Thursday Thoughts...

"It’s a pale, silent day: I would like to be walking in a wood, far away.” 

Katherine Mansfield, from a diary entry, 25 June 1907

For whatever reason, and I expect there are many, I only became aware of Katherine Mansfield last year.  Heresy perhaps, but all of our paths of discovery are often unique and winding and we find things in our worlds when we find them.  And possibly when we are ready to do so. So here I am feeling fortunate I have found her!

But that aside, this quote is one for pondering upon life.

I am sitting at my new desk in our new office and looking out upon a pale, silent day.  The clouds are low and the mist is rolling across hillsides and dipping into valleys.  I am sure it will rain soon.  

I love Mansfield's description of pale silent days.  Pale and silent days are made for many things in my mind: walking in woods; walking along empty beaches with grey foam and waves; sitting curled up with a book; stitching quietly...

It seems to me that they are more internal than external.  Big blue sky days (or bluebird skies in Scotland) are made for getting out and about, being invigorated by the beautiful energy of it all.  Pale silent days feel more insular and gentle.  

The rain has come; gently and softly enveloping my view. A gentle rhythm. I'll not be walking in a wood today; but I do love the pale silent days...

We are just back from a wee break by the sea. The mist welcomed us our first night (and then the sun shone) but it was a gentle reminder  to slow down and relax...

The abundant joy of play!!!

On Sunday we both went to the studio because we thought it would be a good idea to leave planning, unpacking, sorting and all of that hoo-ha behind for a day.

And we were right!

I had no plans; no big jobs to do; nothing with a timeline so I set about having a play.

I went looking for old prints to cut out as I had a hankering for pebble shapes.  I came across a stack of gel prints from I don't know when - 2013 maybe?? - which I had never really known what to do with.

So I turned them over and drew pebble shapes on the back and set about cutting.

Cutting is so meditative. It is slow and you have to focus.  I went away away away and it was delightful.

The pebbles and the shapes of pebbles.

I spent the day drawing and cutting, drawing and cutting and thorough enjoyed myself.  In the last hour or so I played with ideas about how to use them.

I was imagining printing words and layering pebbles or pebble cut-outs; you just never know when you begin.

And then I popped a cut out over a print I hadn't yet cut and I went woooooooo!

Oh my. And off I went.  No spare scrap of paper was safe from the play.

Now I know that children have been playing with cut outs and layering since the dawn of kindergarten, but it was such a totally exciting and enthralling discovery.

Working my way through colour combinations, pondering the loveliest of questions "what if...?"

Grabbing some black paper and adding the pebbles. It just went on and on!

I don't really know that I finished up anywhere, but my glory I had so much fun.

And then I stacked the cut-outs on top of each other to pack away for next time, and of course, loved that as well!

If ever need to remind myself of the joy, the benefit, the absolute bliss of playing in the studio, I shall refer myself to this post and recall the day I spent cutting pebbles.

Go Girl and a move...

As you can imagine it has been a somewhat busy week - and here we are on Sunday settling into our new home.

A flurry of packing, moving, unpacking, repeat, seemed to be the rhythm of our life for a while; but we are managing to organise and sort and pack away. Phew.

A small job I set myself during the week was to print my annual Go Girl! mini poster.  This is the fifth in the series and they always make me smile.

They are a good opportunity to play about with large, random, wood type and see what you can do.

And see just how many exclamation marks one can include!

Here is a record of the 5 so far...

And then I realised that today is Father's Day in Australia so I quickly printed a few cards, just in case.

Like a gold medal, number 1 Dad!

And bookending our move; our last and first glasses of bubbles on the decks...

Farewell.

And welcome.

It is good to be settling.

Thursday Thoughts...

"Balance is beautiful"  

Miyoki Ohno

In the midst of moving chaos this one appeals not only for art; but also for life!  However it is art that I am pondering today, and I do like balance in art.

I don't think that balance means that everything is symmetrical and equal; it feels to me as if it means that the goes with that and that they create harmony.  

Sometimes tension is good in art - it makes you pay attention and can jar you into action.  But balance creates a whole, it makes something completed, unified.  When things are in balance you don't think work is unfinished or that "it just needs something else".

It simply is. 

I love that people pay attention to the balance in things - getting a work just right so that it is coherent and harmonious. 

Sigh.

Sopolemalama  Filipe Tohi (APT 2013)

A fond farewell..

Our last sleep at our house on the block is tonight.  We went for a wander through the block on Thursday - saying goodbye to different parts of the place we have called home for 14 years.  

This walk marked the farewell for me - having said my goodbyes to the block I was ready to leave.

We wandered and remembered and took lots of photo memories - and here are some of them.

The beginning of the terraces.  We did huge amounts of work (mostly Barry) to create these terraces and then to plant, and then to place art amongst them. They were a building requirement to help assist the flow of water and they proved to be good at that, but also beautiful spaces.

