Thursday thoughts...

“The pain does grow less acute, but the insidious palace lie that we will get over crushing losses means that our emotional GPS can never find true north, as it is based on maps that no longer mention the most important places we have been to”. 

Anne Lamott

Today I am pondering life, which in turn sometimes has me pondering death. December is a difficult grieving month for me, and I have come to understand the cycle of sadness that arrives early in the month and then gradually lifts as the world keeps turning.

Anne Lamott is such an interesting observer and writer - she fits into small spaces of the heart really well.  In this quote I love her phrasing and description of "the insidious palace lie". To me this suggests the unspoken ideas and beliefs we all buy into because it makes it easier for somebody - possibly those in power - to have us think this way.

And death and grieving and mourning and missing and aching and forgetting is a great source for these overarching belief systems to tell us how to behave, and what is basically expected of us I think.

Her description then of how, if we never say their name, if we in fact try to "get over it" "move on" etc we can find it hard to chart the future, because a hugely important part of our lives is being ignored, dismissed or has disappeared from the map we might use, describes things really well I think.

It is a comfort of sorts to understand that our maps have really important bits missing now; and in part the job is to work out our bearings from just the hints or shadows that remain.

The gift of time and play

 This week between Christmas and new year always feels a bit like never-never time; one never really knows what day it is; there is food everywhere still be used so not much meal planning has to happen; not much shopping and it feels like a kind of a pause.

I have been preparing my new year cards, and as a gift to myself have begun an online course  called The Expressive Line with Brody Neuenschwander.

I purchased the course back in August thinking I might do some of it whilst we were in Scotland; however I filled my time in many other ways there, and pretty much didn't draw breath when we returned. I checked if it had any expiry date and it does - I need to have done it by mid-late February 2023. 

So...I thought I might use this in-between-time to explore the course and do the assignments.

So far, I have watched the full video class and demonstration and am about to read through my assignment. Time in the studio is scheduled for trying out all the techniques Brody shows on the video. Here are details of some of the handouts - lots of different movement and rhythm and texture and angles and pressure...very much wondering if I have it in me to create marks and letters like this - but then that is exactly why I am doing a course i guess!

And just a lovely little bit of our Christmas lunch table...pax.

For the festive season

Another festive season is with us and as we turn towards family, friends, community, rituals, and gentle remembering, I wish for peace. 

Peace within, peace between us and peace between nations. To all my blogging friends who share so much and support each other so much, thank you for another year of magic. 

Wherever you may be, and however you may spend the time, may your days be bright and beautiful, may you be safe, and may you find and celebrate moments of peace.

This bundle of thread, a gift from my blogging friend Annwyn, popped out of its parcel looking just like a Christmas wreath. Joy.

Thursday Thoughts...

"I decided that if I could paint that flower in a huge scale, you could not ignore its beauty." 

Georgia O'Keeffe

In this quote it feels as if Georgie O'Keefe is speaking about drawing attention to things that might otherwise go unnoticed.  She chose scale and size to shock people and make them look; to take a second look at a flower and begin to understand how stunningly amazing it is.

Oftentimes I think much of my work, and work I admire, is about drawing attention to issues we find hard to look at too closely, to speak about, and to understand.

Somehow making something HUGE or really really quiet, or beautiful can feel like a paradigm shift that opens up our capacity to see things anew, afresh.

Changing our perspective; offering people a way in; encouraging new ways of looking at things; all of these are gifts that art offers...

poppy

Sewing as a creative outlet

 I feel like I have barely visited the studio in the past weeks - dropping in here and there; stopping by to collect things and drop other things off. So much time has been spent on other life matters.

One thing I have been doing quietly at home however is sewing.

You may recall my frustration at not being able to work out how to get a tidy finish to this wee grey linen drawstring bag.

I did more searching, watched videos, friends sent me links and still I couldn't quite sort it in my head how to have a French seam inside AND a tidy drawstring.  I was about to cut a trial bag out of calico when I sat down and looked hard at the one I had done thus far.

I thought to myself, what if I unpicked that bit and then hand sewed it back together neatly?

So there I was, saved by the hand stitching and the ability to make things work for me best when I do them by hand. My hands feel their way.

However, playing with fabric and needles and threads did have me back at the sewing machine trying to use up some of the lovely fabrics I have had stashed away since my sewing class came to an end three years ago.

