The Shape of Things III is underway

I have begun work on the third of six books that Annwyn and I are exchanging this year, all under the working title of "The Shape of Things". See here, here and here for previous posts.

Our second books are en route to each other, after a wee delay because the Royal Mail had problems and parcels could not be sent overseas for a while.  Fingers are crossed the books land safely at their respective destinations in the next wee while. 

After tidying and cleaning the studio I have found the enthusiasm and energy to get right in to this one.

First up I was thinking of confetti, or circles.

It was surprisingly tricky getting my blunt old hole punchers to clean cut small circles from the fine papers Annwyn had sent. Lots of tearing and ripping ensued, until I worked out if I doubled the paper over the cutter cut better.

I had a brain spark about how this paper might go with the circles...

And then I had to check if it might also go with the paper I had planned for the folios. As we all know, not 

all whites are created equally! I think they will be friends.

The thing in the middle is my magnificent paper tearer. It is quite long (maybe a metre?) it has a tearing edge on one side and a place to rest your hand as you hold the paper down on the table as you rip it gently with the other hand.

It creates the loveliest feathered edge.

I then spent I many an hour trimming down three very large sheets of paper into small folios. I gave up on the maths to work out how many folds and tears occurred, but it did take a generous chunk of time. But they do look so lovely.

From each large sheet I was able to get 6 A4 sheets. From the 6 A4s I was able to get 12 A5s, from them I got 24 A6s and from them I got 96 of whatever comes next; which then got folded into folios.

This is a pile of A5s to folios (forgot to photograph the A4s and the large sheets).

Altho here is a photo of me working out if I could get 6 A4s from the sheet... hi tech as ever.

And then I had a play with piercing holes and thread. I had that awful moment, after all that tearing, when I stopped and thought, oh my goodness, what if the paper is so fragile it won't take holes and stitches?!?!?!?!?!?!?

But I think we will be OK... wipes sweat from brow.

There is plenty left to do so I shall get on with it. But I won't be showing too many photos until we send and receive them - all a ways away down the track.

Clean and Tidy

 Sometimes after a while way from the studio the best thing to do is simply stop and try to clear the air, clean the surfaces and rediscover the freshness of a tidy studio.

And so it has been!

My work desk for starters - clearly not a single part of the surface was workable-on.

The other desk where I work and do sales...lots of practice pieces here, and loads of papers piled upon papers

My course work collected all in one place...

I unearthed some lovely things that go me thinking. It always takes me a while to tidy as I pick things up and little ideas sparks and head off, and then maybe this goes with that and what if?

This was an interesting collection to put together. Might they jointly become something?  I have ended up putting them each into their own bag with notes about what I might do with them, rather than just leave them out 'to remind me'.

And ta-da! The sales desk re-appears and looks a little bit more welcoming.

And who knew there was so much space under all that stuff?

And for a complete aside - the great outdoors is surely out to get me.  We went to help a friend put some edging in her garden. We were working on DEAD grass, so I figured shoes rather than boots would be OK. Ha! Halfway through I discovered this leech on my ankle.

And three days later it still smarts - quite the allergic reaction to this one. 

I daresay its not all bad - I obviously need to stay inside in the studio and do stuff!

And do stuff I have. The cleared desk space has seen me roaring through ideas and work and I am excited again about how the cycle of cleaning up lifts a load, finds connections and then there is space to do something with all those ideas.

And we had this lovely moment at lunch through the week - quintessentially Queensland.

Thursday Thoughts...

“A book is rewritten in the mind of every reader, and the book rewrites each reader’s mind in a unique way too”. 

 Nicholas Carr

I really like the two-way idea contained in this quote. 

With the first part I pondered how that happened, and I thought that because we all experience a book slightly differently: we recall some bits of it with far more clarity than others; we find the emphasis that speaks most strongly to us; and I guess we enjoy or appreciate different characters in an individualised response way.  

