The cottage

Our thoughts have been turning to the cottage a lot more of late, as we get a bit of work done on our kitchen ceiling; as we join zoom meetings about a proposed wind farm; and we chat with other folk who have family connections to our wee village.

My heart has also turned to making work about the cottage and I have returned to an idea I had last year but which has sat there, patiently waiting for me to find a way through it.

Several veers to the left, the odd dead end and the need to clamber over a couple of fences and I have begun to make some progress; in completely different directions to where I thought I was going. Such is life.  I should really remember to never set out with certainty!

Plan A was to get some aluminium plates prepared in the shape of the cottage.

Plan A also involved etching said plates with imagery of flowers. I prepared some flower tracings and then laughed at myself - thinking how on earth can you get that onto the plate in such a ways as to etch it, so that you can ink it and print an etching?

I say I shouldn't head off with certainty; but I should in fact set off with an understanding of what it might take to achieve my goal and all of the possible steps; rather than my follow my nose and see what happens. Dilemma.

So I left it for 9 months, unable to face the challenge of working all of that out.

Last month, I picked up some of the cutouts and decided I would try a bit of a ground/stop out and then see if I could use a tool to mark the tracing into the ground and create a drypoint plate of sorts. On the left I use lip gloss; on the right a waxed crayon.

Suffice to say I  felt so underwhelmed by this that I am yet to even attempt to etch them.  

And then one night for some weird reason I was awake and thought - I could emboss/de-boss the imagery of the cottage onto something else! Clearly my brain was trying to found a way to avoid all that etching angst.

So I put both parts through the etching press on different papers and thought - ooh I like that.

Something could come of that.  

So my mind then turned to what the background could be that the cottage appeared against?  Would I keep on with some sort of etching print? do a mono print? print a photograph? a watercolour wash?

I have progressed but not yet completed; but I am moving which is better than being stuck.

Liz mentioned the other week that she had never seen inside the cottage; so here are a few snaps from inside. It is tiny and cosy. On our first visit my Dad, Barry and I built every piece of furniture from IKEA after repainting every wall and the kitchen ceiling. 

One of my favourite photos - Barry's legs look so relaxed whilst he sits inside the cupboard fitting the drawer sliders!

The kitchen before.

and after.

The lounge room before.

and after.

Dad and I trying to work out the lounge room chair.

One of the bedrooms, after.

The sofa bed couch, before.

and after...

Ahhh, that gorgeous cottage of ours...

More this, that, and the other...

As I progress some projects and some investigations into real work; I am also finding time to experiment, test and try things.

Last month we went to replace one of our fitted linen sheets. We were sure we could use parts of it, so I set out to see what could be salvaged and how.  First up I removed all the elastic and that is now sitting there ready for whenever I next need elastic.

I decided to try out a new pattern for a top, and it worked out fairly well.

With some of the leftovers I made 4 tea towels and 4 serviettes. So that was pretty good.

Other small yet useable bits became polishing and cleaning cloths!

I have become infuriated of late about how our governments are responding to Covid deaths.  It seems that they are being pushed under the carpet, not mentioned in dispatches and generally speaking it's all OK because most of the folk dying are old. I am furious.

I know our numbers are so much smaller than other countries for lots of reasons, but its the callous, unprincipled and inept manner in which we opened up, knowing that this would happen that makes me so angry.  All of these people were loved, they were brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents, daughters and sons. Not only have they died because we couldn't keep them alive; but they oftentimes died alone; without visitors or family alongside them.

I feel as if  I am shouting into the wind, but I had to print these wee cards, noting our deaths in the past two years; and the deaths LAST MONTH.

And more cheerily, in my efforts to experiment I have done some small watercolour studies - here's the washing line at the cottage on one of those blustery days!

Eclectic.

Thursday Thoughts...

“The needle of his curiosity followed its own magnetic north…” 

 Alain de Botton

In general terms I daresay this quote could refer to life (one of the three topics I circle around and ponder on these Thursday Thoughts of mine). However, I immediately responded to it by thinking about my work as a maker and the artwork I make.