First up I stitched one of my favourite sleeveless tops for summer. It was trickier than I anticipated (everything to do with sewing machines ends up trickier than I anticipate!) as the fabric had a lot of crinkles, creases and stretch in it. Some serious ironing sorted it in the end, and I enjoyed how it looked once complete.

I then moved on to another top for which I had a traced pattern, with no notches or markings on the pattern pieces, and some photocopied instructions that made me wonder if I missed a page somewhere? Hilarious.

Mostly done, just sorting out the facings

Checking where to iron the front cowl drape bit

Pinning then hand stitching the facings down.

Despite the lack of markings and vague instructions, we got there! 

There appears to be a serious circular theme at play - who knew?

Beginning to look a bit like...

 This time of year really races away from me no matter how hard I plan and intend for it not to!

But during the week I decided it was time to put the tree up and to think about the odd piece of decoration here and there.

At the front door, we try to have something a little bit festive and this year it is this lovely soft grey-green leafed plant with a few decorative ceramic tags in it and on it.

On the screen door, this wee bird (peace dove to me) ornament hangs quietly.

Inside along the tv cabinet the bird theme continues with these darling willy wagtails now festooned ever so slightly with twinkle lights - almost like a nest of twinkles.

Along from them and nearby our bright bold paintings by Minnie Pwerle I selected these deeply red geraniums.

Tucked into a corner near this Minnie, is our minimalist Christmas tree. This year it is simply adorned with Barry's gold-printed cards which say Love and Peace. What more could we need?

Below the tree are some gifts, wrapped in some letterpress-printed paper, full of ampersands. As Margaret Atwood so elegantly puts it "... and is so hopeful".

Love, Peace, Hope and birds...

Thursday Thoughts...

"We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: We need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever."  

Philip Pullman

Before giving true pondering consideration to this quote I think I just nodded my head in complete and utter agreement with the words We need books, time and silence.

Sounds like the perfect antidote to busy times, pressured times and times when you just feel a bit frayed or strung out.

I am sure that as a recipe (with a cup tea perhaps, wine, coffee?) most of the ills of the world could go away...

The rest of the quote leaves us with an extra dose of hope as well I think - the thought that Once upon a time can last forever... feels hopeful and positive and companionable as we move ahead.

Statue of Dame Roma Mitchell in Adelaide, sitting quietly, with her books...

Beginning a commission

 I have been asked to think about designing a Title for the cover of a book of poetry. I have done calligraphic work for this series of works before, but there are three books to come and I am trying to settle into the rhythm again after quite a big break.

The Title is "Rough Sleepers" and I have been thinking about styles in those wide-awake-at-night moments. So on Friday aI sat down, gathered my thoughts, some paper, some ink and some pens and took the first steps. Oh, and a cup of tea too!

I wanted to test and trial some of my ruling pens; some moth pens and anything else that might look scratchy. There were 7 tools in the end that I thought would be worth a go.

So I used each of them to write the title out and it came down to two that had possibilities.

So I played around with them for a bit - changing the style of E; doing the words in lower case; then upper case; and combinations.

And ended up with 5 options to send to the client to check if I am anywhere close to being on track!

 

To take my mind off the serious work of commissions, I set about to make a few more 'congratulations on your new home' cards for a friend who is a real estate agent.

I used some handmade paper made approximately 15 years ago or more (trying hard to use up stocks in the studio) and glued the test and trial prints I did over here on the front after trimming them down a bit. Then I cut a piece of inner paper and stitched it through the soft handmade paper and wrote a few words inside. 

As ever, a bit of mix and match at play in the studio!

A lovely exchange is underway...

One of the things I love about the internet, about blogs, and about artistic communities that share their wisdom, thoughts and explorations around the globe, is how you can make friends without ever meeting them.

  I have made some marvellous friends in this way and we have, whenever possible, gone out of our way on travels to catch up and meet face to face. The joy of actually meeting someone in person, who you feel as if you already know so well through so many simpatico moments is so good!

We have met blog friends in Washington State, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Wales, and here in Australia where we have hosted friends from afar when meeting them for the first time.

Sadly, I am yet to meet face to face with my blogging friend Annwyn who lives in Yorkshire; but we have corresponded regularly throughout the pandemic, measuring days and experiences; sharing thoughts and worries, and happiness when things go well.

Her website can be found here annwyndean.co.uk and her blog is here, both well worth a visit and a wander...

We were probably both still feeling a little doubtful, tentative and unsure (ahhh validation!) when we decided to try a small book exchange across the globe.

Even though parcel and post systems across the world have not really recovered from the earliest days of lockdowns and the like, we have stepped forward into the future, hopefully being able to send a book or two to each other in the mail.

