Pocket Book

First up, apologies to the kind folk who comment - it has taken me too long to respond, but I think I have now caught up again. I really do love hearing your thoughts and undertake to do better...

The wee pocket book is now complete. In the end an edition of 15 which was unexpected, but a good outcome.

Even lying flat on the floor, I like the look of them.

And as ever, I love the edges, and am pleased with the regularity of this stack - stitching and paper edges.

They were stacked in an alternating pattern when under weights, which also looks nice.

The title page in the green of the thread of the poster...

And a couple of spreads.

All up there are 9 pages with related paragraphs on them; a title page and a colophon, as well as a few blanks.

It is a grand little book and one of the first in the newly hatched deckled edge press editions!

The books will be for sale but I am just working out how and where and how much! Let me know if yo u are interested and I shall email you details.

More pocket progress

 More progress on the pocket book.

In the end, the bottom line is that a handprinted a book takes time.  There is a lot of time spent planning the size and the layout; choosing the words to write and the order in which they will proceed. Then comes the typeface; and the size.  And then the question - do I have enough of that typeface in that size? My mind turns to paper and how that will work out, and so on.

Here I am after setting a couple of pages - trying to work out which paper works best.

I decided on the lower as I felt there would be too much bleed through on the top paper - even tho I loved its tactile nature.

Yep, too distracting to see through to the other side as much as this.

And so of course to setting - working out where to position the type on the pages so that they are consistent throughout the book. How to work out which lines are the longest; and how many lines are needed. These pages reflect a 5 line verse and a 7 line verse. Tricky spacing to manage.

But I printed 15 of each hoping for an edition of 10 by the time I could have stuffed things up along the way.

The final page is set.  

 

And so the covers are covered and the inside cover papers 'stitched' and glued.

The Title page is printed in green and the other pages are printed, all ready for collation.

And stitching.

And then just because I love the shadow play of these flowers and leaves. You would almost think somebody had painstakingly snipped each of those leaves to make the serrated look so brilliant, but no, just nature!

Pocket progress

 One of the feature of my work I have discovered when speaking about it, is this notion siblings.  I oftentimes will make wall works; which have accompanying books.  I may make a book and then create wall works that are related.  I think of them as siblings in the sense that they are related; yet not identical kind of thing.

And so to my pocket book.  Several years in the making (or not making really isn't it).  I thought the poster Pockets are Political deserved a book as well, and on and off have thought about what to do and how to do it.

It finally became the project I needed to make and I have set about writing words, setting them and printing them.

This bit of the progression story is about the covers - inside and out.

With a nod once more to the suffragette and feminist colours - the covers are a beautiful rich purple buckram, over Arches Velin 280gsm paper. I wanted the covers to be firm but flexible and I think this combination achieves that.

And then to the inside covers.  I worked out what weight paper would be good; and then wondered if I should embellish it at all; go for marbled paper, or stitch it maybe?

Stitching felt a little bit too distracting, and then I landed on the sewing machine without thread idea.

I retrieved the pattern I had used for machine sewing in green, the pockets at the bottom of the poster and worked it onto a page.

I did not think I had the care nor attention to trace and stitch it 15 times, so I experimented with layering the paper together and tracing onto only the top sheet.  

This worked for 5 or 6 sheets so I was set.

I traced and taped together a few bundles then sat down at the machine to stitch.

With very satisfying results!

I rubbed out the tracing lines on the top sheets, then glued them in position on the inside of the covers.

I love their subtlety and I love how the imagery reflects the exact same image on the poster, yet is different.  They are linked yet individual. Like siblings.

And to keep the sibling theme going, I printed the title in the same green that I stitched the pockets in on the poster! 

The books are still under weights and should be ready to be stitched this week.

Showings and sale

 We are mid a bit of moving madness here at the moment.

After enjoying our block and our home for 14 years, Barry and have sold our house.  The time is right and we say goodbye knowing this place has nurtured us and given us much happiness.  For sure we will miss the magic of the mountains and the valleys below, but it is time for someone else to enjoy it.

As a result, there has not been much making at all.

A couple of pieces of good news however...

My poster Pockets Are Political has been shown in the fabulous printmaker's magazine Pressing Matters Vol 12.

This is such a great magazine based in the UK - full of interesting and amazing articles - incredible talent and lots of wonderful things to see, read and ponder. I am thrilled to have a wee mention.

On the other side of the globe (New Zealand) both Barry and have pieces on show at the Pumanawah Gallery at he Christchurch Arts Centre in the Love Letters: the Letterpress Poster exhibition.  The show is all about the love of letterpress and would be great see (if one could travel). It has 71 works from New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

After Christchurch it heads to Auckland and to Wellington, so at least a lot of folk in NZ get the chance to see it.  See their FB page for details.

Coincidentally, I sent Pockets Are Political there as well  (world domination is clearly on the agenda - more pockets for women!!!).

And here is the sign that made it all real on the house front.

And a few recent cameos by the mountains before we leave...

This one is smoke haze this morning from the first bushfire of the season...

Looking back...

We end this year in the toughest of times; and look to the next one for some relief, and some good moments for so many who are suffering these fires that keep our country burning.

