Making their mark....

 It's been a busy old month for me, full of courses I've either been teaching or attending. As much as I love it, I was starting to forget what day it was by the end of last week. I finished the last two sessions of my altered books course on Friday and have spent all weekend delivering a mark making workshop for the local Embroiderers Guild . It was a marvellous two days and although I know my body is telling me it is tired, I feel very energised by the whole event. The eleven ladies in the group tackled everything I suggested in order to experiment with tools and processes designed to enlarge their visual vocabulary of marks and work back into them.

We began by rusting paper and fabric and whilst the marks developed we explored different tools and mediums to get something spontaneous onto paper with inks. Everything was geared to preparing samples to turn into books. I taught three different formats and we discussed lots more. We photocopied some of their marks onto labels, re-coloured them or cut them up, placed them on top of the first layer of marks and built up ideas. We bleached and we polished and we scratched and we foiled onto lots of different types of paper, from the heavy to the translucent, and the overriding theme to the weekend was 'I wonder what happens if....'

We shared lots of ideas and all took away a great idea from someone else. I fell in love with marks made by a bottle brush and now I just have to find one. The whole event has made me want to take my samples and continue to work into them. As it is half term this week, I suddenly have a free timetable and intend to have a 'me time' week. I tend to throw the kitchen sink at things like this so it was a full on weekend with lots to show at the end of it. These are a fraction of images from those I took. I cannot show something by everyone but they give a flavour of the fabulous work they produced. It was a joy to be part of and I thank them all.

Random Words

 Only one more week of having to wear the surgical stockings! Hooray! As the weather turns cooler I am beginning to feel even sillier wearing white stockings around but it's not long now and I feel great so life is good. I've joined a couple of evening classes locally to boost the numbers and one of the tutors I work with has joined my Altered Books group which starts tomorrow. She takes Collage and Sculpture so I think we shall have some crossover which will be intriguing.
I only have three hours a week for five weeks to cover a massive topic so I am trying to hone it and pare it down so that maximum effect is achieved. Samples lie all over the floor and I'm in danger of altering books my husband is still reading......
Tomorrow we'll be folding books to make 3d sculptures and then next week it's on to book boxes  and book safes. I finished this one today using a great book found in 'Books for Free' again. It cried out to be altered in some way so I've used the book jacket to make a small envelope and placed some of the random words inside. It was a bit tatty so could have been neater but it illustrates the point I shall be making.

 I have not planned to do any book making on this course but do want to show how old books can have their covers re-purposed into new ones. This is a recurring theme for me as I think they have such potential. I've made a few coptic stitch journals today using them and love these two shown here. 'The Daughter of the Regiment' is perfect, especially as it says 'leaves from my grandmother's journal' and as for 'The Man with Three Eyes'....... my husband says that only I could find that fascinating but I know I am not alone!

And when I started this post it says this is number 502!!! I don't think that is right so I shall be checking as I intended to do a giveaway for my 500th post and didn't think I'd missed it.  I shall give you advance warning that it will be a book of some description... after all my default mode is always 'make a book' and it might have an obscure and quirky old cover..... after I get through tomorrow I shall get on the case and sort it all out. The Daughter of the Regiment would have been great to giveaway  but it is watermarked and stained badly so might not seem like much of a prize to win. There's a presentation certificate inside from 1888 so I'm not surprised it's been through the wars at that age. Never mind, I shall scour the boxes at Books for Free for something interesting and sort those dates out!

Reflections of an exhibition

 Back in 2010 we went to a marvellous sculpture exhibition in Gloucester Cathedral and a recent post by Sue alerted us to the opening of a follow up - Crucible 2 - which opened on September 1st and runs until the end of October. Set within the grounds and buildings of this stunning cathedral are 100 pieces from the likes of Damien Hirst, David Mach, Gavin Turk and Marc Quinn and other well known artists, such as Terence Coventry,  a personal favourite for his smaller works of crows.

Another favourite of mine is Alastair Mackie who works with unusual materials. This piece in the exhibition, entitled 'Sphere', is made of the skulls of many mice and I was drawn into the patterns made by the interlocking bones. In the last exhibition he had made a house out of the material of wasp's nest and we had actually responded to a call for materials and sent him some so it was great to see what he made of it.

 The sculptures are placed all over the cathedral which encourages you to take in everything else so it was no surprise that I was stopped in my tracks by this effigy of the Bishop of Malvern, covered in the graffiti of visitors over the centuries. I remember taking loads of photos last time so why I felt the need to add to them I do not know. I just get involved in looking at the letters, the marks and what has been written and when.

 In the photo above it's plain to see names carved in 1700. In a smaller room I found a name that had been carved in 2012 and I was horrified at the 'vandalism' of it. My husband asked me why I thought it was lovely to look at 300 years old marks and yet unacceptable to see the same done so recently. That certainly made me think and I'm still not sure I know the answer why as I love looking at man made marks in places.  Any theories gratefully received!

If I had one piece I could give a home to it would be 'Vesqua'  by William Pye, well known for his water sculptures. This large vessel was constantly funnelling water down through the central square and the sound of running water seemed to drown out the constant hubbub of noise from everyone around it. The cathedral was packed with visitors but focussing on the water just made them fade away in my head. I was entranced by the reflections of the stained glass seen through the almost glasslike sheen to the surface water of the piece and probably spent over 30 minutes just staring into it.

