2025, the year in review

 I usually use that never-never time between Christmas and New Year to ponder and reflect, to plan and to dream. This year it has not been like that, with all the heft and heaviness of shifting and moving, but I have grabbed some moments to ponder the year of making that was.

I felt like I was an artist almost each and every day last year; but interestingly I didn't make a huge amount of things. What I discovered as I wandered back through the year was that I had done some lovely things; one thing was very involved, intricate and time-consuming; I spent a lot of time in my head writing a conference paper and preparing courses; my making was varied across materials; and that a lot of my art time was thinking about how to move what to where, how to promote and sell art when we don't have a physical shop and generally re-imagining my world as a maker.

As ever, in alphabetical order only and with no ranking of favourites, here are the ten things I made this year that I like the most.

1. Book of Silences

I loved this whole process; the honour of working with the words of friends, and the testing and trialling that came with the challenge of a representing silence... In the end the wee book is a marvellous thing and I cherish it, and its making.

2. Building Narrative

This is a bit of a catch all for me as maker. I included Building Narrative because I enjoyed it and was proud of it. I presented a paper on Building Narrative in Artists' Books at the  BIND25 Conference in NZ; and I presented two one-day workshops on Building Narrative here in Maleny at the studio of my friend Kim Herringe. Both of these things took a lot of work,  a lot of care, a lot of thinking, and both are a creative product (in my mind). Not so much to show and physically hold in your hand - but I am comfortable saying I made them!

3. Silver pebble jewellery.

I continued to make and sell sterling silver pebble jewellery. I did some commissions, I went big, I tried new things. It is a lovely thing to wear jewellery that you have made I must say; and I also love seeing it on others as it shimmers and moves .

4. Nest.

I really enjoy working with Lindsey when we are in Scotland, and this time I asked her if I could try to make a nest. It was such a fun process and I really got into it. The result was a layered, sterling silver nest that could be sculptural, or a pendant. It has inspired me to try and make more.

5. Peace around the world.

We have been making and sharing peace weathergrams for International Day of Peace for many years now. Over a decade at least. This year was no different - the weathergrams are used cutlery holders that my dad and his folk collect for us; and we letterpress print a message of peace on them and make a hole and tie some string. But this year felt different. It felt like there was such a yearning for peace (and care, and kindness) across the globe. And this year, without prompting, folk sent me photos of their weathergrams flying boldy and bravely in oh so many marvellous places. It truly lifted my spirits and gave me hope.

6. Red Card.

I made my first book about Australian women being killed by their partners or former partners over 11 years ago. It is still a crisis in this county and so little has changed. This book is simple. It is loud. It is full of me being so sick and tired of all the talk and still women are murdered with monotonous regularity. I give a Red Card to governments, to the media and to men who kill the women they loved.

7. Resist.

Sometimes your work is significant. Sometimes it addresses national concerns. Sometimes it seeks to encourage gentle and peaceful ways of being. Sometimes it is small, heart felt and simple. Sometimes it is sent as a reminder that people care, and that we all need hope.

I hand stitched these fabric remnants with red french knots, depicting the word resist, and sent it to friends in the US. I used braille as the format language - because nothing is safe with communication and we sometimes need to talk in code. Small. Not much but something, and yet I loved doing them and they are among my favourites of the year.

8. Serviettes.

I did mention sometimes your work is small, but brings great joy, and so it was with these serviettes. The joy I feel is well out of proportion for what they are and what they do, but there you go. I loved exploring the wing needle and hem stitches on my machine and I love that I now have some lovely serviettes to use - and that they look gorgeous!

9. Simply Being.

This book was a long time in the realising. I have played with the words for years and years, finding them in my journal, re-working and re-writing them. Finding them again. And deciding on how to bring them into being - it seemed I had so many options.  And this I hope is the first of a few different ways of making this book. 

10. Square Alphabet.

Again, this isn't exactly a thing you can hold in your hands, but I did enjoy the making of this alphabet so much! It was a recollection of a calligraphic exercise from many moons ago, which clearly has strong connections to the Berber alphabet, and ends up being almost a code I can use to write with.