The words seem so perfectly apt for me - I certainly never feel as if I fit into some proper description of artist or maker; I am not a painter or a drawer; not really a printmaker; and I am never going to be a person who involves landscape much; or portraiture.

My own true north in my work is all about women and feminism, social justice, nature, and peace.

And how important is that acceptance of our own true North? How critical is it to us creating honest work of integrity? Work that truly reflects ourselves, our yearnings, our fears our anger?

The way de Botton describes 'the needle of his curiosity' is delightful and I can imagine so much the person he refers to following his interests and his passions - being guided by his inner compass.

I rely heavily on my inner compass, my sense of 'knowing' or intuition, and I think is as true as true north, for me.

Looking north, from the most northerly point on the UK mainland, Dunnet Head.

Exciting news!

 I learned last week that my artists' book Turning Point - the trio of wee books with vintage letraset on glassine paper - is a finalist in the prestigious Libris Awards - our national Artists' Book award.

I am so happy they were judged worthy and even tho they are very small compared to some of the more large and impressive books; I am pleased they will share the stage.

I am waiting for a perspex case to be made to protect them and then they will posted off to be viewed and judged and considered.

Its extra nice to know that Barry's grand book It Won't Dismantle Itself will make the trip north with them and be on show in the same space!

Here's a walk through the middle one - the black version.

It's starts with a single word, altho we can see part of the path ahead.

Emphasis!

One by one they build.

Getting larger, getting louder.

Voice join.

They take up space.

They jostle to be heard.

They say it over and over again.

The noise is deafening!

By me.

The books are small and light. They measure 11cm (w) x 7cm (h) closed and open to 22cm (w).

You can hold them in your hand, be up close and personal with them, hear the rustle as the pages turn.

My artist statement for Libris:

Turning Point 1, 2 & 3 respond to the strength of young women who in 2021 chose to no longer be silent. To speak out about child sexual assault; about sexual assault; about consent; and about sexual harassment.

 

The movement started with a few voices and became a crescendo that changed the way women feel – no longer will they bear the shame of these acts; perpetrators will be held to account.

 

The rising wave of noise is reflected as the text intensifies throughout the books; these pages make a noise as you turn them, no silence left here. Sometimes the voices are quiet and persistent; at other times the voices are loud and enraged.  Young women have led the way and we shall be silent no more.

SILENT                 NO                MORE

An 8 hour day

 Barry has blogged about his poster book "It won't dismantle itself" and how it is a finalist in the Libris Awards here. Now that it has all come together I can share the bit I contributed. I posted a bit about the process here; but this part shows more of the outcomes I guess.

Together we talked our way through his book and what it offers; how to present posters; how to strengthen and reinforce the messages, how to sequence the posters and more.  I think it is a remarkably powerful book and the link between words, imagery, graffiti, posters, embossing and hinting all works brilliantly (imho).

We talked at length about how to bind it as well - and it felt to me that it was truly deserving of a quality stitching.  We made sure to re-inforce the lighter paper pages and Barry painstakingly cut the strips and held them down.

We decided I would do a single sheet binding.

I tried to work out how many holes would be needed so it looked meaningful; and was strong. Form AND function. I always say people start 'reading' an artists' book well before they turn the first page and I wanted them to feel that this book had something to say...

I spent about half a day piercing holes in the pages, using a template. On three of the pages, the template moved and the reinforcing pages had to be re-done. I called Barry down and he executed the remedial repairs with aplomb!

The next day I began the stitching.  Barry was there at the beginning...

The front cover - the first stitches made.

A tangle of threads and needles after making those first stitches.  I had to separate, unwind and untangle between each stitch with each pair of needles.

And he returned 8 hours later as I stitched the back cover on.

It was a massive tasks and here I am doing the final slip knot on the inside of the back cover.

My first turning of the pages, making sure the pages settle and lie flat.

And afterwards checking how the stitching lines up.

Anyhow it holds - yes it has function!

