rust and remnants .....

I spent most of Monday in the studio rusting large sheets of paper to print on and make some more Standing Stories.  Once the papers have gone through their various solutions, they dry on pieces of butchers paper or packing paper which is thicker has has a shiny smooth finish.

The marks left behind on the paper backings are often more gorgeous than the rusted papers themselves though I did manage to get some lovely results.  I have a couple of days ahead in the studio and I will start using the large sheets.  It will be fun as mostly I am used to rusting A3 size or smaller.  These sheets are A1 and A2 size and I think the rusting will add interest to some of my 'stories'.  I have not yet decided whether to leave them as they are or use layers of ink wash to add interest and tone down the rusty palette.  I find rusting is often my starting point - not the end point.

The first five images below are of the remnants and the remaining photos are snippets of the full sheets. I hope I don't mess them up tomorrow once I start working with them as they are quite beautiful already with the happenstance of the rusting process.

Oh - and I decided to keep the back papers for wrapping paper!  There are many more of them than those I photographed. Really rather exquisite.

artist's book exhibition and bookplates unbound .....

Yesterday I spent a wonderful afternoon down in Brisbane - a double exhibition.  Book Plates Unbound and a marvellous Artist's Book Exhibition.  You will see the invitation that was sent out by Wim and Adele at the end of this post and if you have the chance to visit this exhibition in the next week, take it.  There is some really amazing work there - very beautiful, very varied, often surprising and definitely worth a visit.

I have the privilege of knowing a number of the artists represented in the exhibition but there were some I did not not know and wow, I will certainly be watching for their work down the track.  More of that later.

Firstly, Book Plates Unbound.  This was a project conceived by Gael Phillips and Wim de Vos in which 31 Queensland artists took part.  We were each asked to produce a book plate, print 40 of them and submit them with an Artist's Statement.  These book plates were then tipped on mount paper and boxed with separate statements and translucent paper interleaves.  The resulting boxed set is stunning - beautiful to handle and presented very professionally in Solander boxes which have been stamp printed.  I will actually post on my copy of this edition during the week.

Below you can see the book plates hanging so we could all have a good look.  A lovely variety of images and each image very indicative of the type of work each artist makes.  I am honoured to have contributed to the project and will always cherish my edition.  

This is a display of the plates which were used to print the book plates and they are very beautiful in their own right.

The entertainment was marvellous - pity their was no room to dance!

Here is a glimpse of just some of the work in the exhibition - I didn't photograph many details of pieces because  I don't think it is my right to do so, but just to whet your appetite and hopefully send you scurrying along to see the work in detail - here are a few peeks.

books by Adele Outerridge

book by Grahame Bligh

tunnel books by Wim de Vos

books to be opened and enjoyed

Fiona Medhurst - Silhouettes 

two books by Glenda Orr

a couple of my books and others

two photos with details of Philomena Drakes'  Old Stuff and New Stuff

Wim's Chrysler Building book

another of Philomena's books

There were so very many books here that completely captured my imagination.  I am only going to mention a few and one of those must be about my absolute favourite book - Silhouettes by Fiona Medhurst. I often talk about keeping it simple - not over working images.  Not that I manage this all the time and I am sure some of my work looks quite laboured.  This book by Fiona is the very essence of simplicity.  Linocut images in black and white printed on a page of semi transparent printing paper, the same forms used again in a different arrangement on the page below and so on.  Some of the pages have one form picked out in red and in varying degrees, images from the pages below show through forming a gorgeous poetic dance of fluid form.  To me it is the essence of simplicity and beauty combined.

Another work which captured my imagination was Mena's (Philomena Drake) work Old Stuff  New Stuff  is another such simple book - simple in concept I would say but very intricate in the binding which she said  Adele helped her work out  - a  very old fashioned form of coptic binding which was necessary to get through the pieces of cedar wood.  I guess I was drawn to this piece initially because of the rusty bolts and wood, but the more time I spent with it, the more I noticed.

An artist whose work I did not know and now will watch out for is that of Glenda Orr.  Initially I was drawn to her folded book Log Forest - a very strong piece folded down from a single print. However, next to that was her boxed, unbound book the title of which I am ashamed to say I don't remember.  I remember her prints and embossings within however and these just need to be seen.  Exquisite, detailed use of aquatint and such perfect embossing that I am completely envious. I would dearly loved to have photographed some of these to share with you but as I said earlier, I didn't  feel I have the right.

Though I have on written about a few, there were many, many wonderful pieces both in the artist's book exhibition and in the Book Plates Unbound.

A few of the books were chosen to be bought for the State Library Collection of Artist's Book by Helen Cole, and I feel honoured that one of my books was amongst those chosen.  A good day for me all in all.

