2020 cards

We were busy between Christmas and New Year with guests and family and friends; but managed to get down and print our New Year cards on New Year's Day.  Spending time in the studio felt good.

These wee cards always offer me a chance to test out an idea or try something I haven't done before and this year it was printing within a shape.  In amongst a bunch of letterpress and type bibs and bobs we bought a few months ago was this beautiful brass ring.  The outside edge is raised and will print, then the trick is to get type to fit inside it.

So that was the challenge which I really enjoyed. Different spacers and different size type to make it firm seems to be the trick.

I played around with how to do upside down or reversed lines of twenty twenty and did some proofs using carbon paper. As ever, yay for that discovery.

I chose the one I thought looked best and then selected the colour - Rubine by Australian company Fine Arts Ink.  What can I say, it looks delicious on the press!

And off we went, after quite a while setting up and sorting out the options the printing happened relatively quickly.  And in this heat of course, it dried pretty well too.

I daresay lots of optometrists will have advertising around 20-20 vision this year. So I quite liked he way this looked when I overprinted to get the registration right.  Afterwards I realised that in fact the oval shape of the brass ring almost looks like an eye as well. Spooky.

As I printed I realised that parts of the ring weren't printing properly and tried a few things like hand inking those spots, but when I headed in for a closer examination it was apparent that the ring was worn/damaged and nothing I did was ever going to get those bits to ink. So I accepted this evidence of a hard working life and kept on.

When you look closely the damage is there for all to see. Maybe just worn, but whatever the cause it is there and I hope adds character!

So the cards are getting written on and posted places as we speak; and will hopefully land in their new homes soon.

Thursday Thoughts...

"So, on this first day of 2020, I am saying 'Hopeful New Year' - hope for survival, for recovery, for rain, for leadership, for kindness, for change, for love, for our children's futures". 

 Dr Helen Edwards

I came across this quote on a friend's FB page and felt it was perfect for me, on 01 01 2020.

The devastating bushfires have meant that I have no party instinct, no celebratory notions and not a 'woo-hoo here we go' thought in my body.  I have no desire to see another firework go up and create more smoke in places where smoke is causing so much havoc.  I can barely envisage what a 'happy' year would like for so many who have lost so much.

It felt callous to even consider wishing folk a Happy New Year when we are all grieving the massive losses - of life, of homes, of cars, or wildlife of vegetation...the losses are beyond belief.

And yet somehow these words helped me find a way through.  A way to kindle and ignite hope where there feels like there is none; and to not pretend that happy is what we need; what we all really need is hope. And she says it so simply and so well.

So for all of us, I send wishes for a hopeful new year; one that can take us from our places of sadness to places where we can see what might be.  Where we are safe; where we are cared for and where folk are kind; where love shines and where beauty is bright.

That's the kind of 2020 I hope for.

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.

Thursday Thoughts...

“I thought that outdoor sculpture was usually big and durable, but that seemed very dumb. Because its already very nice outside, with trees and fields, and I didn’t want to put something there and change it all. So I thought I’d make something which fell apart after a while – which would return to nature like dirt or paper”. 

Bruce Nauman

Being unfamiliar with Nauman and this work, I went away and googled and found he is a contemporary artist, with an eclectic approach and body of work.  The first things I saw were lots of neon and I thought to myself, well he must have done this ephemeral work a reasonable time ago, because he now seems to be very much about things NOT going away, but I digress.

It is more the idea behind his words that caught my eye/brain.

I quite liked his apparently simple approach - that the outdoors/nature is already pretty gorgeous and why would we choose to sully that with imposed sculptures?  And logically that leads you to ephemeral art which returns, goes back into the atmosphere or the earth and leaves barely a trace of its time there.

I must say I do love ephemeral art, and I am very fond of things being left to decay, disappear, decline, deteriorate and decompose.

Which is not to say I am not equally fond of wandering around outside and coming across sculptures and artwork that are permanent, and which utterly enhance and transform an otherwise unremarkable walk. It always give me joy to discover art along the way!

Whilst not ephemeral, this piece has rusted beautifully (shown here in 2010). These are the letters, cut out from the steel panel piece that sits above them. The words are seen each time the owner comes home, and I love the idea of the letters becoming subsumed by the forest floor...returning.

Peace on earth

As Christmas arrives and we turn towards family, friends, community, rituals, and gentle remembering, I wish for peace.

 Peace within, peace between us and peace between nations.

 To all my blogging friends who share so much and support each other so much, thank you for another year of magic.

 Wherever you may be, and however you may spend the time, may your Christmas be bright and beautiful, may you be safe, and may you find and celebrate moments of peace.

Summer time...

I am not sure if it happens elsewhere, but here in summer the radio and television, and even some news emails and podcasts, move to 'summer  programming' which means - not the usual things.

I feel bit like that this summer - having been distracted from the studio by the kitchen and the sewing room...

Following on from the post where I mentioned I felt the urge to make labna, the results are in and it worked!

After 4-5 days we removed it from the fridge and the handkerchief and it was a nice firmish ball.

I put some dukkah, dried rosemary and pink Murray River salt into a dish and rolled teaspoon-sized balls in my hands, then rolled the balls in the mixture
.

Yum. I poured some olive oil over the top and they are ready for spreading on biscuits, toast or strewing through a salad of sorts.

I also wanted to test if they would make sweet labna balls and I can safely say yes they do.  I rolled them in a sweet dukkah mix, then poured warmed cinnamon honey over the top and they were a wonderful accompaniment to fresh nectarines and raspberries.