As ever, thanks for coming along on the wander and for being part of my year - I appreciate each and very person who reads and comments and shares their thoughts. This year's top ten had a lot of variety and I think that reflects that I didn't have a body of work I was pulling together, so instead I got to play in lots of different puddles.

Go well into 2026, and may we all find, and share: love and care; peace and generosity; and hope and kindness along the way.

Somewhat random bits of making

 My head is racing this way and that and trying to sort and sift and settle with so many things I want/need to get done. I am trying hard to come down on the side of things that NEED doing - rather than heading off in a million directions of things that I COULD be doing. Sigh. There will be time for those later.

I had a note to self that I needed to make a pretend scroll. Barry had previously made a beautiful scroll book which worked brilliantly for explaning about scrolls - but somebody recently purchased it and it now has a new home and I can't pull it out and use it for demonstration purposes! 

Down at the studio on the weekend I looked at a roll of paper and thought - that might do it.

And then I looked down at a crack in the floor and thought - that might do it.

I went off and grabbed a stick of graphite and did a rubbing of a crack!

I am quite fond of the marks made, and now simply have to work out how much to add to it without detracting from it!  That will happen.

If adding words, I have to work out is the work read from inside the scroll to the end of the scroll? Or is it read as you unfurl the scroll from the end ot the inside? Interesting...

I also have to print a few words, so was playing ever so briefly with some type, and surprised myself with how quickly I managed to decide on the typeface, the layout and then when I found one empty chase that I could pop the words into and lock it up I really felt like I was winning! 

Now to simply find some moments to cut the card and print! Easy right?

And then a quick rub over the letters with carbon paper to check if we are on track, and I think we actually are.

I also squeezed a few moments at home to sit down and try to use my alphabet to write some words out. I had a scrap of paper left over from the paper sample book episode, and just used a basic roller pen I use to write my daily to-do lists. This writing is quite small and dense.

Interestingly, I chose some words that are a reminder to me, and I like the way in which they are coded and not easily understood. Almost secret.

Life is full of variety!

And a rainy afternoon gave me the perfect opportunity to review these books and reflects on them as I prep for teaching and the Conference. So much wisdom and goodness within.

I enjoyed it so much the idea of a book reading session came over me - how delightful would it be to have coffee, cake, good arty folk and books and just sit in silence reading wonderful books and exclaiming and sharing every now and again?

Building a new alphabet and the sale

Early in the time of our last visit to Scotland, I made some marks and made some books.  

At the heart of these books  was mark-making, building on an old calligraphic challenge of creating an alphabet from within a square.

I am sure on investigation, that this exercise has it genesis in the Berber alphabet, but I remember it as an exploration and a creative exercise.

This is how I went about it.

I recalled the notion of a square, with an X within it.

And so I went about trying to see what shapes you could pull out of these two marks.

I took the nextstep and added circle and a vertical cross which offered way more character type options.

I also recalled we could add dots.

I selected some favourites, and drafted a bit of an alphabet from those.

I came up with what I thought was my final alphabet and wrote a couple of  words using it at the bottom the page. And I thought I was done.

Through the week I looked back at it and wondered if it could be refined/improved in any way. I wondered why I had made all the vowels based on the circle, and then done the same for the S? I also decided I didn't like the dot in the middle of the circle for A - looked a bit too much like a cartoon boob. For both K and W I decided I didn't want them to look like a recognisable E, even tho they were upside down or backwards, to me they still referenced an E too much.

Don't ask me why, but the V shape started to annoy me, so it had to go! Replacing K and W, I went for complete rectangles with bits in them; but after a while decided no, all the other letters were 'open' except for the vowels, so I had to have another look and find a form/shape that would work better.

And then the Z looked too easily mistaken for the R, so it was off to find another shape for that as well.

Sometimes my decision making process is a mystery to me; but this is where I landed.

It's all pretty funny really, given that I mainly intend to use the letters in ways that are illegible, so all of this consideration may mean nothing; but at least I will know that the forms to begin with had been well-considered and had some sense of purpose and reason behind them.

My next job is to find some time to write with them and see how they work...

