Fiddling and stitching

Susan let me know about the exhibition 14-18 Pieces for Peace being held in Ypres in Belgium later in the year. It is highlighting bookbinding, artists books and calligraphy around World War I.

A couple of us are trying to pull together entries and I have been pottering about with ideas. Lots of ideas not necessarily getting me too far forward, just maybe reducing options at the moment. For example I wasn't sure if I should make a book or do a calligraphic piece instead - thought that might be quicker, altho why I would ever think that I don't know. My calligraphic trials always take forever!

I have decided a book is the answer I think, but just what to base it around remains a challenge.

I have a personal connection to Ypres - my great grandfather died at Messines Ridge, and his name is on the Menin gate in Ypres - along with the thousands of others who have no known grave. So it feels poignant to maybe make a book about him. Although I have previously made two.

I am also working on women this year and wondered if I could find a way to tell some women's stories around the war - somehow tell William's and Isabella's story? Not sure.  The book sections that are being sent out to artists for binding - true bookbinders - include lots of poetry from the war, mostly European altho the Canadian John McRae's "In Flanders' Fields" is there as well.  So with poetry in mind I went looking for Australian women's poetry around the war and have come across a few possibilities. I have bought one book and hope that it contains some gems that I can pursue.

If not, I'll keep pondering.

After all that, here are some shots of some of the ideas I have had to date - just playing around with imagery, embossing and a colour palette.

I was recently gifted a ream of some beautiful old, typewriter paper; all brown on the edges and almost rusty-looking. Isn't it wonderful to have friends who know just what you'd love? Thanks Christine!

So I did a bit of embossing and some de-bossing and then some painting on it. Decided I prefer my poppies without the weird sticky outy bits on their stems when I draw/paint them.

Looking at grey and rusted paper and shim (decided no) and some lightweight papers too.

Liking pencil marks on the brown paper and the barbed wire de-bossing from a previous piece.

And I have kept on stitching - a little bit here and there on my sampler piece. I am going with the flow completely here, letting the weirdness that appears remain, acting as a remind for myself about beginnings and learnings and what to try differently.  I love the pulled threads and the occasional line of stitching. Such fun and oh so mediative.

So nothing major happening in the studio, baby steps here and there, and enjoying gentle pottering. Not a bad way to be, altho I do have my birds, feathers, nests and eggs book to get finished!