Thursday Thoughts...

“But all in all, books contain more truth than other people’s memories of themselves, which are constantly revised to suit their current image of themselves.”

Ciaran Carson

It is the last part of this quote that connected with me.  I am not sure that the words are trying to say that books hold the truth (plenty of stuff has been written and printed that is wrong and/or repulsive); rather I think they might be saying that books are more steadfast and more consistent in that their words don't change over time.

Which I guess is in contrast to all of us, who do change over time.

I listen to podcasts a lot and one of the things I have been struck by in one of them is this notion that we can sometimes think or assume that we have always been as open minded, considerate, supportive of difference and the like as we are now.  When in fact, if we are honest and reflect back, I am sure there are times where we were less than supportive of difference, said things that hurt unintentionally and made jokes about stuff that is wrong; simply because we didn't know or understand things as we do now.

So I think the quote is trying to say that our memories and images of ourselves in the past, can be a bit out of focus as we may have revised them by thinking that we have always been this way...

It's an interesting thought to ponder...and probably a long way from Books which is where I began, but there you go!

I know for me, I am a whole lot better at understanding things LGBTQI now as an adult than I did as  a teenager and young adult. I am sure there are times I was hurtful which horrifies me in hindsight. 

Slow work

I seem to have been pottering around with this project for quite some time now...

On today's To Do List I had written PRINT!!! with the plan of heading to the studio,  picking up these lino cuts and printing some pages I had prepared earlier. 

Ha! Life has a funny way of dealing reality to you when you've simply been fantasising a bit.

I realised that I really needed to work out the sequence of the prints and the order of printing. The pages might be ready but I needed to know what was to be printed on the back of one page; the front of the other; which single images went where; which double spread images started the book  and finished the book...

Out came the tracing paper from my photos. Lining it up in the way I think the story would be told - looking at how the outline images and the solid images work together; how the double spreads might lead you through...

And then some of the 'plates' came out to give a more solid sense of the imagery as the pages unfolded.

Then I added in a few of the random proofs I had done previously to see if the print version helped me make decisions or discover the need to change anything.

At which point I realised I really needed to check which imagery matched the words and popped the draft words underneath what I think will be the double page spreads.

It was all getting messier and more confusing by the minute, so I decided to proof them all again on the same paper for easy comparison. A thing I probably should have done well before now; but I am always keen to use up scraps of paper rather than start in and proof on pristine paper. But without consistency in the paper it is hard to compare. Sigh.

And so I did.

And then I went around and worked out which plates needed more lino taken off and where, and began the task of cleaning up the plates to produce a better print.

And now I have a bunch of the plates tidied up and ready to print (maybe!). So perhaps on another day's To Do List I can say PRINT!!! and actually mean it...but probably not until the weekend.

Peace emerges...

I mentioned here and here and here about some work from a few years ago that had begun to fall apart in a gentle way. The tape just wouldn't hold. Yet some tape did. So I was struggling with what to do with the ones that had come adrift.

I began to design what I chose to call book-ets. They are more substantial than a booklet; not quite as solid as a book I felt, so book-ets they became.

I made a prototype, because I wasn't really sure if my ideas would work.

Here I was testing where the holes would be and in which direction the thread loop should go - vertical or horizontal.

Testing some fabulous tape to see if it would hold the threads down.

And thinking - there could be something in this, it feels like it might work out.

And so, the final book-ets. The light wasn't great when I photographed them, but here goes.

Closed and held.

First side cover open.

Second opening.

Third opening.

The first page turned.

The next,

And the next,

and the next.

The final page with my mark.

Fully open.

A lovely stack.

And here they are.

The words are different in each.

1. Let peace be a daily conversation
2. We dream of peace and peace dreams of us
3. Peace is fragile, tend it gently and daily
4. Dwell with peace in your spirit and your mind
5. Every new breath allows peace to be born anew

In some of them you can see the marks that show their previous life - where tape had been and had fallen away; or where I removed it to create the set of five. I am OK with that; it is part of their story and part of the story of peace needing to be born anew...

I feel a sense of deep satisfaction in their coming into being; and the way in which they now inhabit the world.  I worked hard to find an elegant solution and I think I achieved it.

