Paying it forward

Just after Christmas I was the fortunate recipient of a wonderful small book in a give-away made by Anna Mavromatis, an artist with two beautiful blogs full of inspiring things. I was so busy at the time I failed to acknowledge my good fortune and I must rectify that as Anna's blog has long been one which I follow for the exquisite way in which she portrays her ideas. Have a look here at the original give away post so that you can see the book I am now lucky enough to own but then browse around. You will be hooked, I guarantee it!

Hoping this will be seen as the sincerest form of flattery I have subsequently made a couple of similar books to the one Anna sent me and I thought it was about time I paid something forward and did a give-away of my own. It's not a significant blog post event or a special happening, just something I thought was overdue. I have been so busy in the past few months that I have not really made something just for the fun of it so I remedied that this past couple of weeks and made quite a few small books, some of which I am now offering as my 'give-away'.

This first little book is similar to Anna's and is made from some rusted paper I found in my stash with a cover made from some old prints that I've cut up. The second book also has part of a print as a cover. It was an image that didn't work out but I had chine-collee'd some printed tissue paper onto the bottom of it and I quite liked the image of the type. The inside pages are small khadi papers and can be written on or drawn on if desired. It is a chunky little book with a ribbon and button closure.

In my last post I mentioned the paper from the banana boxes. It has a coating to it but I thought it would make interesting book pages and covers. It might be hard to draw on it but it will take ink and/or collage so I have used it in book number three. The cover is a piece of copyright free collage paper given away free in a magazine. I've just laminated it to the banana paper and given it a coat of acrylic wax for toughness - but it really is tough enough already, believe me. My fingers were sore from stitching it as it was a struggle to get the needle through it.

Whilst I was planning my 'give-away' I entered another offered by Jane. She was offering everyone who left a comment something and I won a small letter which I received yesterday along with some other little treats which are a joy. I might share one of them in a few days as it is hilarious. Thank you Jane!

Here it is with my last little book.... and it is little as you can see. The pen was the only thing I had to hand to give an idea of scale. The letter really is a wonderful thing. It is a card sent in 1907 after a wedding in America, yet it doesn't have a US stamp. I couldn't believe the serendipity of winning the letter given that Jane had a whole range of great things she was passing on. You see, I've also been working on some ideas to do with writing and penmanship triggered by my recent sculpture course.

Years ago I bought a large brass nib in a junk shop and it usually stands up in the corner of my office bookcase. During my recent course I did a lot of paper casting with some fine japanese calligraphy papers I was given last year and the nib has been a real source of inspiration for me. I can't stop making lightweight paper nibs and thinking about how I might use them in a piece. I've rusted a couple and intend to dye some more. I've been wondering how to print on them, maybe by flattening them and then re-forming them. Who knows? It's just great to be enthused by something isn't it?

So, now that I've shared my good fortune with my two give-aways let me ask if anyone out there will let me pay it forward? If you would like to go into a draw for any one of the four small books I have made and shown here, just leave me a comment or send me an e mail. I know some followers don't have a blog and I don't want to miss anyone out. I will get my assistant , aka my husband, to do the draw next Sunday evening and I will then post the results. I hope I get some response....

Pressing matters

This week I finished the sculpture module of my art foundation certificate course with Aberystwyth Uni and after making things with a vengeance for weeks it all came to a shuddering halt and I was a bit lost without something to work towards. During the course, one of the other girls had brought in some really thick brown paper that she'd picked up in the local supermarket layered between the hands of bananas. I just fell in love with the stuff and ended up making a bag for her from it which the sewing machine sort of liked, but not much! I have folded it, pleated it,papier mache'd it, dyed it, stitched it, printed on it, drawn on it etc etc for the last few weeks and only had a small bit left which I cut into squares and dyed after collaging some bits of old painting onto it. I sort of thought I might stitch it together but have got carried away by starting hand stitching into it even though it is as tough as old boots and resistant to the needle big time.

