Finalising work

 we are having an Open Studio Sale on Saturday 19 November, and I am finalising some work for that.

Part of my recent commitment to re-working and re-using materials I have around me saw me make this lovely book. I really like how that worked out, and have decided to make some smaller, less ornate ones using a left over print I found in my drawers.

I cut the print into two and worked out the covers and fly leaf. I needed to add some elements and some calligraphy, but that's where things stopped.

With the Studio Sale looming I am encouraged to do the last yards and finish them.

Here I am playing with layout after having done a few prints on different papers to see if they will make the book better.

First up I printed my lovely nest image (titled 'home') from 2014 onto three different papers to see how they might interact with the existing print.

It is years since I have worked with this plate and it was lovely to re-discover it!

I also tested a feather plate from around the same time, again on the same three papers.

Whilst it is a nice enough print, I still like the nest best.

One of the joys of re-acquainting myself with this plate was I then grabbed some beautiful Khadi paper and did a trial print on that, and thought...oh now this might go somewhere!

There is still calligraphy to do, elements to add and the prints to attach somehow, but progress has been made.

Slowly, slowly…

 Making emerges slowly as I re-adjust to where we are and what needs doing. I oftentimes find it hard to simply be in the artistic moments - time is given to the myriad of things we need to check, and to the walking and exploring, and then,  I seem to allow myself to think about artiness.

We have brought some of our wares with us and are booked to participate in two markets whilst here!

They are small and local, and the season is really just beginning but we thought it was another way to participate in community.

I have mostly brought cards and a few artists’ books bits, but as I sorted through my box of arty goodies left behind last time, I came across this beautiful stash of feathers a neighbour had gifted me.  Knowing I could use some of the larger ones for brushes and mark making, and also knowing that I couldn’t take them back to Australia given our tight bio security rules, I thought about using them somehow.

In my box of goodies I also found six cards I had prepared earlier - folded and with envelopes - and so I set about making feather cards.

A spool of black thread was waiting for the stitching

As a bunch of feathers spilled from their storage envelope.

And some cards emerged.

I have nightmares about this G but that’s life sometimes…

A lovely trio of cards.

Joined by another lovely trio today.

Starting small, starting slowly, but starting!

A beautiful commission

 In between the prepping and planning and general getting ready-ness for the Red Thread showing, I was asked to print some invitations to a memorial; and some memorial thank you cards. It took some exceptional planning and logistics as they are multi-phase efforts and I had have them all done and dusted and out the door before we hung the show. It was tight.

Cutting the cards, setting the type, proofing, printing the outside of the cards.  Letting the cards dry then setting proofing and printing the inside of the cards. Testing colours (so interesting that red was the main theme!). Then on to doing the same for the invitations.

The bit where I begin to worry - will these scratches do anything at all? Or just look awful?

Just add water...

And the bit where I always let out a big sigh of relief; when they appear whimsical and gentle and swaying in the breeze.

The invitations - about 65 of them.

Wrapped and tied with the DEP thread.

And the cards - about 35 of them - with envelopes, stacked and tied with a bow and all teh details printed inside.

People often ask if we do custom work or commissions; and we say we don't do weddings.  But we will always try to do some beautiful hand printed cards for a funeral or memorial...

Spring has sprung and we had a storm last night so on our walk this morning the jacaranda carpets were everywhere!

Whereas Saturday's walk was a two-feather walk!

This and That

I am still learning how best to make and create here in the cottage.  This time I came prepared with some ideas and since I have been here, I have been doing lot of things, and in the end most of them are preparation.

I have been trying to dye threads using plants from here; as I won't be able to do that back in Australia.  I have tried to make brushes with materials from here and make marks on paper.  I will take the paper home, but won't be able to take the brushes - sheep's wool; horse's hair and feathers, all of which our quarantine folk would most likely want to keep, so I don't want to risk losing them into a bin.

So this week, I managed to get some more thread dyed and make some marks on papers.

I am retaining my serendipity is good kind of approach to things, but got caught out when I tried to replicate some colours.  This was stinging nettle.  I had had it turn the butteriest yellow before and then, as it started to die off I go a most gorgeous grey.  Being into grey I went and got heaps more in the hope it would go grey again.  This is what it did instead - absolutely nothing.

So I tossed the nettles out and started again with dead and dying nettle leaves. As ever, we shall see.

I had chatted with a neighbour one day about natural dyeing and she recalled some notes she had made from a book from South Uist (Outer Hebrides) about the old ways of dyeing.  She found them and copied them for me and we chatted about how water lily should give black.  I thought that was amazing, but where would I find waterlilies in Scotland I wondered?

As serendipity would have it, we came across a lochan (wee loch) with them growing and in an adventurous manner, with Barry leaning in, sleeve rolled up and me tethering him in the bog, we collected one wee root. And gave it a go.

It came out greyish. Not bad.

However I was chatting to a friend Lesley in Wales and she sent me through a book. It also spoke of water lilies but mentioned you should put copper and iron in to get the black.  We were a few days in by this stage, so I tossed a penny coin and some rusted washers in to see if that made a difference.  The brew is still in the pot, looking darker, so I shall report later.

Before adding copper and iron.

And so to brushes and marks and paper.

A previous bouquet became brushes with the addition of a goose feather gifted by a different neighbour.

I loved the soft ex-thistle flower - it held the ink well and moved smoothly.  The tight flower/seed head also worked well; but the open one didn't.  The feather gave really tiny fine lines.

The ex-thistle flower circles.

This is the short horse hair brush with Payne's Grey diluted.

This is wispy wool.

This is wispy horse hair

More wispy wool.

A few pages ready to pack and take back, cut up and use somehow.

Its very different to making and completing, but I know the investment is important.

Its also very therapeutic just experimenting and exploring and not really being in control!

Printing in different ways

For some reason unknown to even myself, I decided I wanted to do some feather mono prints through the week. And so I did.

I got out my gelli plate and the Golden Open Acrylics that work so well and wash out so well and had  myself a little play.

It had been ages since I had done mono prints and I really enjoyed the ghost print results from the gelli  plate - it does hold the impression so well.

I mean look at this detail...

So there are a bunch more cards to be made and some fun coasters to dot around the studio!

And continuing with the coaster theme, A friend came over on Saturday and I introduced her to the joys of letterpress.  She made some beautiful work and at the end of the day we quickly de-bossed some coasters - and I just love them.

So many ways to print...

Journals journals journals

One of the things we get to do as tutors at Wrapt in Rocky,  is to have a table of small things for sale - things that students might like to purchase, and our sales night is tomorrow night.

Before I left I spent some time making small journals - I figure you can never have too many notebooks.

I used some of my friends' feathers - I have good friends who collect and share them with me - as well as some of my white on white work.

 I stitched the feather onto 300gsm watercolour paper for the covers, then included 180gsm watercolour paper for the pages.

I always love a guinea-fowl feather...

The subtle colours in this one are so beautiful.

And then I stamped some letters... a b c

 Embossed a map...

 And rolled some tiny indentations across a cover.

Which left really subtle patterns on the covers and I like the way you have to investigate further...or you just get a nice surprise when you realise it isn't blank!

And I found a peacock feather to throw into the mix.

And then packaged them all up for sale.

 Hopefully folk will like them.

And last week, before I left, we had this fiery sunset - a stunner!