So perhaps if we were telling the story in our own words say (like a precis I guess) we would skip over some bits, spend a lot of time on others; put two or three things together that we felt were connected and so on. So in that way I guess we do re-write the book.

And the second part suggests that the book re-writes us as well.  So perhaps that is about pre-conceived notions being challenged; we learn something that we add into our knowledge base; we empathise with situations we have never had to consider for ourselves and the like.

Like lost of things in life, I like the notion of interaction and exchange that comes from one thing to another, and back again and that glorious energy of growth and learning.

Woven Chronicle by Reena Saini Kallat, AGNSW, January 2023

Still not much art happening but...

 Another busy week has meant no time in the studio and I must say its been a long time since that happened. Luckily I have made art-type progress on things that need progressing, but it makes me feel not quite myself when I haven't been making.

One arty moment this week we visited Caloundra Regional Gallery where they were showing Recent Acquisitions from the Collection. A friend alerted me to the fact that one of my prints was on show. Very excitement.

This print, Mabel's Scrub, made for the EcoWomen Exhibition back in early 2020 is now part of the Gallery's collection and they selected 4 prints from that exhibition to show. My good friend Tory's print (bottom right) was also selected.  Feels lovely to be hung together like this.

One of the things I remember about this exhibition is that it was pulled down early because we were so uncertain about the virus. I will also associate it with the first beginnings of movement restrictions and lockdowns...

This serendipitously sets me up to think my way through a minor green and white theme.

Another hmmmm, arty? moment this week occurred when our landlord mentioned, literally  in passing, that they were going to clean the outside of the building and do some painting. That didn't phase me until we went down and saw the new colour...

It is all cut in, but we don't know when it will finally be painted. 

I am coining it garbage bin green. Which is unfair really, as it is known as Seaweed.

But really?

We have been organising a large Community Garage Sale and may I say that has been busy. Sunday afternoon, I sit here feeling a bit on the weary side. But a great success so that's all good.

All these succulents went. Green and white kind of, sort of...

We are having a bit of a heatwave, and so watering and cutting the greens early is important before we draw the blinds and bunker down for the day.

But this beautiful green and white orchid of my Dad's had just been misted, and it makes me feel cooler just looking at it.

Soon, I hope, soon, there will be making to mark!

Thursday Thoughts...

“Solitude is a way to defend the spirit against the murderous din of our materialism.” 

Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton died in 1968 (55 years ago) and I can't find exactly when he may have said or written this; but half a century on, I wonder what he might think of our materialism now?!?!?!

The murderous din of materialism is such a good way to describe it - it is not good for us, could well be the death of us and yet we continue to run like lab rats on a wheel collecting this, acquiring that, buying this, desiring that.

And solitude is such a a beautiful way to escape from it all. To literally turn the dial down, to reduce the screen time, to avoid the ka-ching and the comparisons, and to simply be, without interruptions, demands or pleadings for our time and our money.

Solitude seems like such a nice thing to me - it always suggest a warmth of quietude; a space to spend time with your thoughts and your dreams and your wonderings. It never feels lonely or alone.

Perhaps solitude is what we experience as we sit quietly reading or stitching, that place of being separate from the world whilst clearly still being in amongst it?  Just us with our thoughts and our hands making things...

Or maybe just sitting staring...

Whatever it may be, it good for the soul.

White Rabbit Gallery in Sydney

We had a great day in the city when we wandered with our friend Karen (she of the magnificent Library at Green Square) to White Rabbit Gallery.

The Gallery is contemporary, glorious, staffed by wonderful people and shows the astonishing personal collection of Judith Neilson.

The exhibitions are in place for about 5-6 months so there is the opportunity to go back again and again if needed.

This exhibition is called Shuo Shu - stories reveal themselves to those who are open.

The exhibition is curated so that you start on the top floor and wend your way down - three floors and each floor is dedicated to a particular element of storytelling.