Whilst waiting for dyes to dry and trying to get my hands back to a respectable colour before leaving the house I have been using up old prints and drawings to make some small books. I think of all of this as displacement activity now that the heavy workload associated with the course is over, leaving me with nothing to work at. While I was cutting and folding pages I found some thick card offcuts and then decided to make a few small printing plates with the few things I had within reach like reinforcer rings and odd scraps of packaging. There was no set plan or design to any of this at all. My hands just needed to be working at something.

Well, I printed these today but I have had problems with my press and it has all come to a head this afternoon. It has never been right since I bought it and the manufacturer has recently sent me some new gauges to put on it. The problem has always been that the top roller has never seemed level so new gauges put on with a sprit level nearby meant that all seemed well. Not so. Today's activity has resulted in just one set of prints before the press bed started to resist movement at all. I have no idea what is now wrong with it but I shall be going back to the manufacturer again tomorrow to try and resolve it. I think I have a Friday press... you know, where they were made in a hurry before clocking off for the weekend. Probably this is doing it a disservice. After all, the bad workman always blames his tools etc etc.

Considering they were made up from scraps of stationery I quite like these two prints with the circular motifs. They were the ends of some ribbon packaging from Ikea. Amazing what the humblest of materials can do isn't it? Now that I'm stopped in my tracks by a dodgy press I either have to go back to stitching the banana paper.... which might result in hefty blisters.... or I go back to making more small books until I decide what to do next. I think it might be time for me to do a giveaway. If I make a couple of books for one would anyone be interested I wonder?

With the press out of action I cannot carry on with my collagraphs but I really do have the urge to keep busy at the moment. I've been waiting to try a new style of indigo dye vat for a while so I might do that this week and maybe try dyeing the banana paper in it too. Notice how I don't mention keeping my hands busy with household duties like dusting and cleaning etc. My energy level and restlessness just disappears at the thought of it.....

pattern,colour, shadow

The clocks go forward an hour and all of a sudden everything changes. The evenings are immediately lighter. The days seems longer. The dawn chorus starts a little later and this stunning weather we're having in the UK means the birds are singing with gusto. Early morning sharp sunlight draws the eye to colour, picks up patterns and throws beautiful shadows. Magical.

Weddings and anniversaries

I have been absent from this blog for far longer than I realised until I started to organise this post today. I have kept up with what other people are doing but have lacked the time to record my own activities! I've been working on a sculpture module with college and it has eaten into my days. I have been having a ball making things and working on ideas. Time has happily flown by until I brought myself up with short, sharp, shock on Monday morning.

You see, we're off for a few days away this week to celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary and the dates conicide with the wedding of a young couple we know. We had to turn down the invite to the wedding evening as we did not think we'd be around but I wanted to make something for Emma and Sam as a reminder of their special day. In fact, I mentioned it in a recent post because I wanted to use some small figures in something. I ordered the figures from a railway model shop a few weeks ago and priced up a shadow box at the local framers. The cost sent me reeling and I decided that I must be able to do something myself.... musn't I? I'd also hankered after using some lexicon type game cards since seeing a post by Wend over at Ticking Stripes a while ago, so when I found this old box for a £1 a while ago I knew it would get used in something soon!

It's all very well having the threads of an idea in your head but you need to get on with things and on Monday morning I suddenly realised that time was not on my side and I needed to actually work out how I was going to tie all the loose threads together... and fast. A quick search in my faithful shed found two old canvas frames that I had papier mached over and painted a long time ago. I had planned to hinge them like a book and put something in the two internal niches made by papering over the rear of the frames but had just abandoned them. Now, I could see that the two niches could house both of my 'ideas' in one place.

So, first up I measured the niche and made an accordion fold book. Luckily the game box contained enough letters to spell out Mr and Mrs Allen, their married name from Saturday, so I used them in the book and made a little cuff to go around it with the date on it.

