Some words of care and thinking and preparing

 So, it has been a dark start to the year. There have been moments of light and hope; but many moments of dread and despair as we watch the news from around the world and our own country. 

In chatting back and forth with friends, we have reminded ourselves of the Circles of Concern (all those things out there in the big wide world that scare us, worry us, make us fear for so many) and our circle of control (that sphere closer to home where we can do something that makes the world a little bit better).

And so I was happy to recall I had seen some templates for my Circles of Concern, Circle of Control cards as I packed up and moved. Even better, I knew where they were!

So I pulled them out and started to make the circles, and to add the gold leaf (whose whereabouts was also known!) and to get a few in the mail to folk.

And out of these nine cards, I have six of the smaller cards left.

If you would like me to send you one please let me know and then email me your details (info@fionadempster.com).

I know I find the idea comforting and helpful when things appear too awful for words. The words encourage me to look within my sphere of control; to look at my circle and to go forward and do some good there. Small acts of kindness, of reaching out, of connecting and checking in.

And in another task I have an artists' book to make for an exhibition. I have been thinking and planning and pondering and playing and touching this and that; and then looking at that over there and wondering...

It is such an intriguing time this uncertainty, this fumbling towards the light of clarity and knowing...

It began with the idea to re-work some words I had written about nests, and maybe feathers, and eggs and birds.

I recalled coming across these pages as I packed up the studio. Several of them were damaged and foxed, but these five were in good shape so I saved them.

I started to gather some notions - some things that might go with the paper...

And then I thought maybe the soft grey thread might be better...

And then I went hunting in the garden for some twigs...

Something is evolving. The words are re-appearing in new ways. The possibilities for the pages are changing. It is a dance of lightness and quick movements; then pausing to reflect and go back around again.

For whatever reason I am sitting to the side of myself observing and watching how it is coming into being and I am enjoying myself. There are lots of little moments of insight and discovery; of working out that I need to slow down; or I need to challenge myself and think really hard about why I thought something was good...

Oh I do a lot of miles in my head before I begin to make a book!

Circles of Concern...

 In between times I have been doing the small tasks in the production line of these Circles of Concern, Circle of Control cards.

The steps involve printing the words, drawing the square, drawing the circles, laying on the gilding medium, waiting, then applying the gold leaf, waiting, and then brushing off the gold leaf.

And now they are done.

I managed to grab a few photos along the way - here are a couple where the gold leaf has been applied and is waiting to adhere, then be brushed off. You can see by how the gold is kind of all over the shop how flighty a sheet of gold can be!

Despite the weird angle, I think these two show the 3D nature of the leaf application.

I was quite pleased that I managed to get 20 good ones.

And then there are 5 wobblier ones. In the end, I kind of don't mind these ones as they suggest to me that even when we try to operate in our circle of control, we might be clumsy and/or imperfect!

This one definitely has the wobbles.

As does this one.

Once again, these are giveaways, so if you would like to receive one, please don't hesitate to send me a message or a comment and I shall pop one in the mail to you as soon as I can. If you would prefer a wobbly one, please let me know.

As things get tough and feel even tougher, it helps me to remember to come away from my circles of concern (so many!!!) and return to my circle of control.

Some lovely times...

 We had an amazing weekend at the studio (hence no Sunday post...) with Barry's exhibition of small watercolours, plus the showing of The Shape of Things, and a general happiness around other studio items on sale. We were thrilled, exhausted and exhilarated.

The opening on Friday was a real buzz, and I managed to take ONE photo!  Barry speaking at the opening.

I had lots of lovely conversations about the collaborative exchange with Annwyn called The Shape of Things, and so many people pored over the books and loved the stories behind them. 

In the lead up I had managed to make two pairs of pebble earrings - each earring with one silver and one oxidised silver pebble. They both sold on the night, which was very special.

Hopefully I will get the chance to make some more soon!