These rocks by Gu Wenda, are hand carved with intentionally hybridised calligraphic characters wrapping around them. The twenty four stones represent the seasons of the ancient Chinese lunisolar calendar. The artist suggests that the work reflects on our modern distance from the cycles of the natural world. It was awe-inspiring and so beautifully presented in this darkened room. One could wander inside the circle, around the circle, between the stones...

Also on this floor was the work of Yang Wei-Lin. She likes literature, but says " I cannot use words for writing, they give me too much pressure". And so she turns to textile art to tell stories in another language.

The middle floor inspired me least; but I did fall quietly in love with these painted panels by Chen Danqing..

The ground floor simply took my breath away.  We wandered into it first and got completely absorbed, and then learned that we should start at the top. I had no idea what the exhibition was about when we arrived, we just moved in to this space and I was stunned into silence.  A moment of clarity and I realised what they were!

I was kind of thrilled that we got a second look at them when we arrived at the ground floor after our travels down.

Density 1-6 by Liu Wei have the appearance of stone but...they are made from compressed textbooks that have been cut into smooth, minimalist shapes. Simply stunning.

And for scale here I am, in a photo Karen took.

And here we both are in front of the globe. Still masking up in public...

Such a hotch potch

 And didn't I get some odd auto-corrects with that title!

But it definitely sums it up. I have been working hard on my second book for the exchange with Annwyn, but because we are not posting much about the books until they have been received across the oceans, I have very little to show for my studio time.

There are however, some fragments of this, that and other.

My Dad is involved with a Shrove Tuesday (pancake) event on Valentine's Day and in a rather brilliant and creative venture on his behalf - he asked if I had any heart shaped cutters which he thought he might be able to make pikelets in. And here was the selection I offered him... the adventure has begun.

I am participating in an exhibition in a regional gallery in March; and need to have three shelves to display my work. So here I am at my best, literally cutting and pasting to see the best display options.

B and I walked past this after having a coffee in Caloundra. On closer inspection we discovered it was actually a bandaid and now I want to find me some of them!

B and I joined forces to create these displays for my lovely cousin's optometry business. B's blogpost has the details.

My highly sophisticated book press - with thanks to Liz for the Dewey book (so great to delve into; and to grab when needed for other purposes).

Testing the beginnings of book number 2.

Water drops on one of Dad's orchids this morning

B had a birthday a week or so ago and the deck was decked with twinkle lights and peace...

Life is full and life is varied.

Thursday Thoughts...

“You learn for yourself not for others, not to show off, not to put the other one down/ learning is your secret, it is all you have, it is the only thing you can call your own. nobody can take it away…” 

Louise Bourgeois

I have been fortunate to see a number of Louise Bourgeois' works in recent times and they are truly wonderful and unique.

This quote of hers about learning also comes at a time when I am doing my planning for the year; and where I have included "spend more time in education/learning" as one of my goals.

Of all the things that I think should be done for the right reasons - learning is right up there. At different points in my life I have looked across the way at friends or colleagues and seen all their qualifications, their courses, their diplomas, and their achievements and have felt a little bit as if I was letting my side down. 

Somehow comparing what others were learning and achieving felt like I was under-achieving.

I have also sometimes felt as if I am a fraud, having the temerity to call myself an artist or maker, when I have no art training, or fine arts qualifications. I have never properly studied ART.

But I have been a lifelong learner, a gleaner, a researcher, a quiet digger into new ideas and past histories. An explorer of genres, a seeker of deeper understandings. 

And sometimes I have attended courses and workshops where I have learned new skills and developed new ways of seeing or doing.

Each time I have done this, for myself and not to compare or equate with anybody else, I have gained so much.

Always. You must learn for yourself.

My attempt at skeleton Roman Capitals at the top, working on getting letter forms and spacing right. Bottom is the letterforms traced, with the correct spacing. 

Ancora Imparo - I am still learning. Michelangelo.