Thursday Thoughts...

“It’s not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. What’s hard, she said, is figuring out what you’re willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about.” 

 Shaun Nieguist

Such an interesting thought.

Intermittently I spend time reflecting on my life and whether I am doing the things I say I want to do. It may take the form of sitting down and writing a list of things I want to have in my life (things like calm not acquisitions!); ways I want to be in the world; things I want to be spending my time on; and people I want to be spending my time with.

At times like these I feel as if I am almost attempting to create the perfect life of Fiona; imagining me being the best version of me I can be.  So that's not a bad thing I guess; thinking about the best you can be.

And then I stop and reflect some more and see what it might take to make one or more of these things happen in my life. How to make changes. How to make small changes and how to make big changes.

Barry and I often say to each other - "if it is to be then it us up to me."

Which is kind of nice shorthand for "don't just say you want to do something - do it!"

And so I try to consider a couple of changes I think I can make, I become more mindful of them; put them on a list, or try to build them into my life some way. Sometimes I succeed - sometimes not! Sometimes it is hard to work out what has to give, in order to bring the new way into being.

I am better at sitting quietly for a few minutes a day; but am yet to master regular cleaning of the decks. Sigh. I think the quote captures where the hard part lies.

Teaching Lombardic Versals

I had a great 3 hour session with design and typography students at the University of the Sunshine Coast today.

In a highly digital age and environment, some lecturers are trying to offer a return to the hand so to speak; and Irene (a calligrapher) is hosting Back to Basics sessions.  My good friend Helen Irving ran a couple of sessions with them; and suggested they might invite me along as well.

Given the participants know a bit about typography and letters, but not how to make them, draw them or write them as calligraphers do, I decided to do some drawn letters - the fabulous Lombardic Versals.  I think they are fabulous because they are so flamboyant and offer a richness for decoration and expression.

I started by showing my 14-15th Century antiphonal page - on vellum.

I spoke about how these letters were no shrinking violets - they called attention to themselves and to the paragraph, verse or point that you needed to pay attention to. In the Australian vernacular they really said "look at moy, look at moy".

They are so intricately decorated. We spoke about how the decoration could be outside the letter (surrounding it), inside the counters of the letter, and within the letter form itself. There are good examples of all three options here.

We started the adventure by tracing the letters - to get a feel for some of the funny lumps and bumps within them. I had lots of resources for them to look at and get inspired by, including one of your illuminated Bs Gemma!

Then we wrote the letters by hand, and it suddenly became much harder.

The we set off to up scale them and make them decorative. A diversity of gorgeousness was the result.

They achieved a huge amount in the short time we had together, and everybody left feeling the time had really flown.  It is always good to share passion for hand lettering and writing so I was really pleased to be able to do that.

Thanks so much for inviting me USC.

Of walls and wood...

Which is an odd post title; but it's what emerged from the week!

We were busily attending a wedding in NSW last Saturday then down to Melbourne for work and then home, followed by a 9 hour return trip drive to Bundaberg to collect a stash for Barry (see here) then another drive down to Dayboro and back to deliver more of Barry's work and celebrate the opening of a new gallery-shop space.

The space is called 'entangle' and it hosts all manner of beautiful up-cycled, pre-loved earthy things; in particular items for homes and for gardens.

Housed in the old Butter Factory in Dayboro, it is a gorgeous, serene space, full of wonder.

Barry has his artisan's lamps on sale there; they are so perfect for the space and he has been doing really well.  Last night there was an opening, a "Meet the Maker" evening, and it was great to see his lamps on show. See his blog for more shots of them looking great.

I only chose this one - because it seems so right that his lamp is next to a bottle of red wine...

After wandering around downstairs looking at all the beautiful things, we went upstairs for a glass of wine and a bite to eat, and it was there, that the old walls really took over. I loved them so much!

Big sigh of happiness.

And so to wood.

In between all our gaddying about this week I collected a box of wooden type from the PO Box. It is my first full alphabet of wooden type (it is often hard to find full sets), so I was extra excited.  I had one spare type drawer in my chest of drawers and it fitted in there nicely.

In the box.

And then in the drawer. Happy days.

And the final shot of the post - me meeting "Mother Nature" one of the other Makers at entangle...