Each year I use the time between Christmas and New year to ponder, reflect, celebrate achievements and plan. Part of that is looking back over the year and the work I have made and pulling together the ones that I love the most; or the ones that made me smile or meant something to me.

It may simply be that by the end of the year it feels like it was a  pretty patchy year (I probably say that every year) and that I am not sure that I achieved much at all; but then I start to wander through the works and realise there were some good things in there, so here we go, in no particular order as ever - just alphabetical.

My year in review:

1. Botanical Dyeing

Teaching and attending workshops brings you into contact with people with marvellous ideas and resources to share, and the story of a book that a student brought to class which then inspired me to have a go at botanical dyeing both here and in Scotland was a revelation - and I do so love the threads and their pegs!

2. Coasters

Planning ahead for a lengthy stay in the Scottish Highlands meant I was able to prepare some fabric and take some thread and sit and stitch some coasters for the cottage. I love that these are now part of our life over there...

3. Grief Cards

I have been so happy that folk 'get' the idea of my grief cards and purchase them and share them with others.  It has been a real joy to make these simply illustrated cards, with tender words and thoughts for when words are hard to find.

4. I would have loved a sunburnt country

This was special.  It grew from feeling helpless about our government's refugee policy of detention; and sorrow that so many find their incarceration unbearable and take their own life. But also, that our health and security systems fail them and they die unnecessarily.  The State Library of Queensland purchased it and understood that artists need to bear witness to atrocities, and as a society, we need to keep and protect what they say as part of the public record.

5. Justice

I was delighted to be asked to repeat this commission in a variable way.  The organisation does such grand work, and these words capture the experience of women who are victims of domestic abuse and how the service helps them, empowers them and encourages them.

6. Light and Love

Once more, in response to tragedy, I made these wee books.  After the Mosque attack in New Zealand that killed so many, Jacinda Ardern showed great leadership, compassions and courage and I used words from Martin Luther King to remind us how light overcomes darkness and that Love overcomes hate. I sent one of the books to Jacinda to say thank you.

7. Ode to Stones

In last year's review I hoped that I might be able to include these in this year's; and I just made it! They were problematic in a few ways, but really helped me focus on solving problems and resolving issues satisfactorily. I am pleased they are here this year!

8. Overwintering 5

These wee books feel precious in the hand. They work with poetic words and images and I love how I managed to pull a bunch of things together and make them work.

9. Pockets are Political

My obsession with pockets and the lack thereof in women's clothing persists; and I like this poster and the words that accompany it.  I have had lots of good responses to it from people who have read the words or heard them spoken - I am pretty sure all women get the need for more and better pockets!!!

10. Sometimes the Soul...

Once again I was honoured to work on theSophia Nugent-Siegal Prize, this time with the words of
MTC Cronin. My main contribution here was the original calligraphic rendering of the title followed by the hand stitching and numbering of the booklets.  I was happy with how the calligraphy worked out and also to be able to provide a hand-stitched option for the final book.

Looking back it was a  lovely year with some nice pieces that gave me and others joy.

Thanks for wandering down ye olde memory lane with me for a bit; but more importantly for stopping by through the year; for leaving thoughts or words in response to what I do and for generally just being a nice part of the interweb to spend time in.

Wishing you all good things, happier days, and a bright and safe new year where I hope we all find time for making, creating and sharing beauty.

Of this and that

This summer is proving to be tough already, only 2 weeks into it.  It is hot, so hot, and dry. Drought has been officially declared in our sub-tropical region. How can this be?  We watch as our poor garden fades and fails and still try to make the most of the things we can keep alive.

And yet we know we are nowhere near as bad as folk further to our west.

This time of year is also kind of bitsy - there seem to be things finishing, gatherings to be had, work to get done, preparations made for guests and the like, so it seems as if I just move between one wee thing and another. But I enjoy and appreciate most of them.

First things first - food!

More shortbread is being baked - for family and for friends.

More tomatoes are appearing - the heat sees them ripen before your very eyes, but kilograms have gone to friends and relish and sauces are being made.

And for some reason not even known to me, I thought I'd like to try to make some labna.  So into the brand new handkerchief the yoghurt went, tied around a metal straw and hanging in a vase in the fridge.  High tech all the way! Will see how we go in a few days when it has drained.

And then to sewing.  My pocket fetish/infatuation is in no way abating, so I am trying to work out new ways to incorporate pockets into my clothes.  I have a pair of pockets like these on some pants I bought and thought I should try to work out how to do them for myself.  So here is the calico mock-up.

And here they are successfully designed and applied to a new pair of pants. Most happy I am (altho I need to make the elastic in the waist tighter, still they are very nearly done).

A friend needed a quick card as a gift and they popped over to print the word PACE!! which relates to an acting teacher's regular commands to them to keep the pace up (at first I thought he wanted the Italian for peace...). A couple fo proofs.

I needed a few more grief cards - different ones this time - the dandelion ones with the words "they lived and laughed and loved and left. and life will never be the same again".  So managed to use the leftover ink to print them.  Still to be illustrated, they are drying merrily in this heat.

And then to the dull as dishwater job of dissing type.  I took apart the work I had done for McAuley in Melbourne and put all of the type back in its individual compartments in its individual trays.

And all of those wee spacers - grouped together in size and back in their special spots as well.

Days are full but life is good, except for the no rain thing.