As part of our commitment to making these collaborative books, Susan and I agree that we will have them finished by the end of the month they start in. It's good to have a deadline, and one that you really want to meet, because you are working with a friend and who wants to let their friends down?
So today we got together at Susan's studio to see each other's books and as is part of our tradition, to photograph them together.
We have both struggled at times with these books and we talked a bit about it today. In part we accept that we have both faced them at difficult times - with the death of Susan's father, and with me coming out of Barry's brush with death. So we have woven some tricky emotions into the thinking and their making.
The other more practical thing we touched on was that by preparing pages and materials and giving them to the other, we had in many ways set them off on path that they needed to follow. Altho we said guidance, not direction, suggestion not dictation, nonetheless we both felt that we had to respond to the pages and the pieces and work really hard to make them our own.
Unlike the first books where we prepared the pages - chose the size, the paper and the imagery - and handed them over for the other to add to, and then received them back to finish them off in our own style, these books meant we simply had to work with different and challenging materials and make them our own, and we decided that added to the sense of difficulty.
Here are some shots of them together - and I will show you mine in full soon.
Both in their cases... mine is on top here.
Some details of the cases... I am loving Susan's metal and her threads
The opening begins...
Together...
Susan's from behind and mine at an opening...
Despite their obvious differences, they still seemed to fit together very well. This may be because we are quite different in our styles and approaches yet quite similar at the same time - there is so much to learn and observe as we go thru this. We meet again next week to work out where to next!
As we said goodbye, we laughed a bit that despite our ponderings, deep thinking and at times agonising over the books this time around, that they had developed just as they needed to and become just what they were meant to - almost despite us!
So today we got together at Susan's studio to see each other's books and as is part of our tradition, to photograph them together.
We have both struggled at times with these books and we talked a bit about it today. In part we accept that we have both faced them at difficult times - with the death of Susan's father, and with me coming out of Barry's brush with death. So we have woven some tricky emotions into the thinking and their making.
The other more practical thing we touched on was that by preparing pages and materials and giving them to the other, we had in many ways set them off on path that they needed to follow. Altho we said guidance, not direction, suggestion not dictation, nonetheless we both felt that we had to respond to the pages and the pieces and work really hard to make them our own.
Unlike the first books where we prepared the pages - chose the size, the paper and the imagery - and handed them over for the other to add to, and then received them back to finish them off in our own style, these books meant we simply had to work with different and challenging materials and make them our own, and we decided that added to the sense of difficulty.
Here are some shots of them together - and I will show you mine in full soon.
Both in their cases... mine is on top here.
Some details of the cases... I am loving Susan's metal and her threads
The opening begins...
Together...
Susan's from behind and mine at an opening...
Despite their obvious differences, they still seemed to fit together very well. This may be because we are quite different in our styles and approaches yet quite similar at the same time - there is so much to learn and observe as we go thru this. We meet again next week to work out where to next!
As we said goodbye, we laughed a bit that despite our ponderings, deep thinking and at times agonising over the books this time around, that they had developed just as they needed to and become just what they were meant to - almost despite us!
SNAP! x
ReplyDeleteThat was just cheeky of me, but in all honesty, it is lovely to have posted about our books meeting and then to see your post about the same. Both saying much the same thing but in such different ways. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteSnap indeed! Luckily we didn't actually totally replicate any photographs, altho we went close! It is nice to see the two stories appear together as well...
DeleteFiona, these books are lovely-I am always amazed at the attention to detail.
ReplyDeleteThank you Jane - they are special together.
DeleteWow, I love the results... !
ReplyDeleteThanks Valerianna - I'll try to show mine properly over the weekend!
DeleteYour books are like a couple in love, very different from each other and yet absolutely complementary.
ReplyDeleteWhat a totally wonderful way of putting it Ersi! Our first books felt like siblings - this time yes perhaps opposites attract!
DeleteThese look absolutely wonderful! I want to reach in and touch them. It inspires me to want to work on something with another book artist!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like and want to touch Louise - that's the best response to a book isn't it? To want to hold it. The collaborative process is quite amazing - we have set ourselves some 'rules' and talk about it a lot and commit to meeting our deadlines and we generally just work together very respectfully. It helps that we both 'get' each other's work...
DeleteThat glimpse of gold leaf is very tantalising.Seen in its entirety that 'chocolatetiness'you spoke of at the beginning is really apparent but I really like that colour palette and what you've done with it Fiona. Tell Susan that the aluminium covers are inspired. As I have a load of aluminium shim in the printshed I do so wish I'd thought of that!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lesley - it was a challenge for me for sure, but I kept at it. It is dark, yet warm, and the gold lifts and lightens as you go thru the book. Susan's use of shim is inspired isn't it? I write and emboss into it but have never sanded it back!
DeleteAbsolutely gorgeous - they do look wonderful together. Make me think of night and day... the colours you worked with remind me of rusted iron - yummy with that bit of warm gold...
ReplyDeleteThank you Stregata - I am intrigued by how well they sit together! Night and day; and yes the pages are just like rusted iron. Delicious.
ReplyDelete