Hand made with hundreds of leaves, butterflies, beetles and birds attached...

Thursday Thoughts...

"As artists, we’ve been blessed with the ability to turn to our work at such a time: for solace, or for catharsis, or simply to make sense of our experience…and although we do this for ourselves, it’s a double blessing when such work speaks to others as well. "

Alan Weisman

I actually do believe this is true for many of the artists I know. We make in response to something; to help us work something out; we work to create things of beauty in amongst the ash of the world; we often do try to make sense of our experience through our art and our making.

And I truly truly agree, that it is a double blessing when our work speaks to others as well.

It doesn't always do so; and it isn't always meant to. Oftentimes it can creep up on us and we don't even know we have touched somebody, and then a comment or a remark or by way of some small indicator we come to learn that our work has reached somebody else and moved them.

It is a reward not sought, and a blessing. And I can only speak for myself when I say that it moves me; and encourages me; and reminds me we need to to keep creating.

Detail of Under Construction

Sky beauty

We have been down south for a couple of days - much colder down there than up here - but always good to catch up with friends and work colleagues and explore new possibilities.

It never matters how far I've gone or the wonders and beauty I have seen; I always love returning home.

Our place has had some magical skies in the past few weeks - dawns and dusks in particular.

Here's a selection of the magic on our mountain...

Dawn one day...

Dusk another - smoke in the valley this time.

And then last week - this remarkably skittish sky as I walked back to the house from the studio.

As the sun set I went outside and saw this happen...

I looked to the east...

And then I turned on the spot and looked to the west...

And then I gave myself over to broad panoramas...

 And finished with fire in the sky...

Letterpress practice

As part of my letterpress discoveries and play I have bean very well supported by a bunch of letterpress printers in New Zealand. When I renewed my subscription this year I was asked if I would like to contribute to their small booklet Vinculum.

Vinculum is a nice, small booklet which allow individual letterpress printers to print a page and have it included.

I figured it was about time I tried to do a small print run of something, so I agreed and have just printed my page.

I needed to print 100 A5 pages and chose some words of my own for the front page and printed information about my press on the back.

So on Tuesday and Wednesday I played around with type and paper, getting things ready; and on Thursday I printed the front page. Or should I say 120 front pages (I needed some spares for mistakes and to share).

It was all good fun and went really well, until page 112 I think when I tried to rescue a page from slipping and got my fingers caught in the press. It was like slow motion and I was thinking as the press came up closer that it would run out of steam like it had every other time that day, but it didn't, and it made a fair effort at crushing my fingers

The good news is that it didn't, but it definitely dented them and broke the skin. I finished the last eight pages and then headed off to do my first aid - lots of ice on and off, arnica and pain relief, followed by Barry wrapping my fingers in a comfrey (the old herb 'knit-bone') poultice overnight.

Thankfully I am all OK; bruised and battered and a bit shy of putting my fingers in there again!

On Friday I got back on the horse and printed the back page and left 120 pages to dry.   My first proof showed me that an "I" had snuck into my "1" drawer and so I had to replace it, which I did and the white page printed properly.

And then it was onto the back pages...

This isn't the piece that did the damage - but it was an earlier mistake which I rescued without damaging myself.

Next job to sort, pack and post to NZ!

Thursday Thoughts...

The problem with books is that they end. 

Caroline Kepnes

Oh isn't that the truth on occasions? Sometimes I find myself rushing to the end of a book so that I can know what happens, and let go of my worry or angst about particular characters.

Sometimes I dawdle my way there because I know the final chapter means the end of my interaction with these characters and I am not quite ready for that.

Sometimes I go along happy to finish and know that the next book in a series is lined up waiting for me without missing beat.

And then there are times I am happy just to get to the end and finish the book and tick it off whatever list it was on in my head! Book group book done. Challenging non fiction book for the betterment of my understanding done.

But generally if I have persisted with book (and nowadays I give myself permission to not persist if I am getting nothing out of it or if it annoys me) I feel a little bit sad when it ends.

Altho sometimes I can also feel triumphant if the ending is good! And of course I can sometimes feel a tad relieved because it means I can now get stuck into that new book that is waiting there and whispering to me...so all in all, quite the mixed bag of responses to the ending of book.

Lined up to read next...