Garden, beauty and tag teams

We have had a good weekend - getting long stretches at the new studio space, and also enjoying time in the garden and around the block.

After working in the yard on Saturday morning, this is where I landed: down near our small fire pit, sitting on a log, with my work boots on.

As I sat there, I looked to the left..

And I looked to the right...

 And I thought not a bad place to be self-isolating...

We had checked the veggies and the seedlings and collected lots of good looking limes and some excellent avocados.

 And so to the studio and cracking on. Barry has been making lots of product. Although we can't really open our studio/gallery/shop/doors yet; we are using our time preparing product and stock for when we are able to again. Barry has made lots of leaf spoons, leaf tea caddy spoons and leaf pate knives and the tag team part comes about because I do his swing tags.

They add something to the look and feel of the product and lots of folk like the handmade nature of them.  So I thought I had better get in front and make about 50.  Very much the most I have ever attempted in one hit!

First up I do an italic H and Barry's name.  This highlights him; and also leads into the Handmade opening line which follows.

You might be able to see in this shot (second from the right at the bottom) that I got a bit tired writing these out 50 times and for some unknown reason my mind turned to Happy Birthday, so a couple of times I started to write Birthday rather than Barry.  One got tossed but I caught myself on a couple of others and managed to turn the i into an a.

After they dried overnight it was time to add the rest of the words to the front, and later to the back.

 I wrote "from reclaimed and recycled materials' on the back; and then they were finished!  Barry chose two different thread for tying them onto the spoons/knives and so a hole was punched, thread cut to length and tied through the hole. Now all that needs to be done is to attach the tags to the spoons and knives - just like this.

They are available for sale in his shop for $40 each and I think they make great gifts.

I love playing with displaying the swing tags, like this.

And Saturday's sunset offered the most remarkable sight.  We had been out doing a few chores and came inside, looked out at the light and thought wow!  I have never seen such a thing - a rainbow fireball sunset.

Thursday Thoughts...

“Truth is the child of time” 

Immanuel Kant

Short. Simple. Deep.

I came across this somewhere on my internet wanderings late one night and  it struck a chord. I scribbled it onto a sticky note in an almost indecipherable scratch of a script and stuck it onto my computer.

Not sure why it resonated so loudly, but it did.  I think in part, because before the virus took over the world, we were facing some pretty intense investigations into use/abuse of political power here in Australia.  These kind of investigations take time.

As a result, their outcomes are often well distant from the actions and yet the only way we have gotten to the truth is to spend time, make time, and take time, to reveal it.

I think I liked the idea somehow of truth being born, as a child, as time allows.

We must hope that after the virus we still have the energy and the fortitude to continue them. To dig deep for truth which may be revealed, all in good time.

Mural artwork, McAuley House for Women, Melbourne.

Things, just things...

So it's still a bit stop start here, doing a bit of this and a bit of that.

I am trying hard to have flowers in the house each day and with Autumn heading our way, I am now pretty much down to scrounging weeds around the block but they still make me smile!

A lot of time has been spent updating our deckled edge press website and the shop there.

As you know we moved into the new studio full of excited ideas and plans for gatherings, workshops and exhibitions even; only to find within a few weeks that we were all socially isolating and no way could 6 people do a workshop; or more attend an exhibition opening.  We might have been able to manage an open studio with limited numbers of people in at a time; but the no browsing and touching rules would have made that a bit of a nonsense.

So instead, we have made a lot of cards and posters and mini-posters and put them out into the world via an online shop rather than in that lovely face to face manner.

First up is the Rainbow of Kindness mini-poster set.  It is the first joint printing effort by the two of us in the new studio.  We took turns choosing a quote and printing - Barry did 4 and I did 3. I look at them and think mine were kind of the 'be kind in a toughly manner' ones. Orange, Green and Indigo...

Anyhoo - they are now for sale in the shop in a set of 7.

Other things over there include: thinking of you cards; grief cards; virtual hugs cards and postcard sets (many more than you see here!).

It has been fun printing and also the isolation time has offered a good opportunity to focus on updating websites and shops and getting in touch with people.  Our most recent joint newsletter can be found here.  Or you can subscribe at the top of the right hand side bar of the blog for future ruminations.

If you'd like to join our deckled edge press newsletter - you can find the latest version of it here; and can sign up for it here.

We don't send them all that often so they won't be filling your inbox box. Promise.