In other news I have bundled up some Together cards and whilst some are already in the post; others are waiting for a free moment to be able to address the envelopes -  it has been quite busy but hopefully the next few days will see them on their way. Please let me know your address so I can send you some (if you'd like them).

And I captured this serene moment on a side table in our house. So quiet, so still, so delicate...

Wishing us all some moments of quiet and stillness in the upcoming weeks...

Together again

 I managed to get some time to print some Together cards and am looking forward to bundling them up and sending them out into the world. Do let me know in comments if you are interested in receiving some; and/or email me: infoATfionadempster.com.

I chose a deep sapphire blue to print with and three different type faces, as discussed in my earlier blog post.  I am working hard to use up supplies and spares in the studio so some were printed on the back of previously printed cards; and others were printed on some cards I have had lying around for quite another purpose which will no longer happen so they were just waiting to be used!

I also used up a few spare sheets of khaki paper that were lurking in a drawer - it felt good to gradually use things up.

I decided to use both variations of together. Together and Together...

So there are A6 postcard sizes; and business card sized cards.

I will wrap them in 3s so folk will receive one of each type face. They will be  random selections of paper types and I will pop them in the post over the next wee while. Just send me your name and address and if you would like Together, Together... or both. I have twenty sets available.

I quite liked the look of this one - proofing Together in duplicate here - well and truly together!

Winner and just a bit all over the shop!

Most of my time this week has been spent getting ready to teach at Fibres West from 7-13 July (which seems rather close now!)

I have been holding it in the back of my mind, occasionally putting things aside and kind of planning what I would need and when; until of course I really had to focus and discovered a few things I had to get hold of rather quickly! Laugh.

So a morning down the coast meant I could gather all sorts of bibs and bobs I need to prepare.

The list of preparations is in a couple of parts - one for a lecture, two for a pop-up shop and three for 5 days worth of teaching with 12 students.  I am always conscious that folk may have come from far and away; may not live nearby specialist art supplies places; and that we are 100km away from Perth so access to art supplies locally is extremely limited. Nothing quite like being prepared for all eventualities, and luckily I have an excellent luggage allowance.

Masking off as I make name tags for the class members.

Rubbing powdered graphite in as the background for writing names.

Making a few notebooks that look quiet and gentle like the name of the course, and which might be in the pop up shop. I love the poppy emboss.

My grief cards have been selling well which is nice I think.  They are gentle words and cards and help us reach out to folk we love and care about when they have experienced loss and death.  So I needed to make quite a few more.

As always they take time - the cutting of paper, the setting and printing of the type and then the illustration.  All of these phases need a bit of time in between them so they don't smudge etc, and then into cello bags they go and the associated paperwork gets done!

Some of these are also off to Fibres West. The blue tint from the windows upstairs in the studio really shows through here.

And in between times I have completed a commission which I can't show - a gift for a special person in July apparently.

And I have been working with a local author and poet on pulling together a book of poetry. I did the calligraphic title and we are working on layout, removal of stars, and which sort of paper might work best for a cover.

Here are three options I printed and the decisions are underway.

Yesterday Barry and I delivered our work for the artists' book exhibition Compassion - at The Old Ambo Gallery in Nambour which opens next weekend.  We had both also made some product for the shop there, so more lists and numbering and packaging was done.

You'd have to say I am never bored.

And so to the winner of the giveaway from last week...

I asked the computer to choose a number between 1 and 5 and the number it chose was five - which is Annick!  So I am chuffed to be sending one of my 'Pockets are Political' posters across the ocean to Europe.

10 year anniversary + giveaway

10 years.

I was surprised when I went looking a few months ago, to discover that on this day 16 June, in 2009, I posted my first blog post!

Here's a quick look at it...

Back in the day you could only add pretty small photos; and it was definitely brief, but it was a beginning. The subject was a collaboration amongst a few of us local artists.  It was the first time I worked with the words of a local poet Robyn; and in a lovely symbiosis I am working with her on another poetry book at the moment!