We built so many stairs and steps!  I love the little heads of soldering irons that accompany this set.

Barry heads off down some curving stepping blocks to a lower terrace.

As we crossed the rock river we looked up to see the back of these three large peace book sculptures.  Funny how you see different perspectives at different times.

Looking up from below to yet more steps and stairs, and sculptures...

The aspect that always blew our minds - we never knew we were building such a large home when we built it! 

Sculptures along the edges of the rock river from the back fence.

A forever memory - rocks and gravel. The block has so much rock and gravel; nearly all of which Barry moved by hand (I helped out sometimes, but he was the workhorse).

And then it was down across the heavily planted (no gravel) slope where the native flowers are all beginning to come into play for Spring.

Grevilleas...

Unsure...but pretty!

The beginnings of a waratah. They are late this year so we won't have many to play with it but they will welcome the new owners in style.

Up to the original water tank and the rocking chair sculpture we brought with us from Canberra.  

To the shed which we built on our first visit to the block together in 2003.

Up the driveway to look down on the main house.

And across to the visitors' and through to the mountains.

So many remnants of peace flags that have flown on this tree...

And so lovely to see some peace doves still flying - they will stay, sharing message of hope and peace for as long as they can. 

What a joy it has been to be custodians of this beautiful place. 

Thursday Thoughts...

"He never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two." 

Victor Hugo

This one made me smile - how true I thought!

Both parts of it ring true to me. These days I am guaranteed to leave the house with a book stored on my phone; although I still often leave the house with a real book, just in case...

Knowing that wherever I land; whatever spare or waiting time appears before me; I will have a book to read is a great source of comfort.  I think I like the way in which reading a book in public probably gives off a sense of 'don't interrupt me please'. I am quite a solitary person and not great at social interaction with strangers (of course I can do it, but often times would rather not).

A book lets me disappear in a public spot. I like that.

And the second part of the quote - often coming back with more than I set out with is absolutely true!!!

Who can resist a book shop? Second hand books, new books, window displays, quirky titles, fabulous illustrations - I am there for them all.

It is not uncommon for me to go into town for groceries and come back with books. 

The joy of having a new book to read deserves a word of its own!

Two books bought online recently - the story of Nancy Cunard and her Press in Paris - can't wait to read about an intriguing woman and her letterpress printing.

Showings and sale

 We are mid a bit of moving madness here at the moment.

After enjoying our block and our home for 14 years, Barry and have sold our house.  The time is right and we say goodbye knowing this place has nurtured us and given us much happiness.  For sure we will miss the magic of the mountains and the valleys below, but it is time for someone else to enjoy it.

As a result, there has not been much making at all.

A couple of pieces of good news however...

My poster Pockets Are Political has been shown in the fabulous printmaker's magazine Pressing Matters Vol 12.

This is such a great magazine based in the UK - full of interesting and amazing articles - incredible talent and lots of wonderful things to see, read and ponder. I am thrilled to have a wee mention.

On the other side of the globe (New Zealand) both Barry and have pieces on show at the Pumanawah Gallery at he Christchurch Arts Centre in the Love Letters: the Letterpress Poster exhibition.  The show is all about the love of letterpress and would be great see (if one could travel). It has 71 works from New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

After Christchurch it heads to Auckland and to Wellington, so at least a lot of folk in NZ get the chance to see it.  See their FB page for details.

Coincidentally, I sent Pockets Are Political there as well  (world domination is clearly on the agenda - more pockets for women!!!).

And here is the sign that made it all real on the house front.

And a few recent cameos by the mountains before we leave...

This one is smoke haze this morning from the first bushfire of the season...

An earlier commission

 A while ago now we were asked if we could provide a small sign to recognise a lovely man.  Following his death, friends had planted a tree in line of sight of one of his favourite and precious views and they thought it would be nice to have a marker which would simply say "For James".

We decided it would work well etched on aluminium and in a calligraphic hand.

So I did a few trials to fit the size of the marker

And then after the style has been selected, I offered two possibilities and the final one was selected from them.

And then it was on to transferring the lettering to the aluminium.  And that proved harder than one imagined.  After several trials it got there.

I thought how easy would it be to trace and transfer through the carbon paper?

Possibly really easy if you had fresh carbon paper; however, mine is rather secondhand and sadly it attached itself in several places.

Trying to get it off was pretty hard.  

And the risk was that the carbon paper left on the plate would act as a stop out or block out and prevent the etch from working in the right places. All of the blue muck would have ended up forming part of the design! 

So we cleaned it off (lots of elbow grease by Barry) and then used a stylus to try and trace the lettering back on.

And then to use the block out paint.  It was impossible to get a really fine tip working, so we did the best we could, with the odd wobble.

And then into the etching bath where it really built up a head of steam!

Barry added in the brass legs and now it rests proudly in front of the tree. 

A gentle, handcrafted and heart-felt statement.

Thank you to our friends for enabling us to be part of this precious wee memorial.