I have managed to modify and amend the masks for my cousin - yay. We went with half shortened, and half made into ties.

And I am slowly circling (deliberately) the notion of circles of concern and circle of control. There has been so much to worry about of late that I have had to keep pulling myself back to the things about which I can do something.  My circle of control.  It has been a bit of a mantra for the past few weeks and has given me permission to not put everything into my head.

So here is an early meandering...

Just a few of the things happening over here as we wait.

Studio pottering

To start, a shot of a stunning pink flower of a weird cordyline type plant at the new studio - stunning!

And then to pottering.  Whilst my anxiety about the world and the future is receding slightly (mainly I think because we appear to behaving as a nation and doing sensible things with good outcomes) I am not yet back near anything I would call peak performance!  I am definitely still a bit skittery and finding that time is an odd thing - slippery and stodgy at different times.  So I am manly pottering in the studio and using the time to do some of those what if? or how do I? s that I often think about in passing, but don't get back to doing.

This week I decided it was time to try out some metallic dusting powder I had bought when we were in Scotland last year.  I thought it might be nice to dust it onto black or other colour ink to give it a golden touch, rather than using up lot of metallic ink.  Metallic ink can also be a bit hit and miss - it is always hard to get the metallic pigment bits to stay evenly mixed and not just fall to the bottom of any pot and so on.

So as Barry was madly printing away the back of over 200 postcards, I nicked into the production line to print two for myself to practice on.

The dusting powder is very fine - so precautions re breathing were taken. Whilst the ink was still wet, I dusted a wee bit of powder on. Gold and copper.

And because I am pretty impatient, I dusted it off again after about 5-10 minutes. And was pretty chuffed! I think we will find nice ways to use these powders.

Another thing I bought when in Scotland was a sheet of polymer plate flourishes.  I am a traditional type kind of letterpress gal; but thought a few flourishes could come in handy every now and again.  So they have sat there for a while now and I thought if not now, then when? Laugh. I am not made for modern ways...

I have had limited success with polymer plates  and as ever, teaching yourself can mean a whole lot of dumb things happens and mistakes get made.  Still, I thought I should have another go.

So I cut one out and attached it to a piece of timber I had had cut to make type high.

Pretty happy with what came about - could be useful. It was crisp and clean around the edges which was great. But boy did I have trouble making it stick on the block.

I thought I should test out a few more so cut out quite a few from the plate - it was good buying! Lots of different flourishes.

They were all set on blocks and I thought this would test a good few of them.

Again - struggled to get them to stick.

Two fell off as I put them through the press. Clearly this was not going to be a thing I could ever use if they just fell out willy nilly.

The general look and feel of the print was good (except for the two gaps issue) so I wanted to check if I could find out what had gone wrong.

I laughed so hard.  A quick google about the type of plate (it has some serial number on it) and I found the bit where the advice says "replace the blue protective sheet after each use to maintain the plate's adhesive capability".

I went to the drawer where I had packed them away; picked up a piece; and slowly, gently and with stifled and muffled hilarity pulled back the blue protective sheet to discover a significant and magnificent layer of stickiness on the actual plate!!!

There's always next time. Stay tuned. Grin.

Thursday Thoughts...

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” 

Albert Einstein

Today I ponder art, and in doing so accept and acknowledge the role that the intuitive mind plays in the creating, dreaming, and making of my work.

I feel fortunate that I have access to my intuitive mind. I use it and rely on it a lot - I oftentimes just seem to 'know' things.  I can't explain how I do, I just do.

I find in the dreaming of or pondering of art-in-the-making, the intuitive mind often guides me, leads me, and lands where I need to land.  It is fast, cheetah-fast, and things can arrive solved or ready to roll and they feel right.  Of course not always, but often enough for me to recognise it is part of my creative process.  I acknowledge it, note it, smile upon it and keep on going.

I think one explanation for intuition is that it involves super quick analyses and connections between things that you know or understand; experiences you have had; outcomes you have witnessed; or processes you have undertaken. Kind of like your life experience counts for something and some part of you takes away the set by step process of getting from A to B to C and says 'here it is'.

A true gift.  Einstein recognised the intuitive mind as such and I imagine was grateful for his as well.  Like many things in the world our scientific and rationale worlds take precedence and and we admire and fete the things we can prove or measure.

In times like these when we need and rely on the artists and creatives to help us get through - perhaps it is more timely than ever to celebrate the intuitive mind.