The wedding has a colour theme of green, ivory and silver. Luckily I had a piece of decorated Indian lokta paper and some silver wrapping paper so I covered both of the frames inside and out with a combination of them both. Then I used some rub on lettering to partner my two little figures.

A wrap of silver ribbon around the edges and a paper hinge to hold them both together completed the job. I am left with a two part hinged box which opens to reveal the wedding couple and the accompanying book. It has been a rush job and I wish I had got around to it earlier, although I sometimes do think that I work best when I have to make it up as I go along. I am pleased with it and hope it will be a memento of the start of their married life together.

As for me and my young man, I don't know where we are going yet to celebrate. I think we'll just take off and decide en route, as we do. We'll be thinking of Emma and Sam on their special day and hoping it will be as bright and sunny as that Thursday in March 1990 that we got married. If they are half as happy as we have been in our marriage they will be blessed.

If you go down to the woods today.....

I found this the other day and told a couple of friends about it. They suggested it was something I should not pass on as it sounded a bit creepy. Now, whenever I'm told I probably shouldn't do something I usually go the other way and do it anyway. See what you think. I have never had a cat. After watching this, I never will.

Miss Print

Whilst I make sure that I keep up with all the activities of the lovely blogs I follow, the same cannot be said for trying to keep up regular posts with my own. Taking two college courses at the same time means that I am quite busy with visiting exhibitions, studying and keeping up with the work I am trying to do at home.In recent weeks I have been doing lots of drawing, mainly of my own face , hence no photos! Whilst my drawing has improved with the practice I cannot inflict the shock of my boat race on the nation. I have become obsessed with looking at, and drawing faces, so much so that I decided to alter a book this week to act as a sort of mini sketchbook for them. The above photo is just the covers after I collaged lots of old prints and scrap paper over them. The inside pages are all gessoed or collaged and now waiting for me to pick out a few faces to draw within. I think it was really distraction activity rather than get on with another task I'd set myself for half term but I buckled down to it in the middle of the week and have spent a few days trialling some collagraph plates I'd made.

There is soon to be an open print exhibition locally and I decided to try and enter some prints this year. I may also be demonstrating whilst it is on, showing the gum arabic transfer technique taught to me by my pal and printmaking mentor Sue. The trouble is that every time I manage to get it right, I don't do it for ages and then have to re-learn it all over again usually with Sue's help. Yet again this week she has had to walk me through the process another time. That girl has the patience of a saint! The trouble is that I practiced it - and cracked it - with my own self portrait images so won't be showing those either! Instead, these images are of some collagraph proofs I've done in the last couple of days whilst I try to work out what prints to enter for the exhibition. The above circular plate was inked up with left over ink so the colours were not planned. I have to decide whether it works or not as an image. I think the answer is no in it's current guise but I have a few ideas for changing it.

I made a shed load of these pebbles last year and whilst placing them in a circle is not an original idea it might work if the frame and mount are well chosen. Sadly, whilst I was messing about with the gum arabic transfer I managed to cover the edge of this one with some linseed oil and putting a mount around the image will not disguise the greasy blob so this is one that will end up as collage fodder or work its way into a book maybe. It will join quite a few trials from this week on the reject pile, some of them so bad I am ashamed to show photos of them. The problem with me is that I don't start any printing session with a colour plan and I should. All too often I just pick a colour and make it up as I go along, or I just use up what's to hand rather than waste ink. Instead, I just waste time and paper! Hmmm.... I think I need to do this better in the future.

This was a plate I made on a whim just for texture and it has some possibilities but the handing in date for the exhibition is next Saturday and not only does any print I make have to dry, it also has to be framed in time. I think I may have left it all a bit last minute by being distracted by the drawing and self portrait stuff but when in doubt, falling back on a tried and tested idea might be the solution.

