Way back in September, Fiona and I began work on our next collaborative book and since then life has intervened with my creativity in this direction and it is only now that I am back working on this project. You can see the exchange Fiona and I made in my post of 24th September 2014 and will notice that I received beautifully handwritten pages from Fiona when I handed over some ragged burnt paper to her. There was a slight misunderstanding in how we both conceived our exchange which was quite rare for us. However, with these beginnings we have been challenged to make our books and last week I set to deconstructing some of Fiona's pages. It is always a challenge to take apart someone else's work and make it look more like your own, and yet, because you are working collaboratively and want to see the other's work in each piece, leave enough of the work to recognise.
I have been getting some interesting results in burning away at Fiona's pages - always having plenty of water and wet cloths close by to put out flames as they occur. I am looking forward to taking my own burnt pages in a few different directions now that I have a sense of where I am heading with these ones. Although I haven't moved on with the artwork, I have solved a number of the technical problems I foresaw in the construction of this book.
Each page is quite large - approximately 54 cms x 19 cms and there will be seven pages forming a concertina book within perspex. I have sewn large perspex books before and am not really looking forward to that stage of this book. The deconstruction and burning is appealing to me so much more. I hope all the ideas I am am juggling around in my head will be able to be realised and that this book will be ready to meet Fiona's next Wednesday when we have our 'bookmeet'.
These photographs were taken in fairly dull light and are bit fuzzy .....
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| Playing around with the idea of engraving on the perspex - both inside and on the outer side as well. I will have to think about what to write so that it looks more effective than these scribbles but I do like the effect. |
The images are interesting, and they lead me to wonder whether in reality they are brittle. You have got me thinking about how delicate unstable matter like burned paper and its ash might be preserved by a coat of clear wax/encaustic. I am agog to see how this book turns out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Olga. Yes - the burning certainly makes the books pages brittle - only on the edges where I have 'burnt' the work. I will be encasing the pages between sheets of perspex which will guard the frailty of the edges. I imagine wax or encaustic would do the same.
DeleteI like the burning and the contrast it creates, especially with the 'writing'...
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharmon. I think the work will need the writing t hold it together and so I am experimenting with working on both sides of the perspex to add some three dimensional effects. Will see what happens.
DeleteThis is such an interesting project Susan, I can't imagine being brave enough to start burning someone else's pages but it's the great thing about collaboration isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI have had to be incredibly brave with this book as it is big and won't hide quietly anywhere. It has taken so much thought and experimentation since September - trying to find a reason for bringing it into being - and a truth within. It is exhausting me but I hope in the end the effort is worth it .....
DeleteIt is all looking fascinating Susan - I have made so many discoveries as I burn! It intriguing to see the different qualities of the pages and what the lend themselves too...have fun burning and deconstructing and reconstructing...
ReplyDeleteThis has been a hard one F. Having found its reason d'etre (not really sure of my french) it has proved to be very difficult to make ...... I have already had to remake two pages. Think it may work though ...... :-)
DeleteHi SB - lot of interesting things going on with the burning books. Looking forward to seeing them meeting. B
ReplyDelete