fourth date .....

You cannot imagine the excitement this morning when Fiona brought over her book for the 'date'.  This was our fourth bookmeet and we both feel totally thrilled with the result of these two books.

I am just including a few pics of the books together as tomorrow I will post on my book, as will Fiona on hers. I need to say this though - these books both really need to be handled to experience them properly.  The complete delight I had in Fiona's finished book cannot really be appreciated - though I am sure she will do her best to share with you photographically - unless you are able to view the book and see how the cutouts in the concertina spine reflect the light in star shaped patterns and then the wonderful surprise when the book is open up and around ....... I will leave that for Fiona to share.  I can say without reserve that of all the books she has made, I like this one best.

I am not going to say too much about mine or the collaborative experience until I post tomorrow as it will be the last post from my studio for some weeks.  Hope you drop in tomorrow!

Starry Starry Night x 2

the two books sit well together

nice play between the books

shadow play

front covers and Fiona's Book wrap on top - interesting to see her blue black book on my brown black one.

experienced stupidity .....

No, this is not a needle and thread installation but the sad, sad case of ineptitude.  I decided to sew my Starry Starry Night book together using eight sewing stations, in a single page coptic binding.   With a mere page and the cover to go it was apparent that I was not going to have enough thread in my eight needles, and would have to start again.

Don't know if you have had to do this, cut out all the stitching you have so carefully done, but it is heartbreaking especially when you are feeling a little time poor!  I thought I had heard a little voice in the back of my head saying that you need to make SURE you had enough thread to complete the binding on each needle as with this form of coptic there is no joining option.  I just didn't pay it enough attention - or the little voice was not there until half way through and I just kept hoping, and hoping.

Anyway, it is done now.  All finished and ready to meet with Fiona and her book tomorrow.

paused .....

Sometimes there is a real breakthrough in the studio and I have just had one.  I decided not to put pressure on myself to finish 'downstream' before I go away.  Seems like such a small decision and yet I was putting pressure on myself to complete this project when the reality is that it can wait.  And will be better off for the delay I imagine.

Instead, I have been writing up notes on the collaboration with Fiona and sticking in examples of all the testing bits I made along the way.  I have been a little behind on this of late. The notebook will be fun to look back on one day and certainly will be used as a reference for some of the techniques I have been experimenting with in the last year.  Most of those have come about by exploring different directions - being nudged or pushed by Fiona in our collaborative endeavours, or just merely by my own meandering.

So, a pause here and a push there.  Gradually getting ready for our trip which is approaching very quickly.

the dance continues with starry starry night .....

Fiona and I met this morning to exchange the books we had been working into the last couple of weeks. The theme is Starry Starry Night and I am delighted with the marks and additions Fiona has made to my book.  Mine is quite a large book and I focussed primarily on large star filled skies - that sense of the enormity of our universe.  Fiona's book started with the sense of starburst and even though I took it in a different direction, that sense still remains prominent.

Now we both have our pages back and need to finish our own work before binding the books ready for their bookmeet next week.  Each stage of this is a challenge I must say.  Here are some of the images so far ....... 

Fiona's addition of tiny cutouts and metallic bits that add lustre

Fiona giving specificity to my two page starscape

a closer look

one of my transparent pages - Fiona has worked a constellation of stars into it

I love the addition of these subtle marks

same marks carried through onto the edge of one of my transparencies

not sure how I will tie in this page to the back of the previous page!

these marks of Fiona's are imprinted/embossed

part of my mica sky with another of the constellations.

I don't want to talk too much about the book as yet as I will save that for next week once we have completed the project.  In amongst our get togethers we have planned our next three collaborations - how thrilling is that :-)

As I said, I am delighted and a little challenged about the work ahead in this book.  Unfortunately, it is not going to be an easy book to photograph.  Fiona seems pleased with the direction I took her work and is now working out her next steps too.  This is the fun part.  Waiting until next week to see how we have each pulled the books together.  

ps:  whilst taking this set of photographs, I found out my new little Lumix TZ30 takes square photographs.  How cool is that!

testing ..... one ..... two ...... three

Having asked my blogging guru Fiona, how to use the iPad to post whilst away, I am now checking out the blogger application rather than using safari which won't let me access the photos on my iPad.

It eventuates that Fiona uses a laptop to post rather than her iPad when travelling. So far, there seems to be very little here on the page to use by way of design so I will just have to see what happens.

I have uploaded a few pics from our time in Steamboat Colorado a couple of years ago.

That is ..... I hope I am going to upload! There are tiny pics sitting in a bar below - who knows what may happen!

downstream .....

downstream ..... the title of my new book.  I have made a start on the commission I received before Christmas.  One of my books (Moeraki Boulders) was bought by the State Library and another couple who visited the exhibition really wanted to buy it as well.  Of course you cannot duplicate original work, but I said I would make something similar and if they liked it, then they could buy.

Working to commission is a strange thing because with a second book coming out of an initial idea, you are able to put so much more thought into it .... learning from the previous one I think.  For me, the ideas started to flow once I realised that I wanted to work in the dark ink palette I so love.  I worked on this paper and received some shimmery, gorgeous effects and decided it was the paper to use.  Or rather it was the other way round - I worked on sheets of paper and then when I saw the result, decided this was what I would use for my new book.

A few weeks ago Velma asked in one of her posts, if anyone was feeling the desperate need for colour.... 

Well, those of you who know my work, or have become familiar with it through my blog, will know that my work falls firmly in the earthy colour range.  However I seem to have developed an urgent need to incorporate some bold blue in my work. I am a water sign after all!  At this stage I am just playing with some ideas, but I think something coherent is coming.  

Today I finished the Solander Box ...... the favourite I have ever made and I am a little reluctant to use it in something for sale!  I am hoping to be brave enough to use some bold blue on the front of the box, not just inside hidden in certain pages.  The box is 42cms x 13cms and this photograph doesn't do it justice.  It shimmers and to me, speaks of trees along the shore of a secret river.  I only hope I can make a book that I am happy to place in it.

after the big blow .....

 Be careful what you wish for!  Isn't that what they say?  Last post 'rain glorious rain' shared the delight in receiving rain fall after so long.

That turned into a deluge of over a metre of rain over the last three days, wreaking havoc along nearly two thousand kilometres of our eastern coastline.  Unbelievable.  Power down, phones too.  Internet now back on after three days and those who lost power and phones up here on the Range have just got those services back.

Apart from looking shredded and having a  massive amount of leaf and branch debris lying around, we didn't fare too badly.  All the infrastructure we have put in over the last couple of years, and the rebuilding of the house, was all worthwhile.  We lost about a dozen large trees - but way down lower on the land.  All safe around the house.  We are blessed.

I walked around the acres yesterday, photographing the damage and came across this sawn tree trunk.  I decided to post on it - the natural pattern contrasted with man made cuts - as I found it particularly beautiful in amidst all the mess around.

I couldn't decide which photos to post so I am including them all! Enjoy.