Collecting peace...

 I love the network of makers around the world who pause and try to build, create, and bring peace to their work and to others.

One of those generous makers is Liz Ackert, in Texas, USA. Liz recently re-activated her peace pin project and very kindly sought requests for pins, and we received ours last week. 

Mine went straight onto my bag which I carry books in and here it is as I walked into town on Thursday. 

I love this bag and the fraying and the stitching; but I also love that it is a place for collecting peace badges. The first one Liz sent me in 2017 is the apricot one; this most recent one is the beautiful bold cherry red one. Barry and I made the other peace badges when we had a badge/button making machine.

I thought about my word to choose and I thought to bring peace is important. We should try to bring peace with us as we have conversations, when we visit folk, when we gather at meetings and in other places. Making a choice and a decision to bring peace with us, seemed apt and I love my new pin!

The bag in repose...

I still love all this slow hand stitching and even the way some of it is pulling apart. A sure sign that the bag is loved and used!

 

And then the other side of the bag holds quirky maker, feminist and just trying to get through badges too!

Badges from Jubly-Umph

Four scrolls now done!

 As mentioned, these scrolls are a central feature of the exhibition in Scotland, and I am pushing through stitching as much as I can, and as often as I can, to complete the series.  The fourth one is now finished and it feels a bit better knowing that I have three to go, and that each of them is shorter than this longest one, so hopefully I am well over the half way mark.

Here is the back of the fourth scroll showing two hand stitched seams and the 'interesting' stitching!

And here is the right side with a lovely seam sitting flat and words that can be read.

Here it is unfurling...

And the four of them together in many ways...

And transferring the words onto the fifth one so we can begin again...

Onwards!

The first books exchanged

 When I returned from Sydney I was greeted by a parcel from the UK in which I discovered Annwyn's first book of our exchange.

The first intrigue was on the back of the parcel where our Border Force people had requested Australia Post to open it! What subversive materials or contents lay within I wondered? What on earth would make this parcel suspicious?  I'd suggest nothing; and that perhaps, like the explosives residue test at airports, it was just a random selection.

So I'll show our two books together here, and soon I will take you through the ins and outs of creating mine.

I was delighted to discover that in fact the book was not dangerous.

So beautifully wrapped and presented. I love the anticipation when one is faced with an item that has been cared for in this way - when somebody has taken the time to pack and wrap beautifully. The whisper of 'preciousness' wafts before me.

Annwyn titled her book Shape defines Purpose and you can read some more of her thinking on her blog here. 

We had sent each other papers to work with - outside our usual comfort zones and I was so happy to see how she had worked with some braille paper I had sent her, on the covers. So muted, and the dots felt part of the pattern, not an obvious addition.

The printed plate references a piece of lace from her collection (her blog post with photos of it here) but the way it displayed caught my attention from the get go. Looking at it this way and that.

So we have each done something outside of ourselves, yet also really true to ourselves.

My book is an unbound book. I love unbound books for all sorts of reasons; most of all because they allow people to create and re-create the story as they interact with them. The sequence and narrative is not defined.

Mine is called The Shape of Things I - and refers to my uncertainty about not being able to see the shape of the year; the shape of the months ahead, and no longer feeling certain where the way markers are; or if they will stay there.

The book comes in a linen pouch which you followed my angst about here! Hand stitching part of it saved me.

The multiple, unbound pages (16 of them) tumble out like puzzle pieces.

You get to try and make a poem, or to make sense of them.

Placing them this way and that...

I have so many thoughts about this book...will do a post on them soon.

It is great that we have managed to exchange our first books - and there are more underway!

2000 posts, plus pegs and type

 When I was trawling through Blogger trying to work out how my ability to comment and reply had been randomly removed from me, I noticed I was about to make my 2000th post. Wow. 

In the days of FB and Insta and TikTok and all, people often wonder why folk continue to blog.

Fortunately I have moved on from any angst I may have once had about lots of people reading what I write, of wondering how many comments I get, how many posts get read and so on. I have come to the belief that primarily, I seem to blog for myself, and that is fine.

Whenever I am wondering when I made something, or did I do something a particular way - I turn to my blog and go searching. It is actually the most reliable memory of my artwork that I have and I am grateful for its existence more often than seems reasonable.

I also blog because I know that some folk are interested in what I do; that some folk like to see how I do things; and because I like to share thoughts about making, and processes, and highs and lows; and also because it that it is just lovely to still be part of an online community that is generous and kind.

So a HUGE thank you to all the folk who read, who comment, who email  and message me.; and who keep me motivated to make a record of my work, and the odd other event here and there - including flowers and travels. Thank you.

Yesterday I taught a one person workshop and we had a grand time. So much wonderful experimentation, testing this, trying that.  As part of my Introduction, I pulled out some type for comparison.

The tool on the left is a pica ruler - picas down the left hand side and inches down the right. I love the ingenious little hook at the top which makes it possible to hook it on a piece of furniture and measure how long it is.

With this type I was showing type at 8pt and type at 72pt. BIG difference. I was also showing how 72pt is generally as large as they make metal type, because after that it gets too heavy, and too expensive to make. Beyond that point size, they usually head for timber. Some timber, like the A here, is 72pt as well. 72pt is about 2.5cm (or an inch); whilst 8pt is approximately 2.8mm.

I have only ever worked with 8pt once. You can see why really...

And in this shot I am comparing the smallest type in the studio to the tallest/largest type in the studio.

The M here is Italian, and is measured as 30 ciceros (no points used with Italian type). A cicero measures about 4.5mm and therefore, 30 ciceros makes this block of wood type around 13.5cm long. Italian type is also a tad higher than the type we generally use.

In between times when the weather was cold and time inside was the best kind of time; I re-rolled some of my natural-dyed threads from round pegs onto square/flat pegs.  I like flat pegs and they are hard to get hold of; so when I come across a stash of vintage ones I nab them and then sit quietly rolling from one type to the other.

Before.

After.

There is a way to go, but I am getting there with the transfer.

The current stash from Maleny.

And the current stash from Scotland.

Still plenty of round pegs to be replaced!

Commenting and Replying

 I have just spent time trying to work out why Google and Blogger have not allowed me to reply to comments on my own blog post for a while.

I think I've cracked it and have just now gone back a fair way with replies - so apologies if you have felt neglected. I have been reading but not replying and now I can again!

I hope to get all the way back but am a bit weary from my investigations.

Fingers are crossed the fix holds.

Nothing specially connected to comments or technological frustrations, but the beautiful surface of our electrician's ladder the other day.

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.