Pas de Deux article

A happy visit to the Post Office this morning when I discovered my copy of Bound and Lettered had arrived - and it contained the article I had written on Susan's and my collaborative works, the Pas de Deux collection.

The article features the story of the collaboration - in one place rather than over a few years of blog posts, as well as showing some of the pairs of our books.

It is nice to see the story in print, and lovely to be able to share it more broadly.

Here is the cover - in case you happen upon a copy somewhere or want to buy it online.

The photography by Anastasia Kayofyllidis is gorgeous and the books simply shine.

The palette of the works together is very much the look of the exhibition we held last year. Such a sympathetic and gentle feel to them all.

And then just because it has been an odd summer - jeans and jumpers one day singlet tops and shorts the next, literally, I've thought of these as the last of the summer roses...

They may not, but the way the light caught them, evoked that sort of feeling.

White and white and black and white

I was a bit worried that I wouldn't have anything to post about this weekend as I seem to be doing mostly documenting and other types of art work at the moment. But today I sat down and went to town as they say, making samplers for my white on white course. It was fun.  Gradually the book is building...

Piercing tracing tracing paper

Gelli-plate printing

Hand stitching - testing length of stitches and threads.

Embossing with lino

Embossing with desk mat

De-bossing with desk mat

And then I had to print on black paper to see what happened - very happy! Nothing to do with white on white but you know when you just want to head off and try something?

And to finish off, I came across these stencils at a recyclerama show on the weekend and think they will be fun. Plus they look gorgeous. A kiss and a hug.

Thursday Thoughts...

So often, a visit to a bookshop has cheered me, and reminded me that there are good things in the world. 

Vincent van Gogh

Ahhhhhhh. Book shops.....

I am not as melancholy as Vincent appears to have been, but I so agree with visiting a book shop and just feeling better.

I'm not sure just what it is, but somehow simply being in the presence of so much beauty and wonder - knowing that people are writing and creating and publishing things makes me happy.  Looking at beautifully designed and exquisite covers, discovering fascinating life stories, reading the blurbs the staff tuck into the shelves to give an insight into a new novel; seeing local authors published and books of art to get lost in. Such a wonderful experience. No matter where I go, I am drawn into book shop.

We are fortunate in our town to have lots of shops that sell books; but one special indie book shop indeed. Rosetta Books is an absolute treasure trove as well as an oasis.  It now also sells coffee.

I have come to describe their fabulous coffee as the most expensive coffee in town. Yesterday we popped in for a coffee and as you sit at the communal table your eyes wander along the shelves and over all sorts of new books. You read about the Stella Prize long list that morning and wonder if they have a book of essays that were long listed, and before you know it - you've bought two books.

Yesterday's incidental, accidental purchases...

Art a'wandering

As I mentioned, Barry and I spent a week or so in the North Island of New Zealand recently.  One of the places we visited was the town of Kerikeri.  We went here specifically because we had read about Wharepuke Sculpture Park (art-park.co.nz).  Extra bonuses included the Wharepuke Print Studio, Art at Wharepuke Gallery and a fabulous coffee shop.

You can imagine we spent quite some time there.

The Sculpture Park walk was a delight. I really love wandering through gardens and discovering art - having sculpture peep out at you or suddenly appear; being dwarfed by them or looking intently at the bark on a tree to find some.

And so it was here - a gathering of 42 artworks in different media, from all over the world.

Here are some of my favourites:

I loved the pencils. By Clare Sadler, and called Abandoned Old Tec they were made of stone. I loved the way she put the nicks in them, the bit where we used to scrape a sliver off and write our name on it; the way the lead was evident from top to bottom. Simply stunning.

But then the dandelions were just gorgeous.

By Jane and Mario Downes, called Stop the Clock, they were made from scrap metal and stood so tall, much taller than the dandelion field they stood in.  I loved the many stages they were displayed in - full blow, half-blown, spent. They did everything that blown dandelions do - encourage us to dream and play and wish...

Alice Burns' Brave New World took small pieces of fused glass and porcelain and wired them to tree branches. The work had fragments of fingerprints embedded in it, telling stories of people and connections across the world.

 In Wharepuke Revisited, Anton Forde carved recycled railway sleepers to create seven female forms, each an individual and with their own toanga, neck piece, reflecting important elements of life. They were very calm and felt like a family gathering in the forest, steadfast and timeless.

More carving, but this time of driftwood. Webber Booth carved driftwood pieces reminiscent of the burrowing that sea worms do - creating these lovely intricate tunnels. Patterns of Decay is its name.

And then you come across the gorgeous vibrant crazy kiwis by Di McMillan (Kiwi+ Stuff).
Constructed with all sorts of recycled materials - netting, cables, plugs, keys, pipes and more they each glow with individuality and just make you smile.

