We Are Sorry and the Libris Awards

As I have tidied up around the studio of late - in preparation for the BIG move - I did a quick check on We Are Sorry, a book that Barry and I produced together last year for the exhibition Compassion.

The pages were put together after we had printed onto all sorts of papers, and in particular, we had included a light tracing paper.  Originally I had used a spray adhesive to attach it, but after being handled and possibly the humidity (also possible it was just not brilliantly executed to start with) I noticed the the page was wrinkling, crinkling and lifting and did not look great.

So I went back to our leftover prints and worked out a few more pages I could use and went about removing the offending original.

It took no time at all, so that was good on the one hand, not so good on the other had I really wanted it to stay in the book!

The offender once removed.

A little bit too much curling and crinkling.

And so to replacement options - the blank page.

Any number of leftovers.

A selection was made and in it went.  Some layered Japanese tengucho paper - repeating we are, we are sorry.

The opposite page is a layered, soft as tengucho - 4gsm - and I love its repetition.

The closing pages - Goyu paper this time.

We are hoping to submit this book the Libris Awards.

The words that support it include:

We are Sorry has layers and layers of sorry. As a nation, we have made three National Apologies and this book has many more apologies in it – to asylum seekers detained in inhumane conditions; to future generations for our refusal to act on climate change; to people with disabilities in institutional care; and to returned veterans with PTSD, for starters. We are sorry.

Dewey Dewey Dewey

We have had a pretty darn busy week this week, but I got a lovely surprise in the post when I received this great book on the Abridged Dewey Classification system from Liz Ackert in Texas.  Liz is a former librarian who put me on to thinking about using numbers as codes of classification and I am thrilled to have this book in the studio.  I have dug, and delved, and dipped into it, and fallen down many a rabbit hole as I investigate what numbers can mean; and I have been thinking about what they can become.

As a small gesture of beginning, I have printed some of my card sets and wrapped them in fine Habu threads.

The first five I selected are these.

My investigations made me think about how to ascribe peace within the Dewy system, and this is as close as I got - conflict resolution.  Part of me was a tad interested that peace in and of itself didn't seem to have its own classification...bu I will keep looking.

Of course, feminism gets a card; and I am pretty confident that this is its number.

I went looking for support for LGBTIQ rights, and landed here.

I came up with this as my representation of family violence/domestic abuse and I think its pretty close.

And here is where my support for asylum seekers and refugees was found.

As ever, I adore the edges with their deckles and threads.

 It is a small start but I think I can include these Dewey numbers in different parts of my work and am sure I will spend a lot of time digging into my new book!

Part of the reason we have been busy is that as part of our annual cull and clean up around the block; we held a garage sale on Saturday.  We had chosen to send all our proceeds to bush fire relief in Cobargo and were thrilled when we cracked the $1000 mark. We will be seeing our donation through to Cobargo Community Bushfire Recovery Fund, with thanks to Ronnie Ayliffe who has worked tirelessly to let the world know of the devastation so many have experienced and continue to face as the fires still burn.

If you are interested in funding direct to the community as they work to recover over the next weeks, months and years, here is a link to their GoFundMe page where you can also find their bank account details for direct bank transfers.

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.

Numbering

It's funny how ideas are sparked or begin.  I can't recall when or exactly where, but I do recall blogging friend Liz Ackert (a former librarian) referencing the dewey decimal system call number for something.  (apologies Liz that my memory is vague on exactly what).

But it got me thinking about codes and things that mean things to people who know how to read them.  Whilst we were in Scotland I started googling different library systems for cataloguing and went down many a merry rabbit hole and managed to confuse myself mightily.  The dewey decimal system is only one of several such systems used by different libraries around the world.  But its primarily the one I know so I ended up just sticking with it.

On return I started playing with some of the numbers which reference things that matter to me.

So I began with feminism. 305.42

And moved onto peace (reflected here by conflict resolution's call number). 303.69

And to LGBTQI rights. 306.76

And family violence. 362.82

And refugees. 362.87

It has become quite the interesting search and is something that could definitely lead somewhere. None of it is exact given my lack of librarianship skills, but the numbers do match closely aligned categories...

I have one or two things on the go and shall see what happens next.

And apropos of nothing - an interesting cloud sky the other afternoon!

Some good news

Whilst we were away I received confirmation that the State Library had purchased two more of my artists' books for their collection.

Their collection is a prestigious one and I always feel honoured when they purchase my books - and in particular, it feels extra special when the books they purchase are special to me.

The two books were: Peace Emerging and I would have loved a sunburnt country.

These books were part of the Compassion exhibition at Nambour's Old Ambulance Station Gallery during June and July.

As ever, with official collections, selections are made at the time and then decisions are made about budgets and capacity to purchase, as well as alignment with the collection's goals etc.

So about 6 weeks after the show closed confirmation arrived.

On return I completed the paperwork for the books - for the record so to speak - as well as copyright licenses for the use of them and have sent them off, so it's all official now.

I would have loved a sunburnt country...

And one of my Peace Emerging...

In addition, Barry's Precious Library of Peace was purchased as well, so the two of us will be in the collection together which is rather wonderful!

I like that this means that anybody interested in peace or refugees or women book artists or whatever little quirk of interest might lead them to my books, can now arrange to visit and view them; hold them and handle them, at the State Library of Queensland.

And thanks very much to Ken and Ardleigh the convenors of the exhibition for all the hard work they did to promote and facilitate the purchase.

I still have to update my personal paperwork, CV and website, but all in good time...

Fragments of a whole plus talking!

Barry and I printed some posters for a conference a while backs and had a lot of fun continuing to print on all sorts of paper after the major print run was concluded.

In preparation for the Compassion exhibition in June, we decided to see if we could create an artists' book using these various papers, that would overlap and overlay the message.

Here are some images from within the book - such delightful layering!

A few more tweaks are needed - trim a bit here; trim a bit there, and then the book can be shown in all of its glory so to speak.

I promised to try and find a way to load the videos Barry took at the In Conversation session at the University of the Sunshine Coast on the weekend, and link to them.

After much faffing around I have come up with a link to Dropbox, where you can find a couple of short videos.

One talks about the book wall at our place; two talk about the work in the exhibition Learning My Lines and the other three about how my art responds to social issues.

He did an amazing job and, if you pop over, I hope you enjoy.

Please find them here...