Into my shop soon I hope...

Thursday Thoughts...

“I want to think dangerous and noble things. I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing; as though I had wings.” 

 Mary Oliver

Ahhh Mary Oliver.

I find this series of words encouraging and uplifting; put together as they are, I think they are ever so wonderful.

Having moved from a career world where there were performance indicators; goals, targets, reviews, strategies and the like time as an artist and as a person means I rarely have to come up with words to describe my goals or my strategies.

Sometimes art will lead me to think about goals and what I hope to do and achieve; but rarely do I set life goals or strategies.

If I stopped to think about how I would like to be in the world - my goal of being a person and the way I live my life; these couple of sentences would definitely come close and would at the very least initiate a fine ramble of ideas that's for sure!

Thinking dangerous and noble thoughts; being light and frolicsome, improbable, and afraid of nothing...

A fabulous pairing in one of our trees - a magpie and a pure white goshawk... perhaps not frolicsome!

I dream of a world...

Mo is creating a circle of stitchers and sewers and makers and peace lovers across the world; bringing together people to contribute to her installation art work "I dream of a world where Love is the answer..."

Late last year she sent out pennants, cut from an old wedding dress and each of us is responding in our own way.

My pennant was creamy white, with little bits of foxing on it - a bit like rust marks.

I wondered about lots of approaches but ended up going with what seemed me - white on white stitching and lettering.

I have simply included the word love in the centre of the pennant (quite tricky to find a place called centre given its shape and how it might hang...).  A bit like saying here's the answer; or love is all you need.

I transferred my own heartbeat script then filled it in with lots and lots of lines of backstitching.

I then used blanket stitch around the edge, and created a wee border of three rows of running stitches. Here it is on the ironing board!

Here, hanging in my sewing room, keeping company with a couple of birds' nests.

The pennant is now winging its way south to join the flock of love landing in Sydney...

The process can be pretty

I have all but finished my five book-ets where I have upcycled/re-used single pages from a previous work.

It has been slow and steady, but deeply satisfying as I resolved issues and created solutions that work, are clean and elegant, and support the words.

But... along the way, there was so much loveliness that I took quite a few 'pretty' photos and here are some of them.

Working out where to poke the holes, and in which direction!

Just because...

Five also look lovely together.

Translucency.

Tying off a knot on the inside.

Coming together...

It has been a delight spending time with this work. I shall post the finish items soon!

Thursday Thoughts...

“An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.” 

 Charles Dickens

This felt quirkily accurate to me. While tit may appear tangential to the notion of art which I am pondering today, I think it is really at the heart of art and art making.

I find it absolutely joyous to spend time creatively, and am forever grateful that I get to spend time this way.  One of the things I enjoy most is the ongoing observation, and gradual understanding, of how we make and create. The process we undertake and how the magic happens.

Not just the technical aspects (which also fascinate and possess at times) but more that obscure, ephemeral, fleeting notion of the creative process.

The idea of an artistic idea as a ghost-like apparition works for me. Sometimes the idea or thought is just out of reach; or it has been and gone so quickly I couldn't grab it but the sense of it remains. There is something lurking that I can 't recall without having the chance to focus and find it.

The second part where the idea sometimes needs a little bit of a conversation before it fully revels itself I find also accurate and true.  I often find myself having jotted a notion down, then writing in response; asking questions of it; wondering aloud what I really mean...and then it can begin to make sense.

Quite the ramble in response to a few words.

What am I really trying say, I wonder???

Trying this and that

I am still working away re-working some pages form a while ago...trying to design a binding and a cover to give them new life, and which looks elegant.

It is quite a mental challenge and I get highly amused by the ah-ha moments I get and where and when they arrive; at the oddest times and in the oddest places.

Still, each one nudges me closer to completion.

I have covered the spine.

And glued the pages.

Placed a nice little pause page in; such a lovely lovely edge.

The first opening.

More of those nice holes!

And the beginnings of a cover; folding and yet more holes.

And a bit of debossed letterpress as a test.

Loving the architectural folds as I play.

As I said, edging closer to a resolution.  I will try a prototype soon and then hopefully five small
book-ets will emerge!