My final favourite was called Close to Natural - Tree Rings by Anna van den Nieuwelaar. Each of these tree rings has its own unique bark imprint on the inside and fits snugly into place on the trunk of the tree. Made of glass, they were simply divine.

After our walk we were lucky to spend time in the printmaking studio with Mark Graver - an amazing printmaker who wrote the book on Non-Toxic Printmaking. An excellent resource (and he signed the copy I bought!).

We really appreciated the time he spent with us, and were able to purchase this wee print - absolutely gorgeous.

A delicious day and I really do hope to go back. Printmaking exchange or residency anyone????

Quietly and Gently...

I mentioned I have two teaching commitments so far this year, one is Black Beauty and the other is Quietly and Gently.  This workshop is a five-day workshop held as part of the Wrap in Rocky event.

Held in Rockhampton 26 June - 2 July 2016, this event brings together 12 fibre tutors from around Australia and lots of folk who love paper and textiles.

Here is the blurb for the workshop I am teaching:

Sometimes we just need to be quiet, to slow down and be peaceful.

This workshop will explore the beauty and elegance of working white on white. The limited palette provides both challenges and opportunities, with serene outcomes.

Working on paper, you will have the opportunity to explore a myriad of ways to create texture and meaning on paper, using different materials and techniques. Embossing, printing, cutting, lettering and stitching will all form part of the week, and bookmaking will bring it all together.

Participants will create a sample book of techniques as well as a more formal book in which they tell their own story. We will also create a light slipcase to protect one of the books.
Suitable for all levels.

I am preparing lots of samples and ideas at the moment; I think I have pulled together the book format and am enjoying exploring all the possibilities of white on white.  As ever, you learn so much when you teach.

Here is some of the play I have been doing:

Cutting trials...without rubbing out or tidying up much

With shadows!

An angel or a bird?

Mucking around with old typewriters...

And here are some examples of previous work that might entice folk to attend.

Piercing...

De-bossing...

Embossing...

Cutting...

Head to the Wrapt in Rocky website or Facebook page for more information.

Thursday Thoughts...

“Kindness is in our power even when fondness is not.” 

 Samuel Johnson

I sometimes stop and think about the qualities I appreciate the most in other people (and therefore I guess, hope to be able to emulate in myself).

The one that most often burbles to the top is generosity.  I think I just really love people who have generous spirits; and whose instinct, and way of being, is to give.

But I also value kindness in so many ways.  In recent times I have been the recipient of so many acts of kindness, both large and small, and not one has gone unnoticed, even in my grief-haze. Kindness is so valued and appreciated.

And so I am reminded that small acts of kindness by me, can be truly appreciated.

It might seems strange to turn a beautiful experience around by having this quote, but I'm not trying to say people have been kind because they are not fond of me! My mind has just wandered around the kindness I have experienced, and then flipped to what this quote was saying.

This quote from Samuel Johnson acts as a bit of a reminder for me about how kindness can and should be made available to all, and not withheld from anybody, no matter our feelings for them.

Sometimes I may not feel fond of a person for whatever reason, but I am reminded that I can still be kind to them, and I have absolutely no reason to be unkind. I think my experience of recent kindness has been so valued, I am encouraged to consider being kinder, even when I may not be fond...

From beautiful flowers; to food hampers; to messages of care and interweb hugs; to meals cooked and delivered; to help with washing up as families have gathered; to photographs and memories shared, I have been surrounded by kindness and I am grateful.

More Black Beauty

As I mentioned I was back in the studio for a few hours over the weekend, planning and thinking and sorting my head.

I have two teaching commitments so far this year - the first is in May and the second is in June-July.

First up I am teaching a one-day course for the Calligraphers of South East Queensland called Black Beauty.  It is all about exploring the vibrancy of colours of all sorts on black paper.

The workshop will have participants making lots of test swatches on black paper, doing some sampler ideas and then binding them all into an exemplar book. All in one day...

So I have been pondering the best way to structure the day; thinking about the best sort of book to create and doing lots of swatches using different mediums.

There will be coloured pencils.

Watercolours.

Watercolour pencils.

 Gouache.

 Graphite.

I think it is interesting to see how different coloured pencils look on a white background and a black one. Black gives so many colours lift and life I think.

And here is the play table.

It is a good feeling to be back in the studio, sorting and sifting, planning and preparing.

I hope the workshop pans out OK - I love creating sampler books to keep as references and guides and I really enjoy the discoveries and experiments along the way. I hope that participants do too. I have developed what I hope will be great book style to use - now I have to go and make one from scratch and check that it works as well in real life as it does currently in my mind!