________________________________________________________________________________

Hello Everyone,

You are invited to our exhibition opening at 2.00pm, Saturday 24^th November 2012 (see attachment for details).

Bookplates Unbound, a project initiated by Gael Phillips and Wim de Vos will be opened by Anne Jolly from Novel Lines bookshop, Paddington

Artists’ Books, work from the Studio West End ‘family’ will be opened by Helen Cole, Senior Librarian, Coordinator, Australian Library of Art, State Library of Queensland

Both exhibitions will be open daily for viewing daily 10.00am to 4.00pm until Sunday 2^nd December

Also attached is the brochure for our 2013 Summer Workshop in Printmaking, Book arts, Drawing and Painting which starts on Monday 7^th January.

You may enrol for one, two or three weeks starting whichever week suits.

It will be an exciting three weeks of learning and creativity...............and fun too............

Enrolments are open now. We look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Adele and Wim

If you wish to unsubscribe please let me know.

Adele Outteridge Wim de Vos

Studio West End

35 Mollison St, West End, Qld, 4101, Australia.

Phone/fax 07 3844 8469 (+61 7 3844 8469)

art or pond scum .....

Every now and then it is completely apparent why people generally find their artistic friends a little odd!  A case in point is these photos of pond scum ......  with which I am totally entranced.  I wish I could make images as gorgeous as these.  And yet, to most passers by, enjoying the glorious day at the beach I am just a mad woman bent down over pond scum taking photos instead of enjoying the ocean delights.

In the eye of the beholder.

I have been back from Sydney almost a week and have been too frantic to think creatively, let alone create.  Hence these pond scum photos just to say hello, I am still here and next week will be back in the studio and back to my blog.  Hope you are all well and not too stressed with the all too rapid approach of next year.

second alphabet - tick .....

I love that I can tick this project off my list.  I really enjoyed making both the alphabet and the box for this alphabet.  This is the first time I have tried making this wrap over box and I am quite pleased with the result.  Certainly will use the idea again for other projects and hopefully their making will improve with each new effort.    I like the elegant lines this box/binding affords .... clean, simple.

I actually think I preferred this cover before I wrote the alphabet all over it - but it is done now.  Loved the clean simple lines it had before I overworked it!  It is so easy just to take things one step too far.

I am leaving Steve at home alone for a week and  am off to Sydney to have some fun with my children and poke around some paper shops. Will be back on line next Friday no doubt.  Take care till then - hope the storm clean up is not proving too much for those of my blogging friends who were in Sandy's path.  

good fortune joss papers .....

I spent almost all my time yesterday working on the second alphabet for the ALAW project which Fiona instigated and coordinates.  I thought the letters may take me all week but I managed to get them done and now I have only the box to make today.  It is always so exciting to complete a project and be able to move onto the next one.

My next project is to come up with an idea for Fiona's and my collaborative piece.  Our thirteen envelopes ..... which when we were making gave me so much inspiration and now I don't know where I hid it.  Maybe once I start handling the envelopes again, getting a feel for them, the inspiration will come back.  Fiona and I managed to chat a little about our project when we were heading down the the Cover to Cover exhibition last week and not surprisingly, we are thinking along the same lines.  I must confess that I had only come up with one line of thought, and Fiona seemed to have had a number.  It will be such fun to see what we come up with.

I am about to post on my second alphabet to ALAW, but for those of you who do not follow that blog, I thought I would add a couple of photographs here.  They are not good shots for showing the alphabet, but I loved the way they photographed on my heating bed.  I didn't have any light on in the room so I think it must just be the outside light that gave the lovely glow.  My eye did not pick it up - only the camera. 

I do love how the camera can continue to surprise.....

                  

second alphabet beginning .....

I  was so inspired by Fiona's post yesterday that I just had to begin my second alphabet for ALAW.  I had it on my list of 'must dos' for this month, along with our collaborative envelope piece which I have yet to begin.  Fiona's letter catch up spurred me to get a move along ......

I had this idea in January and then decided on doing the dotty alphabet first.  I have prepared the cards - this time straying a little outside the parameters as I noticed a number of people did that last alphabet without getting their knuckles rapped!  One of my dimensions is 7 cm's .......

As yet I have to work out how I will letter each page - this timeI will try and keep my letters in the same vein, but each page will be worked as a separate design.  At this stage I am thinking of leaving the book unbound, and having a boxed set of letters.  This is not yet completely thought through though. (look at those last three words - I am sure I could not have made a sentence with those had I been asked!)

Tomorrow I will start my letters - need to let the glue dry anyway.  With any luck I will finish this project by the end of the week.