We have chosen the working title "The Shape of Things" which we felt gave us a real freedom of interpretation. We plan to make two books, or an edition of two, or two sibling books as I might call them, and send one to the other; and keep one for ourselves.

Our first book is due to be posted in the first week of January, and the pair of us are quietly working away on opposite sides of the world.

We have tried to be kind to ourselves and not put too much pressure on, which is wise!

I began pottering about with some ideas about backgrounds and pages when we were at the cottage in Scotland. This was a challenge for me in a couple of ways as I really tend not to use much colour in my work. Here I was adding pattern and texture as well! Glory be.

But I must say, I like where I landed.

So much testing, trialling and experimenting happens whenever I attempt to make a book.  So many meanderings down this path and that.

Here I was thinking about imagery - the fence line on the hill outside our bedroom window at the cottage.

Already I had run away from colour and texture and pattern, thinking maybe the simplicity of the white would be my answer.

And then I recalled one of our thoughts had been to push ourselves into somewhat uncomfortable areas, so back to colour and pattern and texture I went. Still not venturing anywhere near bold or bright colour however! And still staying small for now.

We had also committed to using words...and I quite liked how this vintage Letraset played with the word doubtful, epitomising how it feels I think.

So lots of this sort of testing and trialling and going back and forth happened at the cottage. With limited supplies, this was the quality of Letraset I was playing with:

And with the limited amounts I had to create letters from all sorts of other letters, many an 'o; came from a 'q'.

Nevertheless, the work continues...

We sent each other a packet of papers for the other to choose from handiwork with; so many delights popped out of Annwyn's envelope - here are a few fragments...

So having achieved so much testing whilst away, back in Australia the final format is taking shape, and the final presentation I have in mind, but am still working on some kinks.

We have agreed we will share fragments of the process along the way, but not reveal the essence of the books until we have each received our copy. I am making progress, and edging closer and am on track for an early January posting!

Thursday Thoughts...

"Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out.”

 Czech dissident, writer and statesman Václav Havel 

I have been thinking about hope a lot - what it is, why we rely upon it, why we even bother with it given the state of the world and all. What does it mean to be hopeful? What does having hope for the future look like? Is it deluded to hold onto hope?

I am coming more and more to the view that hope is terribly important.  Hope is in many ways linked to action I think, and to uncertainty. It is a kind fo catalyst for movement.

Perhaps that is why folk find it easy to dismiss it or be cynical about it - perhaps we shy away from uncertainty and from doing things. Or we ant to ignore any sense of responsibility to try and influence things.

I love this framing of hope by Havel. It opens us up to not knowing how things will work, whilst at the same time knowing that some things simply need to be done. That no matter what, in the doing and taking of action we are stepping into the future doing things that matter.

As I finesse my understanding and thoughts about hope - I am comforted by thinking that it's not all hopeless; that some things are worth doing no matter how they work out.

Key commission

 Occasionally people ask me to do calligraphic commissions. I inevitably say no as I don't trust my calligraphy to be perfectly satisfactory for a special item. I usually refer folk onto the Buderim calligraphers who have any number of skilled calligraphers who do commissions.

This time around, I said that and the client replied that the calligraphers had referred them to me! Laugh. It became clear that I seemed to be a more likely person to take on a tricky writing on wood kind of commission.

After hearing the client's story of desperation and rejection to this point I agreed to have a look at the project, and in the end agreed to do it, with the writing to simply be nice handwriting.

I was to write a name and the number 21 on a large wooden key.

Of course, the writing needed to be around the top curve (and may I say there is nothing much harder than trying to write around curves) and the number was to below the small hole.

I got a few riding instructions and played around a bit with a pen as we talked.

Together we chose the fine black pen, which guests could also use to write and sign on the back of the key.

I drew a template  and tried to get a sense of lettering that might work. In the end, the unjoined letters looked too weird and I felt it needed a bit of flow, to make it around the awkwardness of the curve, so the letters became a bit joined up.

I thought I had it right, until I realised my second tracing had  not included the hole and the letters were going to fall into the abyss!

Trying to work out how to transfer - the rubbing of lead pencil on the back did nothing at all on the hard wooden surface, so I opted to tuck some carbon paper under the tracing paper and work with that.

It transferred OK and I was able to begin drawing into it with the black marker.

 

And so it is done. Not the most perfect or elegant resolution, but some nice handwriting to help celebrate a  special birthday.