Studio preparations continue

Barry and I have been in Melbourne for a few days with work-work, and today my sister-in-law-to-be and my brother visited so that I could teach them how to make their own hand-made book for their guests and photos at their wedding.

We had a lovely time and Lorraine made a great book!

I snatched a few hours yesterday and again as Lorraine sat stitching this afternoon, to keep making wee things to sell at the Open Studios in a few weeks' time. I have been making my own cards and in synch with the plan for the next book in Susan's and my collaboration, I have also been making my own envelopes.

As a minor distraction, Susan and I are planning to make an envelope book next time - stay tuned for just what that might mean and how it might look.

But back to the cards, here are a few of them to date...

These are envelope made of paste paper, with cards using paste paper cut-outs, sealed with a little black velcro dot.

These are a couple of sets of rusty-tea cards, with hand decoration.

And here are some rusty tea washer cards.

It is good to have few little projects on the go, so that when I have a spare few moments I can sit down and cut, paste, draw or stitch and feel as if I am contributing to the 'for sale' options when we open.

A flurry of fun

In between the serious business of preparing artworks for an exhibition, I have really enjoyed some play-time with letters and envelopes.

A young friend turned 10 on the weekend and here is the cover of his card. I was totally inspired by Jane Farr's envelopes for her children and even managed to buy some glaze pens here in Australia.  I didn't go back and look at Jane's post until after I'd finished; but there are some real similarities for sure!  Like the chunky letters and the coloured in letters...

©2011 Fiona Dempster Tom's birthday card (detail)

©2011 Fiona Dempster Tom's birthday card 

My brother Al and his fiancee Lorraine had their engagement party on the weekend, and we travelled to Brisbane and stayed overnight. We had a great night and I also had fun making up the gift-card-envelope thingy. Technical term.

It's Japanese-inspired and uses some paste paper I made as well as fragment of light Japanese papers that I did some Itajime dying of when we were in Calgary last year.

©2011 Fiona Dempster Al & Lorraine's engagement

©2011 Fiona Dempster Al & Lorraine's engagement

I sometimes need reminding about how much fun it is to play - to make folded envelopes, to write people's names for their birthdays. I know how much pleasure it give me to receive such hand-made and hand-written wonders, and I wonder why I don't do it more often myself? 

Hungry beasties

I had an interesting experience with a book a week or so ago.

I had a hand-made journal with paste paper cover sitting somewhere to maybe be bought. It waited patiently and quietly but didn't sell. So I went to collect it and another journal and a few other bits and pieces.

I happily packed up all my goodies and when I got home realised that something had been 'at' my journal. Literally. Ate my journal.

This intrigued me, and between us Barry and I think we determined the culprit was a cockroach. We think it liked the taste of paste (which after all is mostly wheat and water). And in particular it liked to munch where the paste was thickest.

We have been hearing warnings about cockroaches in high numbers given our extremely wet season, which is why we figure it was one of them. The other journal with dyed paper covers wasn't touched, so I now need to think my way through presenting and preserving paste-paper covers for folk who might buy them!

Firstly I thought I might spray the cover with some fixative - figuring that might make the paste less palatable. Secondly I thought I would always have my journals in plastic - reuseable bags from now on to help protect the paste from paste-loving bugsnstuff.

Any thoughts, experiences, suggestions and advice warmly welcomed! What to do with the munched journal is another thing yet to be determined...

VW multiples

I have previously mentioned how enamoured I became of the "VW" book that Carol du Bosch shared in Bound and Lettered journal.  Combine this with a wet weekend and a stock room exhibition coming up and what was I to do?

So I had a lot of fun!  I have made 6 books - 3 small and 3 medium - all using my handmade 'itajime' or paste papers and with nice thoughts, ideas, and statements handwritten within. I cheated a bit by using Fabriano Medioevalis papers - which start small and are ready to fold without having to measure, cut and fold.

It was such a delightful time - meditative and fun and oh so much fun to play with them when they were finished.

They really are one of the nicest feeling books in the hand that I know of.

Journals continuing

The journals are nearly all done and soon they will be ready to head out into the world. They are headed for  a stock room exhibition called "Small Treasures and Pleasures" at Main Street Gallery in Montville.

These last two are black and white again and quite stunning in their own way.

The first one I used three sets of 'modified Celtic weave' and the stitching is quite dense this time, less open than the teal book. The cover is some of my paste paper - I like the way the lines aren't perfectly straight so you sometimes get these optical illusion feelings when you look at it.

The second is a medium sized journal again with paste paper covers. I sewed on tapes this time and took two over the boards and onto the inside cover; and kept the middle as a loop around tie.

More journals...

As I mentioned on Friday - its nice to have a stash of journals just ready to stitch.

In keeping with my intention to use different stitches here are the next two.  They are both medium-sized journals.

The first uses paste paper covers and a simple 3-link-down stitch. The second uses some itajime paper covers and a made up celtic-weave stitch.  It is really just a variation of the 3-link-down stitch with crossovers on the outside and up rather than on the inside and straight across.  Does that make sense to anyone?!?!?

More close ups because stitched books are just beautiful things. I have also been very happy with how well the waxed linen thread has matched the papers too!

Journals emerging...

It has been great to have a stash of journals sitting ready to stitch downstairs.  In between bits and pieces I have really enjoyed picking them up and making them.

I have also tried to use a variety of stitches to add interest and to encourage people to explore them.  I made the covers using the itajime papers I made in Calgary and the paste papers I made at home.

With journals, and often other books, I nearly always get asked "did you make the paper?" Sadly, this comment frustrates me a bit as if all the other elements (the words, the hand calligraphy, the paper for the covers, the binding, the design etc) are somehow considered lesser.  It also makes me a bit sad, because people don't always understand how difficult it can sometimes be to actually draw or write on handmade paper - it can tear, pull and the surface can bleed the ink - and that in fact high quality watercolour paper like these is often actually preferable.

As my friend Kim so rightly reminds me - it is our job to educate folk as well as allow them to enjoy our work!

Here are two of the journals so far. The first is a small one, itajime paper and blanket stitch binding.  The blanket stitch makes for quite a loose and free-feeling little book; it moves in your hand a bit.

The second is a large journal with itajime paper covers again, using tapes which go thru the cover and into the board a bit. It's nice and sturdy. I also showed some close ups because I always think stitching looks lovely (if wobbly here and there) this close up!

Journals galore

I have been artistically quiet lately - lots of community, family, work and gardening commitments have filled my days.

I have tho, been steadily compiling this stack of 8 journals to stitch.  I am hoping they might be ready to go out into the world in the next month or so and have been covering boards and organising paper and timber and generally just getting them ready for a marathon stitch-fest!

It's nice to see how the paste papers I made recently and the 'itajime' papers I made in Calgary have been able to be used.

Paste Paper play

There has been a recent 'thread' on the cyberscribes discussions about paste paper, which made me think - just go make some!  So I did and the papers are now under weights straightening out.

It was a lot of fun and once you get started you just want to keep going - so many experiments to have.

I liked the drama of the black and white and think the pastel ones are gentle in their own way. I expect I will use the papers as coverings for books and boxes.