Ongoing Friendship

 As I prepared work for The Red Thread exhibition, I muddled around a lot until I landed on my theme.  It fascinates me how I can have a million ideas of what I could do - try this, do that, make these...and they explode out of my brain and onto the page of my journal and I play with them and explore.

And then I realise I need an anchor.  They are too chaotic. Too disparate. I need a thread if you will, that will link things. I need a jumping off point that brings coherence to the body of work - rather than a random collection of ideas.

And so it was with the poem about Women Friends by Pauline Prior-Pitt.  Once I was able to use her words, I could think about how to present them in different ways.

The next step was the returned rusty tin and "Old Friends" emerged serendipitously.

Which led to a run of ideas about small, old tins. Sturdy and strong, intimate enough to hold in the hand. Protective. And the ideas of adding more work to tins grew.

Which led me once again to unbound artists' books.

I think the first unbound artists' book I made was back in 2008 called Quest - and it was a hanging book with pages that could be re-arranged within their fabric holders. Using  a script I designed myself.

My first really thoughtful and purposeful unbound artists' book appeared in 2009 when a friend sent me some words he had written about key moments in his life, to celebrate his 50th birthday. He asked me to make him a book.  So I illustrated the pages and wrote the words out in calligraphy and then came the time to bind it. 

And I simply couldn't. I couldn't bind his life. I couldn't decide and fix the order in which his memories would be read. I couldn't say this was it - when there were so many year to go. My dilemma was solved by an unbound book. I made a box and placed the pages in it in such a way that he could move the story around; change what he saw first, tuck the saddest things away at the bottom and so on. I also included several 'blank' pages Because his story wasn't finished; and we could add to it later on if he wanted to.

And all I can say is my photography has improved in the intervening 12 years!

So with that lengthy blether behind me I turn back to making unbound artists' book about friendship. With a similar theory to my friend's book; friendships change; they alter, they move around and aren't fixed, again the notion of an unbound book was perfect.

I used fabric sent me to years ago by a woman friend (similar to how I used Liz's fabric for Unfurling Friendship). Jennifer wrapped some old sheets around rusty cogs and left them out in the snow for winter (in Connecticut, USA) and I was the lucky recipient of some.

I stitched short lines, long meandering lines, little loopy lines across the pages - friendships can be of all shapes and sizes.

I popped crosses to mark the spot - two friends.

I added two spare pages, a needle and some thread - so the recipient could continue and add to their story.

The poem was printed onto goyu paper and dipped in wax, and stitched into the lid.

 And I made two of them in these lovely larger tins. 

And two in smaller tins.

And they were really popular and I am encouraged to keep making along these lines.

Stories of friendship, ever-changing and growing. Women Friends.