making sketchbooks

Using Jane Davies' instructions found here I spent this weekend making my first home-made sketchbook.

 It's a brilliant way to use up random pieces of paper and gets you over the hurdle of not wanting to ruin a beautiful new art-shop sketchbook.

I used cartridge paper as the basis for each signature, cut to roughly A4 size

and then had a lovely time digging out maps, glassine, overhead transparencies, lokta, onion skin and fabric in various shapes and sizes.

I used mat-board for the covers and a strip of heavy lokta for the spine. The lovely green and red on the covers is Japanese paper from the stash.

The signatures are stitched to the cover with waxed linen thread: one of the reasons I chose this method was not needing to glue the signatures. Jane's tutorial is very straightforward and easy to follow: I already have the papers cut for my next sketchbook.

If you decide to give it a go I would really encourage you to have a proper bone folder and an awl, and be really careful in measuring and double checking everything, before you cut, glue, or bore holes. And using paper clips to hold the signature folios together while you're stitching, especially if your folios are not a uniform size.

reclaiming the studio

I went back into the studio this afternoon and splashed paint around for the first time in a month. I needed to exorcise the malign influence of our ex-cleaner who had ignored our explicit instructions and cleaned my studio.

Although it was worse than that - sure, the floor was clean but she had moved my indigo vat onto the floor; jammed paintbrushes upside-down into random containers and work on paper was piled up on the bench and work table with porcelain 3D pieces and damp and dirty cleaning cloths. Some things were ruined and had to be thrown away, and my creative space felt dead.

So on Friday I sage-smudged the room and this afternoon I went in determined to start work again.  It didn't matter what, as long I was did something and made it my space again.

And I got my hands dirty

and splashed paint. And felt very much better.

summer afternoon cat

Indigo

This afternoon was for indigo dyeing. The vat I started before Christmas is chugging along nicely although perhaps I should admit that it's not "proper" indigo but the instant, powdered sort. It gives good colour nevertheless, and certainly smells as bad as the real stuff.

In went the large piece of mulberry bark that will be part of a new piece; then a vintage French linen dress I dyed last year that had crocking on it so it has been waiting around to be fixed for months. I don't mind uneven colour but if the smeary crocking marks are still there I might do some stitching over the worst bits. Then a piece of silk and some cartridge paper that had been unsuccessfully flower dyed by bashing roses into them with a mallet  - except I forgot to bring the silk and paper inside and they turned into a brown, snail-chewed mess...

The current hand-stitched piece was also thrown in for good measure.

new year, new website

Happy New Year to all!

I am celebrating 2016 with a completely revamped website, thanks to the amazing and ever-patient Ricci Masero at White Rabbit. He has done a brilliant job and I'm very, very happy with it.

Go and have a look - it's right here Or click the link just over there on the right. Let me know what you think :)

farewell 2015

New Year's Eve again, and traditionally the time to look back and remember the year. 2015 started very well as we were in lovely London and then Rome.

Looking back over the blog there were exhibitions both here and overseas;

 There was a lot of playing with paint

I tried a few new techniques (papermaking, printing and incorporating porcelain slip were highlights);

 I learned a lot from the wonderful Cas Holmes when she came to Australia in the southern winter;

 And I made slow but steady progress on the big Wedding Dress project

 There were trips to the beach, both here

 and in Tasmania

 And we had a generally lovely time.

2016 is looking pretty good already as I have booked into a workshop with the inspiring and knowledgeable Sophie Munns in April and, hopefully, one with the fabbo Velma Bolyard in March.

Happy New Year everyone!

anniversary

It is our third third wedding anniversary - three years ago we had our third wedding with W's lovely family in the UK.

*ETA we had three weddings in 2012 - a commitment ceremony with our Australian family, the formal, legal ceremony also in Oz, and a beautiful wedding blessing in the UK with our English family :)