Susan and I got together on Wednesday to continue exploring where to next with our books. As many of you know, during our collaboration, with each book we choose to collaborate differently, to explore the spectrum of collaboration to speak.
This time around we were right at one end; where the book is primarily all our own work, but at regular intervals we meet to talk and work through issues - peer mentoring I guess it would be called in the business world. We take problems we are facing and directions we are unsure of to the meeting and chat and sort and sift and get guidance from a fresh pair of eyes. In addition, we will also be asking the other to add in something to our book that we can't do our selves.
This time around we also gave ourselves a concrete notion - birds, nests, eggs and feathers. These are quite solid notions - they are real, they exist and people know what they look like!
Both of us have struggled and struggled with these books; I wonder if it's because they are purely ours (we are dictating what the other will contribute) AND they have to be to a theme. I also think it might be that neither of us is very obvious in our work - so producing images of birds or nests or eggs or feathers feels a bit alien, and not really us.
Anyhow, my book is based around some words and the sense I have about nests being nurturing and protective things…
Here are some images of the work in progress...glimpses because even I don't know what the whole might look like yet!
Playing with words - to include or not I wonder?
More words - looking lovely I think.
Embossing…
Exploded words on the paper - creating beautiful marks, white on white.
Trialling some more words…
Loving the soft edges of an insert…
And where I left off today, feather-like thread and stitching.
It is going to be a quiet book; and not obviously one about birds or nests or eggs or feathers…but I hope it still has a connection.
This time around we were right at one end; where the book is primarily all our own work, but at regular intervals we meet to talk and work through issues - peer mentoring I guess it would be called in the business world. We take problems we are facing and directions we are unsure of to the meeting and chat and sort and sift and get guidance from a fresh pair of eyes. In addition, we will also be asking the other to add in something to our book that we can't do our selves.
This time around we also gave ourselves a concrete notion - birds, nests, eggs and feathers. These are quite solid notions - they are real, they exist and people know what they look like!
Both of us have struggled and struggled with these books; I wonder if it's because they are purely ours (we are dictating what the other will contribute) AND they have to be to a theme. I also think it might be that neither of us is very obvious in our work - so producing images of birds or nests or eggs or feathers feels a bit alien, and not really us.
Anyhow, my book is based around some words and the sense I have about nests being nurturing and protective things…
Here are some images of the work in progress...glimpses because even I don't know what the whole might look like yet!
Playing with words - to include or not I wonder?
More words - looking lovely I think.
Embossing…
Exploded words on the paper - creating beautiful marks, white on white.
Trialling some more words…
Loving the soft edges of an insert…
And where I left off today, feather-like thread and stitching.
It is going to be a quiet book; and not obviously one about birds or nests or eggs or feathers…but I hope it still has a connection.
Your teasing post has me yearning to see more of the pages that you're exploring and experimenting with. When I got to the photo that simply says "wings, hollow", a giant sigh escaped and danced around the kitchen (where I sit each morning now to visit friends on blogs and have a cuppa).
ReplyDeleteThat feathery stitching - of Habu? - is so exquisite...the perfect little hint of feathers. I can't wait to see the two books together for what a variation on a theme they are this time.
Now, to visit Susan's post again....
Enjoy!
Thank you for inviting me into the kitchen for a cuppa; as I write this I could have invited you over for a glass of wine on a Friday night! Thanks fro your kind words - this book and I are still not totally comfortable with each other; altho I love so much of the softness. Hopefully we are edging closer. And I love those words stamped into my handmade paper too - big sigh of happiness.
Deletefound myself 'ooh….oooh….aaaah-ing' & you could do this or that (so inspiring)…. but it's your book! i took some photos of nests a while back with the idea of writing something along your lines of what they represent. Loving your explorations… wonder what the graphite would look like with the pencil letters missing, just the white shapes… but then the pencil lettering gives the 'twiggy' lines of a nest doesn't it… aaah, so many ways you could go…. look forward to seeing this evolve
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad the book shots inspired you as well Suzi - they must be communicating something! I like the idea of removing the graphite letters and see what the shape retain in legibility. There have almost been tooooo many options with this book I must say, and thanks for the birthday wishes as well - I had a lovely day.
Deletehappy birthday x
ReplyDeleteIt's looking wonderful Fiona, love the delicacy of the letters and lines, the cut out letters, the hint of shadow, exciting times. And Happy Birthday, raising a toast!
ReplyDeleteThanks LIz - it is a quiet and gentle and delicate book. Thanks too for the birthday wishes and toast; I had a fine time!
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