We hosted our BIG studio-grade sale on Saturday and it was an amazing success. It was such a joy to see so many artists finding things that meant something to them; that they could use; or could afford to experiment with. it was such a delight and we were left with not too many things by the end of it, for which we are grateful.

The great down-sizing has begun in earnest! Here are some before shots that B took; I failed to take any and certainly by the end of the day I had no energy to take any after shots...

I think half the books went.

Every single frame, mat and perspex stand went!!!

Not much is left from this table - the marbling kit is still there as is the paint mixer and the small packet of coloured inks.

Some paralles pens remain, as do some lino cutting tools and some paper embossing tools. Otherwise, all gone!

Such a good day. With gratitude to all who came and visited and who bought things.

Creative card chaos

 We have had a busy week - following on from the Pop Up and wrapping and delivering the artwork; returning the things we had borrowed; a hard day's work of re-pointing the mortar between the stones at the back of the cottage, and a couple of day trips out and about so not a lot of time at all to sit and make/create.

Today I managed to sit and in amongst my chaos I have created a few cards...

They sold really well last weekend and because we are headed to a market at Watten this coming weekend, I needed to replace some. I have also had requests/commissions for quite a few so they are bundled into the making here. But chaos it is!

I had managed to cut some BKF Rives paper in to cards through the week; and I am simply doing a range of colour ways with my water colour pencils; and a couple more of my favourites Outstanding! I like the funny little birds and the standing outing the field idea.

Because I don't have letterpress here, there are not too many words; but I do add Outstanding with some vintage Letraset I have stashed here.

I have run out of BFK Rives paper; but I did have a heap of offcuts from the sheets. I wondered what might happen if I tried to somehow stitch a couple of the offcuts together and make a card.

Pretty happy with the outcome I must say, so off I went and cut some more.

This time I made them square as I am now not only limited by paper; but also by envelopes! I will have to order some more envelopes this week; but I did have a handful of square envelopes, so squares they have become...

And just because I wanted to play without needing to make - I have been playing around with white paint pens, grey card and Payne's Grey ink again.  It is quiet and meditative play and I enjoy seeing what happens next, and where the lines lead me. And the dots. And the dashes.

It is always special to need to be making more things because the other things sold; but it is also nice to just play without purpose or intent.

Work in progress

 I have been compelled to create this work based on the statue of The Emigrants in Helmsdale, Scotland.  I have been pondering what home means to us: what it would take to re-build a home; how hard it would be; what you would need; what you might try to replace; what you would seek to establish in a new country?

I had to work in amongst the blues and greys. The statue, the weather, and the water seemed to demand it and so I went along with it. Not a familiar place for me!

This is my work desk as I beavered away during the week. It has been stinking hot and steamy here, so despite my best efforts to stay cool, I had to have the air-conditioning on. And what a hoot that turned out to be as all my light as a feather Japanese papers went flying and drifting all over the place.  I had to keep checking my bins as so many fragments ended up in there... but I persisted!

The imagery coming together.

Some of the words I have been thinking about.

 

Beginning to now think about stitching. Does it add anything? Does it distract? 

Testing on a piece I realised after completing it, was 0.5cm shorter than the others.

Calligraphic layering

 I am having fun working within the constraints of my tiny wee studio here.

I have been working with photographs and papers and layering and experimenting and exploring.

I am enjoying the lettering experiments. First in my journal I did a few tests/samples. Just handwriting, not neat, not tidy, just jotting words down.

Checking out how they handle water and ink, and overwriting.

Some areas and approaches were more successful than others. I am glad I kept a good record as there were only two pens that I decided I wanted to keep working with.

I don't have much good paper with me, but my eyes lit on some cheap and cheerful black paper and I wondered what if?

So I wrote in lead pencil, which I knew would show up on the black.

And then I wrote in black ink on the black, which is actually very hard to photograph, but it is there I promise.

And over the top with water and ink I went. And over writing. LOVING where this is going!

This one made me laugh so hard. I popped a wash of ink over the lead pencil and it utterly and completely disappeared. I sat looking at it for a while feeling pretty silly, but I eventually went back to it and started to make scratch marks into the layer of ink.

Much happier!

So constraints and mistakes are me right now.