Burn baby burn

Susan and I are nearing completion of our 9th collaborative book - our burning book.  We hope to catch up next week so that the books can meet. I have a few bits to finalise and tidy on mine, but it is otherwise pretty much there - big sigh of relief.

But the burning bug has been caught big-time.

I was thinking about grids the other day and how calming I find them to be. Simultaneously I was tidying up the studio and came across a bunch of old watch parts that Barry and I had collected in New York, and somehow the two worlds collided, and then intersected with burning which was well and truly on my brain.

Here is where I started; you can see the few scrawled notes on a page of my notebook. Note I didn't end up cutting up a print and it didn't turn out black and white. The burning bug bit.

I started playing with some squares and some incense-burning patterns.

And things just grew from there, I kept thinking of different patterns I could burn, different combinations, different distances between holes until I had 42 squares and possibly two long thin pieces.

I don't know, maybe they'll become something, maybe not.

I added in a random selection of clock parts - note to self, must raid more of Barry's stash.

Some close ups horizontally,

Vertically,

and one by one...

Clearly it isn't finished - I have a lot of soot to remove and need to think about how to attach the watch parts and the paper and to what and with what other embellishment (or not). I also need to look closely at the layout and design, the different curves and straights and heavies and lights and the size of each watch part,  but it was  surprising outcome from two or three scrappy thoughts.

It has once again been a kind of meditative delight, sitting slowly burning holes, thinking about what and where next, but with absolutely no pressure at all. It was play and exploring and light and yet somehow rather lovely.

And one day during the week I sat down and sewed myself a little top using fabric that Jennifer had sent me ages ago.  It worked out quite well (I am no seamstress) despite having to make loads of adjustments to the Japanese patter. I am edging closer to mastering this!

I didn't want it to look like a bullseye in the centre of my chest, or worse two large circles up the top, and yet I wanted that lovely rusty detail to be featured.  It worked out OK and I have worn it twice already.

Front

and back.