Nice to see that the relationship has blossomed and continued for a decade.

Also interesting to see that I was reporting on a workshop I ran; and this weekend I have again been teaching a workshop, this time in Toowoomba (and more on that soon).

So as part of my anniversary meandering I decided to take look at the blog post each year, that landed on or closest to the anniversary date.  Please bear with me as I take a decade-long wander down memory lane...

Here we are on  13 June 2010. This was the first year of A Letter a Week and I was nearly at the end of my first alphabet! That was a great project which ran over several years, culminating in a beautiful exhibition in 2013

The anniversary date coincided again and this is a Thursday Thought on 16 June 2011.  I began doing my Thursday Thoughts in July 2010 (here is my first thought!) and they have remained an enjoyable part of my blogging week.

In 2012, the closest date is Saturday 15 June with the opening of an exhibition I was the 'lead' in - Tread Lightly. The rainbow stack is taller now and hits the ceiling in our house; the book Learning my Lines is now in the collection of the Sunshine Coast University, some of the other works have been sold and generally speaking its fun to look back! Pictures can be bigger now.

In 2013 I must have realised I had a blog anniversary as I posted and offered a give-away on Sunday 16 June 2013. The blog post is about Susan Bowers and I getting together to work on some of our collaborative books - which formed part of our exhibition Pas de Deux in 2015.  We had a lot of fun getting together over the years to make and create 20 beautiful collaborative books which are now housed in a fabulous private collection in Melbourne. Ahhhh memories.

Tuesday 17 June 2014 saw me posting on sewing a skirt.  It seems very apt that I have picked upon a sewing post all those years ago, given it is now such a gorgeous part of my making life!

Tuesday 16 June 2015 saw me pottering about with hearts and hands - one of those blog posts not about making, but about noticing...

I still love hearts and hearts!

The anniversary date fell on another Thursday on 16 June 2016... Which makes sense in a way - Thursday Thoughts are after all, a weekly occurrence and the odds of them being the nearest blog post are not too long.  This one is about books and rain - both still a big part of my life!!!

How funny that I wrote about the frequency of Thursday Thoughts landing in the previous description - because here is another one on Thursday 15 June 2017! I love this kookaburra on one of our railings, looking so chill and relaxed.

Almost there - thanks for hanging in!

Here we are on Sunday 17 June 2018 - just last year, pottering about. It was interesting to see this post again as the first work featured never really went anywhere; the thank you cards all went and I made more like them; the bunches of flowers I was playing with have become an important design in my grief cards; and the touching base letterpress is also part of a series of four postcards. Just interesting.

So...thanks for your time and for your companionship along the way.  It hardly feels like a decade, but a decade it is.  I have enjoyed the world of the blog so much.  I have found and made wonderful friends (and even actually met some of them!!).  The generosity, care and kindness fo my blogging buddies is marvellous.

A couple of other really valuable things I have found from blogging - having a routine and commitment to blog has made me look at art differently, the gardena and the wider world differently - seeing beauty and noticing it and occasionally reporting on it.  It has also made me go and make art - because then I will have something to blog about!  In tight and weary times blogging has been an impetus to make - a lovely thing.  And lastly, but not leastly, paperponderings has become a record of my journey as a maker and creator.  Nearly all my main work can be found here one way or another and I love that it really is a bit like a diary of it all.

What a time I have had.

And now to the anniversary giveaway - I mean what would an anniversary celebration be without a give away???

So I am giving away one of my recent "Pockets are Political" posters.

To take part, I'd like you to leave me a comment telling me about a lovely moment of kindness you have experienced - somebody being kind to you, you observing a kindness by others; or of you doing a random act of kindness.  I think I'd like to hear about kindness...

To be in the draw, you need to leave a comment by 6pm AEST on Saturday 22 June 2019. I will then do a random number  generation and select the winner and let you know next Sunday 23 June 2019.

Thanks and go well, Fiona.