And so to the summer of sewing.  Again, who knows why but I have got my sewing mojo going and have been stitching most everything in sight.

I wore the pants I made last week all weekend, and I finished hand stitching the circles on this house frock and it does make me smile.

I had bought some fabric ages ago as a possible extension to a top, but went with another options so it sat there looking at me in a way that said - I'm not really you, but let's see what we can do.  So I made a sleeveless top with a gentle cowl neckline and I think I will wear it! Bonus.

 A couple of years ago I bought this fabric with a gift voucher I was given for my birthday.  I loved it, but then within a week or so, the fabulous Maleny Additions fashion and homewares shop started selling tops made with it!  How unbelievable - I went all the way to Sydney to buy it, and then a local designer started sewing with it too.  So that was it for me, I couldn't bear to look like I copied them, so it has sat there again, waiting, waiting...

The clothes made with it by Donna from Muse, were looser and larger than I might wear, so I have finally decided to make a fitted dress from my toile with a few variations. Here, I have changed the neckline and also narrowed the shoulder seam, and angled the shoulder seam to match my shoulders. 

I am amazed that I even dare to modify patterns now - I  must have learnt something at sewing!

Thursday Thoughts...

"It always astonished him how twenty-six highly conventionalised glyphs could find such varied expression once a living hand set to write them down. Was it Gertrude Stein who said that language was alphabet in disorder ?"

Yann Martel. Beatrice and Virgil

I remember reading this book a while ago and being perhaps a tad perplexed and/or unsettled by it; but I found this quote in an old notebook and I know that I loved it, so here we go.

Actually I think I am as much in love with the descriptive language as I am with the notions contained within it.

The writing is delicious, but also the idea that the alphabet, that letters, can achieve so much in so many different ways when different people put them together.  Quite astonishing really to think that the foundation of so much of our written history and culture is founded on these 'twenty-six highly conventionalised glyphs".

Thinking about highly conventionalised; it is a kind of miracle that across so many cultures, geographies and countries so many folk have agreed on these 26.  Given how we disagree on just about everything these days; it seems truly remarkable and I celebrate our ability to agree on these!

It almost feels at this time of year, one should toast the glyphs for all they have done for us and continue to do!

Ahhh, Waiheke Island, January 2018.

(after a quick google I could not link Gertrude Stein to the alphabet in disorder quote, so have left it alone...).

Numbering

It's funny how ideas are sparked or begin.  I can't recall when or exactly where, but I do recall blogging friend Liz Ackert (a former librarian) referencing the dewey decimal system call number for something.  (apologies Liz that my memory is vague on exactly what).

But it got me thinking about codes and things that mean things to people who know how to read them.  Whilst we were in Scotland I started googling different library systems for cataloguing and went down many a merry rabbit hole and managed to confuse myself mightily.  The dewey decimal system is only one of several such systems used by different libraries around the world.  But its primarily the one I know so I ended up just sticking with it.

On return I started playing with some of the numbers which reference things that matter to me.

So I began with feminism. 305.42

And moved onto peace (reflected here by conflict resolution's call number). 303.69

And to LGBTQI rights. 306.76

And family violence. 362.82

And refugees. 362.87

It has become quite the interesting search and is something that could definitely lead somewhere. None of it is exact given my lack of librarianship skills, but the numbers do match closely aligned categories...

I have one or two things on the go and shall see what happens next.

And apropos of nothing - an interesting cloud sky the other afternoon!

Of this and that

This summer is proving to be tough already, only 2 weeks into it.  It is hot, so hot, and dry. Drought has been officially declared in our sub-tropical region. How can this be?  We watch as our poor garden fades and fails and still try to make the most of the things we can keep alive.

And yet we know we are nowhere near as bad as folk further to our west.

This time of year is also kind of bitsy - there seem to be things finishing, gatherings to be had, work to get done, preparations made for guests and the like, so it seems as if I just move between one wee thing and another. But I enjoy and appreciate most of them.

First things first - food!

More shortbread is being baked - for family and for friends.

More tomatoes are appearing - the heat sees them ripen before your very eyes, but kilograms have gone to friends and relish and sauces are being made.

And for some reason not even known to me, I thought I'd like to try to make some labna.  So into the brand new handkerchief the yoghurt went, tied around a metal straw and hanging in a vase in the fridge.  High tech all the way! Will see how we go in a few days when it has drained.

And then to sewing.  My pocket fetish/infatuation is in no way abating, so I am trying to work out new ways to incorporate pockets into my clothes.  I have a pair of pockets like these on some pants I bought and thought I should try to work out how to do them for myself.  So here is the calico mock-up.

And here they are successfully designed and applied to a new pair of pants. Most happy I am (altho I need to make the elastic in the waist tighter, still they are very nearly done).

A friend needed a quick card as a gift and they popped over to print the word PACE!! which relates to an acting teacher's regular commands to them to keep the pace up (at first I thought he wanted the Italian for peace...). A couple fo proofs.

I needed a few more grief cards - different ones this time - the dandelion ones with the words "they lived and laughed and loved and left. and life will never be the same again".  So managed to use the leftover ink to print them.  Still to be illustrated, they are drying merrily in this heat.

And then to the dull as dishwater job of dissing type.  I took apart the work I had done for McAuley in Melbourne and put all of the type back in its individual compartments in its individual trays.

And all of those wee spacers - grouped together in size and back in their special spots as well.

Days are full but life is good, except for the no rain thing.