For me this means using a plate that I made about six years ago. I made it after coming home from my first collagraph workshop with Sue, using the germ of an idea that one of the other participants had suggested and produced. I used it once as an idea for a Christmas card and I printed a few examples of it this afternoon in different colourways, one of which I may get framed and submit.

Alternatively, I may try a few monoprint ideas tomorrow that I have floating around in my head. As time is not on my side if I want prints to dry, I may end up entering nothing in the exhibition but I have rekindled by enthusiasm for printing this week and that is far more important to me. I've also developed a real passion for drawing recently so that altered book is going to see some use in the next few days and weeks. One college course finishes next week thankfully but it is closely followed by the start of a sculpture module the week after so I might still be absent from this blog on a regular basis for a while. At least you know I'm not being idle.....

Women with conviction

The other week I came across Retronaut, a wonderful site full of interesting articles and photographs. It is a place you could lose yourself in for a few hours but it contains some wonderful images including the above, held in the archives of the National Portrait Gallery. In 1912 Scotland Yard bought it's first surveillance camera and used it to follow and photograph known activists in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), better known to us as suffragettes. I have long been interested in this area of history and listened last night to a fabulous programme on Radio 4 which would be well worth catching on the 'listen again' feature. In a nutshell the Archive on Four team revisited interviews made in the early to mid 1970's with elderly, but still feisty, women who had been part of the suffragette struggle. How wonderful that someone had the foresight to talk to them before there were none of them left to give first hand accounts of their actions.The tapes are now held in the Women's Library archive in London. Suffragette jewellery is an area I find particularly interesting and this is the Holloway brooch, designed by Sylvia Pankhurst and given to women who had endured hunger strike in prison. Many were given out after 1909 when numbers grew in prison, so many of them on hunger strike that it led to the infamous Cat and Mouse Act where women were force fed to keep them alive. Last night I heard the personal testimony of Maud Kate Smith telling in her own words how the doctor rammed the tube so hard through her nose that she had permanent damage and pain to the end of her days. When that tactic failed the tube was thrust straight down their throats and poorly saturated food was ingested. Many had colitis and life long digestive disorder. Despite the hardship, when they were interviewed in the 70's I got the feeling that they would have done it all over again if they had too.

It was the WSPU who adopted the colour scheme in 1908 of purple, green and white. Purple symbolised dignity, white for purity and green for hope. London jewellers Mappin and Webb issued a catalogue of jewellery for Christmas 1908 and the more wealthy supporters often designed their own items of jewellery using gemstones and enamels to represent the movement's colours. The WSPU exhorted women to wear the colours to show support for the movement. In 1908 a new law was even passed to limit the size of hat pins. Fearing that suffragettes would use the pins as a weapon the new law specified that the new length of a pin was to be limited to 9 inches from top to tail.

One of the treats last night was hearing Leonora Cohen. I have read about her in books written by historian Jill Lidington and can recommend 'Rebel Girls' if anyone wants to find out more but I first heard her name on an Antiques Roadshow programme. One of her descendents had brought along her suffragette medals and jewellery and it had a staggering value because of who she was and the role of suffragettes in our past. In 1913 she took an iron bar and smashed a glass case containing the insignia of the Order of Merit, part of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London and it was fascinating to hear how she missed her tube stop in her nervousness and had to go all the way around the circle line again before she could complete her task.

When she was wrestled to the ground by Beefeaters after the breakage she had a note tied to the iron bar and it read ' This is my protest to the Government's treachery to the working women of Great Britain'. She was charged with causing unlawful and malicious damage to an amount exceeding £5 and was bailed for trial by jury. She defended herself and her personal courage and articulate defence won her many admirers. An expert witness declared that the damage could be repaired for £4 10 shillings enabling the jury to acquit her as the amount was below the £5 of the charge.

Her story is just one of many but thanks to the tapes I heard last night we can hear it first hand and relive it through the voices of the women who fought for the rights that too many take for granted these days.