I left it there that day, and returned the next to finish off the final knot and snip the threads. I was so tired the day before I really didn't want to do that final irreversible step of snipping which can't be remedied, so I thought I would attempt that with fresh eyes and mind and hands.

And the leftover snipped threads still with their needles...

It was a big job that required lot of quiet and concentration, but which worked out well. I am really glad that I could honour Barry's work with some good stitching. And yee ha to him being a Finalist!!!

Thursday Thoughts...

"I divide all readers into two classes: those who read to remember and those who read to forget". 

William Lyon Phelps

I think that throughout history we have enjoyed the binary - dividing things into two, generally opposing, camps. Black/White; Man/Woman, Rightwing/Leftwing, Rich/Poor, Cultured/Uncultured, Sport/No sport and so on.

Perhaps it helps our busy brains differentiate, simplifies the many complexities of life into smaller packages and makes it easier to answer the question "which side am I on"?

Folk are often surprised to learn how much I love sport; follow sport, watch sport, read about sport, talk about sport - when what they think they know about me is that I am an artistic-reader-maker type. How could I love art and culture and sport?!?

So upfront, the notion of diving readers into two, kind of sort of nags at me a bit. Part of me bristles even at the words "I" and "divide" and "all".  Seems so conquering and arrogant.

Nevertheless, I persist with the premise. I might frame it more like " at times, we read to remember; at times we read to forget".

With which I utterly concur (handy since I wrote it!). At time I read to remember - to learn, to digest, to explore and to be able to hold facts or experiences in my head and share them later.  I might also read to be reminded of stuff I have known and forgotten; or heard about and been inquisitive to know more.

At times I read to forget - I want the absence from my surroundings or circumstances that reading offers me as it transports me away.  It lets me leave where I am and what I am worrying about and lets me disappear down some rabbit hole that empties my mind or utterly fills it with the story, no room for worry left.

I daresay I might enjoy many other of Mr Phelps' quotes, but this one I just had to tone down a bit...

Here I am reading to remember...but had to stop because look at all the red! Amongst the green!

For those interested in language - this was the most AMAZING book. The name (Wordslut) pulled me up short at first, but the inside is fascinating.  I wrote so many notes because I wanted to remember everything...

Experimenting

Thanks to a helpful reader, I have chosen to not use the word 'play' in reference to time spent trying this and that in the studio, rather I am now scheduling Experimental Time. It seems I am truly a person who need to give themselves permission to play by doing something that appears purposeful.  

Although interestingly, the play has all been purposeful - with something potentially far-fetched and a fair way off in the future, I wanted to experiment with options; so purposeful play, or educational experimenting it is!

I have been quietly working away trying to learn about ways to write poetry, and I have really enjoyed that time exploring.  I have decided I want to try and write one of the poems to use in this future work; but I want it to be 'hidden'. So I decided to experiment with different tools, paper, techniques and styles.

I recently bought this pen - a masking fluid pen; and set to work writing on BFK Rives and Arches Velin printmaking papers. 

I used a style of lettering  first used back in 2015 for this momentous book.

I then did a watercolour wash over it and waited for it to dry.

And then tried to rub it off! Oh my goodness, horrid disaster. I wasn't sure if it was the pen, the application of it not enough, or the paper.  

I went with the paper and tried another version on cheap watercolour paper and ta da - it rubbed off beautifully!

I began to get the look I was hoping for...

Using a syringe to write (just like the lettering in Endure above),  I did a trial with a similar lettering style; and a cursive handwriting style - done very quickly with the aim of being somewhat indecipherable.

The syringe makes it hard to control; and creates some lovely pooling as well as some great mini splatter marks.

I went on and masked off part of the page; and ran a grey watercolour wash over the top. And I quite liked the effect. The shapes were just random shapes I had around; the future work would be quite a deal subtler I hope.

And then I played with filling in counters and negative spaces with bright, jewel-like watercolours.

Delicious and stunning and it made me very happy. Again the future work would be more subdued but something is beginning to look like it could work.

Experimental Time got a big tick from me this week.