Around and about

As we all adapt to the new normal, we count ourselves as very fortunate to be able to self-isolate on the mountain block we call home. The block keeps us busy at the best to times, but is now also offering us healthy activity and things to do and focus on when our minds might otherwise wander.

A magnolia bud from down below.

We are gardening most days, hauling logs, building walls, growing seedlings and sprouting seeds, gathering flowers and just enjoying basking in the beauty that surrounds us.

It calms our souls.

Despite having removed our coffee plantation because of a nasty weevil infestation a few years ago; there are still coffee bushes growing around the edges of the block and they are bursting with coffee cherries (which have the beans inside them).  We figure if things get really bad, we can start to process beans again...

The camellias on the terraces below are coming into bloom and wandering amongst them is like walking amidst pink and white snow drifts.

A bunch we picked on Sunday

I popped them in these little wee floating boat 'vases'; and set them upon window sills in the kitchen.

And here are some camellia shadows on the water tank.

The veggie garden is beginning (we hadn't planted any as we were due in Scotland on 25 March...) and we are enjoying the daily collection and sharing.

A few weeks ago I did a bit of a panic buy of seeds (only one packet each of about 6 veggies but I did feel a bit panicked) and we set them to grow and already they are bursting out.  Barry prepared another veggie patch for them and that has been good to see.  

Our climate is a very kind one - we can grow so many things. Avocados are coming on and limes have almost reached nuisance levels; but our entire orange crop has virtually just dropped which was sad.

But we have a beautiful place to occupy us and nourish us.

Sewing this and that

Managing time.  It is something I think about this way and that.  Do I need a more regular/rigid routine to keep me on track? Or do I need to relax into the flow and understand things have their own time?

I move between the two.  The free flowing time thing can leave me unsettled and resentful by the end of the day; and yet I know the rigid routine thing will leave me feeling constrained and agitated.  Balance. It must all be about balance.

So I am doing a bit of this and a bit of that.  I have a heap of calico in the cupboard and thought
I'd get started on making some aprons.  I love my Go Girl half-apron and thought it would be an easy enough pattens to copy and make more of.

First up I found a calico test skirt I had made - it was a weird one with no side seams just these spiralling joins.  It never fitted but that was OK as I had really just been testing the idea, so I thought it would be perfect to cut up and make an apron with.

I fiddled around with how to make the ties that go around the waist - and out of the corner of my eye I spotted some edging/binding that I had bought as remnants in Stockholm years ago. They were nice and strong and a bit interesting.

Then of course there had to be pocket. It came from a  scrap and had to be big enough for a pen and a phone.

And an extra bit of binding to make it look interesting.

And then it was done.

And I tried it on and took this unflattering photo. But the apron will be serviceable! (I did mention the skirt never fitted...)

And a bit more sewing.  My cousin needs some fabric masks for her work.  Someone made her quite a lot but sadly they didn't fit well enough for her to wear without having to use bobby pins to hold the elastic taut.

So I brought them home and said I'd try a few options for adjusting them.

I cut the elastics off and made a top elastic that went around her head and not just her ears. And stretched the lower elastic so it would also go round her neck.

I did the same with another one and made the top elastic a lot wider. I then just snipped the lower one so she could tie a knot in it

And the third option I tried I snipped all the elastic off and replaced it with bias binding so she could tie it around her head.

Rescued after washing just in time for a photograph!

Not sure if any of the options will work but it was worth a try. I am hoping her head is a bit smaller than mine...

Also just realised a fourth option I might try tomorrow is to reduce the length o the current elastic a bit so they fit more snugly. 

Thursday Thoughts...

Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks. 

Plutarch

As sometimes happens, a quote I choose can go either way.  I am pondering books (also code for words, writing, poetry...) today and hence the link to this; altho clearly it could also form the basis of an art-like ponder.

Whichever way it goes I love how it animates both art forms; how it values them both; and how it suggests that one can be an expression of the other, albeit in a different form.

Taking the poetry perspective, I think this is exactly what poems attempt to do - to create words pictures in our mind.  By so accurately and eloquently describing a circumstance, an object, an experience; one can fill in the feelings around it and experience a sense of it within our bodies as well as in our minds.

We can see the empty room, and go further to perhaps smell the mustiness; to hear the creaking... and to feel the cold.

So for me, good poetry is perhaps more than a painting that speaks; it is also a movie or video watched; an experience felt; senses stimulated; and emotions expressed as I read words that take me along with them...