen? Is it a reminder that we have no control over anything? Is it simply suggesting that unexpected and unanticipated joy and wonder await? We always talk about it when we get it. And another repeat of release, which feels about right given we were under the pump a bit!

So there you go, a wander through a week of our words as we we select them, and ponder them, and continue to be intrigued by them, as much now as when we began 21 years ago...

We don't have a set with us at the cottage, but perhaps I should remedy that some day.