e x 13 .....

Thirteen Envelopes - which is the title of this collaborative project until we find its name.  At last I have begun to think about how to fill, create, rationalise this project.  Actually to be quite honest, I have just started into the work and have decided the rationalisation will have to come later.  I could not find a story line or thread to bind the ideas together so leapt in head first and started printing and embossing and will see where this leads.  Then I will think of the story line!  Certainly not the best way to work but I claim artistic licence to forge ahead blindly .....

The work seems a little like rehashing ideas that I have had already but I realised that in Fiona's and my collaborative work, these ideas have not yet been used.  Our play date was yesterday but we decided to work in our own studios as neither of us at that point had any idea what to bundle together to take to the other's studio.  We both felt we needed all our 'stuff' around us - to grab and inspire.

Yesterday afternoon we spent an hour together for show and tell, and in the actual showing to Fiona I realised that a story line in my work was starting to take shape.  Fiona has begun with a story and her work is coming along beautifully.  I decided not to take photographs of hers knowing that I would post only on her images and not include mine.  She can show hers off.

I must add, that it was a real shot in the arm just to get together and chat about the work.  How lucky are we to have this happy collaboration.  Sometimes when working always alone, I find it difficult to move onto the next thought.  Not quite true - I seem to have a thousand thoughts, but sometimes I just seem frozen.

some of the materials I am working with

the introduction of some etching marks

leather and paper embossing

more small etchings

beautiful small sheets of soft paper - delicious for embossing

gorgeous brown deckled paper bought years ago

this envelope story almost resolved

my favourite so far - you can't quite see my scratching marks on the transparent envelope

This project will be complete during the following week and Fiona and I will get the 'books' together.  There was a quote on an artist's blog, one who had been to see the exhibition in Brisbane a week ago, saying that my 'standing stories' pushed the boundaries of bookmaking.  I rather think that calling our collection of envelopes pushes those boundaries too but am reminded that a book, essentially, tells a story.  And as such in my mind, anything then that tells a story can be called a book.  When Fiona and I visited the 'Cover To Cover' exhibition a month ago, the curator had written 

                                              BOOKS ARE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE IMAGINED.

a sense of place .....

It is so easy to be distracted in the studio isn't it!  At present I am actually doing the research and raw sketching of ideas for a body of work on 'a sense of place'  - large etchings mostly, with overlays and some collagraph work as well.  As I am missing some essential tools, and waiting for a trip down to Brisbane on Friday, I have been pottering in the studio as you saw with the rusting, and have also just come back from a few restful days at the beach.  

This little book was part of my distraction last week - whilst pondering what to do with the rusted paper I made.  It is only just underway - not stitched just held together in a bundle to which I will probably add.  I want to work the book as a single folio so needed to hold it together while I worked the pages.  It has been fun bringing together some of the ideas revisited in Fiona's and my collaborative books - transparencies, piercing etc etc.  However, some of my passions come here to play - broody dark pages and secret messages or meanings.  It is a book for me so I can play as I will.  What a delicious thought.

Strangely, though not so really, this tiny book holds many of the images and ideas I am working on for my etchings.  I think there must be an overlap of ideas when one is working towards a body of work.  The same ideas and thoughts just spill over into all that we do, even our playful distractions.

I think it is easy to see that I am having fun ..... and working with this colour palette is certainly my comfort zone.  Mind you - I am seriously drawn to red this year .... if you look at my tumblr you will see how I can't resist pulling into the monochromatic play, gorgeous splashes of red.  I think it may also be a response to seeing Fiona's subversive stitch book for Book Art Object.  How I wish I had committed to doing one or two of those projects .... think of all the beautiful little artist's books that will result from the idea. Maybe next year.

rust lust - next step

 Just a quick peek at what has happened with the rusting I did a couple of days ago.  It has dried with some lovely rich colour and some gorgeous patterns ready to be worked.  The first couple of photos are of fairly large sheets - 55cms x 19cms.  The folded sheets are half the width and then folded, forming the beginnings of a lovely book shape.  Looking forward to working into them soon.

ink sludge and papermarks ..........

While other bloggers are sharing their gorgeous creations, I am thinking how serendipitous left over ink sludge and paper marks can be.

Quite literally, the paper marks were made from being the backing sheets of some rusting pages I was drying and the ink sludge was left over from some inking I was doing and  left these gorgeous marks in the bottom of the tray.

One day I will blog what was made using rust and layers of ink - but for the moment, I think these marks speak for themselves.