Monday 21 September 2015

silence and the love of printmaking .....



Sometimes when reading an artists' book there comes the delight of knowing that the experience is far greater than the sum of its parts.  I hope that makes sense - it does to me but then I have just had the experience.

What I mean is that this book essentially exists of five etchings done by me with gorgeous quotes which Fiona and I chose on 'silence', added to the etchings with Fiona's calligraphy.  I remember saying to Fiona when we started making this book, that I didn't want it to feel like 'bits of calligraphy'.  Works of calligraphy can be very beautiful in their own right, but I wanted this last of our collaborative books to look and feel 'booklike'.

Until this work was finally made I did not love it.  Partly this was due  to the fact that this was a more typical collaboration where I was responsible for the artwork (and how does one represent 'silence'!) and Fiona the calligraphy.  Previously we have explored 'collaboration' in a much more involved and intimate way and this last book left us feeling a little disconnected until finally bringing it together in this very soft and gentle, quiet book.

Each page is wrapped in tengujo paper and the act of revealing each work is slow and meditative.  The light plays a large part in the reading of this book and because of the manner of its presentation you cannot rush the reading.  Now that it is made and I can experience it as a whole, it reminds me why I love making artists' books and will keep making them.  The slow reveal, the feel of the gorgeous soft papers ..... definitely more than the sum of its parts.



 In these images you can see how the interleaving pages and the light play such an integral part of this book and to its feeling of 'silence'.






And here you can see some of the pages and details.  I used only sugar lift with this work as I wanted to keep everything very soft and fluid.  Lines are partially inked, delicately wiped. I had hoped that there would be enough definition in the uninked lines to be embossed but they were too faint so I had to make embossing plates for the etchings once they had dried.  The embossing added the lift that the marks needed.  It is hard to show that photographically.




I think it is hard to find anything more beautiful in combination that the softness of an etched mark and the crispness of an embossed line.   It is a perfect partnership.





With infinite possibilities, Fiona had to decide  how to write these beautiful quotes.  Couldn't have been more perfect really.


As a complete departure from the unique nature of all our other collaborative books, Fiona and I decided to edition these books, an edition of 10 and a further edition of 10 of each of the prints separately.  These will be for sale at the Noosa Regional Gallery or beforehand.

18 comments:

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    1. Hello and welcome to my blog! I am so glad you came to visit. I went straight to your blog 'ten minute take' and spent about an hour there reading. Gobsmaked. What a gift. I will spend longer next time. Please tell me you name - couldn't find it :-) or are you PD?

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    2. P.D. Crumbaker is myself--the "D" for Dianne, which is what I'm called in the real world.. I am so taken with your work and appreciative of the glimpses you provide of your process. And thank you for reading and for your kind words.

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    3. Hello Dianne ..... as I said, really loved your writing. Very engaging. Notice you haven't posted since May .... hope you do keep putting words forward on 'ten minute take'. You had me hooked with the spare ribs .....

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    4. Thanks, Susan. The spareness of your work is one of the many things that draws me in. The consideration that goes into each piece is evident.

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  2. A wonderful collaboration Susan. Mouth watering etchings and mark making.

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    1. Oh goody - two lovely comment from you Jack. Thank you. I am so pleased you like the etchings. With trying to illustrate silence there could have been so many ways to work the pages but I went with my first thought and the others only came later. Think in the end the book 'works beautifully - reads quietly and gently, as if utter silence is needed.

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  3. your collaborations continue to fascinate me--

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    1. Thanks Velma. Always lovely to know you are in the background looking :-) I have posted so irregularly of late but I do take a wander around my favourite blogs now and then and peek at what has been happening. Often I am in and out without comment but full of appreciation.

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  4. Wonderful etchings and mark making. A great collaboration.

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  5. Thanks heaps Mo. I really do like this book in the end, but I am sad in some ways that we chose to do this more traditional collaboration as our final one. The others seemed more 'together' - intimate.

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  6. Love the light and the lightness...

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    1. I think we both came to like this one in the end - jsut wasn't as much fun in the making was it. Think I am sold on the non traditional way of collaborating :-) x

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  7. Replies
    1. Hello Annick - thank you for visiting my blog! And for thinking this work is amazing :-)

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I appreciate your comments - thank you!