I went back to this piece before we left and the reflections of the windows and the noise of the water are my abiding memory of a fantastic exhibition. Highly recommended if you're anywhere near Gloucester!

Healing itching and stitching!

 Well, the bandages are off and I feel more human this week. The over zealous nurse ripped them off with such gusto that she opened one of the wounds but it has healed quickly and I live to tell the tale. I am walking more miles by the day and taking in the subtle changes that are beginning to happen seasonally. I've noticed our swallows have already decamped to winter grounds but there still seem to be plenty around elsewhere. The garden is still the home to chiffchaffs and spotted flycatchers who have yet to begin their migration and I am noticing the increase in butterflies during the warmth of these past three weeks. Red Admirals are everywhere. I am getting about again and have a few things on the agenda for the next two weeks before my adult education classes begin. First thing I have is a five week altered books course so I am busy making samples, collecting books and writing notes for that.

Having to rest last week has really energised me in some way and I am raring to get on with things. As everything heals, the only downside is the itching as things return to normal. It drives me doolally so the displacement activity stitching continues. Some of the fabric pieces are now full of stitches whilst others are coming on slowly. One is just french knots which take an age but I find the rhythm of winding the thread around the needle and making the stitch incredibly therapeutic. Yesterday I tidied up the shed and realised how much brown paper I had from old packaging and envelopes, all in the same  landscape format as my stitching. Two hours later and I'm surrounded by piles of prints on it and on  some rice paper too, all offset from the front and back of my stitched pieces. So now I have the stitching to continue to develop and a stack of printed papers for.... for what? As yet I have no idea but I did have fun doing it despite the puffy ankles last night from standing too long! I'm sure it will lead somewhere but for now, it is keeping me occupied and focussed. More to follow I hope.

Out of circulation

 I am not going to start with an apology. I've read too many blogs that people apologise for not posting on and I always want to say 'don't beat yourself up, that's fine, life happens' Some of my absence has been forced on me by a lack of internet access for most of the school holidays. It seems all the extra visitors to my part of the world nicked all my precious little bandwidth and left me with nothing unless I logged on at 3.00am when they were asleep. Some days I cursed them and on others it felt quite wonderful to know I couldn't spend so long online if I couldn't even get online.
 

 Elsewhere this summer my funding finished at the museum but I've carried on one day a week continuing the project as a volunteer because I've grown attached to my 'boys' and want to carry on researching their history. The WW1 centenary commemorations on August 4th brought me to tears and made me more committed than ever to tell their stories.  While I was doing that my own 'boy' was getting stung too often by a particularly aggressive hive he's had this year, resulting in visits to A&E and a suggestion from them that he gives up beekeeping before it gives him up. Sadly he has developed a sensitivity to bee stings and we are awaiting their departure to a new home any day now. We are both saddened by this turn of events but know it makes sense.

 So while we were wondering what else might get thrown our way I got the call to go into hospital to get rid of some leaky valves that have been giving my left leg some real issues this year. That operation happened on Saturday and I am now walking the prescribed 2 miles twice a day wearing those glamorous surgical stockings that you have to wear. To save embarassing looks I am walking round the old abandoned airfield up the road where I see nothing but sheep! I have become obsessed with the barbed wire that is everywhere up there likening it to my tortured veins and another type of circulation issue. I can't wait to get my bandages off but have to wear the stockings for 6 weeks. I am not looking forward to that at all, especially in the warmth of this wonderful 'indian summer' we are having, but needs must.

 So, to take my mind off the discomfort of my leg I am having what I'm calling a 'displacement therapy week'. I am  preparing lots of samples and lesson plans for my bookmaking workshops coming up this term and I've also picked up a needle and thread. I have lots of pieces of hand dyed fabric already torn into strips for a potential book project and I just started to make marks on the first one for something to occupy my hands and my mind in hospital.

 Whenever there's a lull in my energy levels I pick up the  spool of thread and just launch into another piece. I don't think about it beforehand. There's no plan and no rhyme or reason to what I'm stitching........

 ..... until my husband said he'd noticed that in the same way I was linking the barbed wire to my surgery and I was also sewing motifs that looked like veins, cuts and stitches........

I had not realised it but think he is right. Isn't it amazing where our unconscious thoughts lead us? I have enjoyed the sewing without thinking and have actually appreciated being forced to stop and do something else this week. Already I've noticed that the tourists have gone home and my internet signal has returned to normal so I feel I will be drawn back into catching up with all the blogs I've struggled to read this summer. I'm looking forward to that but hope I can also  keep up with my displacement activity sewing as I've really enjoyed doing that too and occupying my hands this way. It's not the best stitching in the world but I think there's a book or something else in what I've started and I want to see it realised. Watch this space.

Suits me perfectly!

 Whenever I turn up to my bookmaking workshops I am usually laden with lots of samples etc in a big crate. I've always hankered after a suitcase instead and then my lovely husband bought me one in a second hand shop. It wasn't great, but hey, it was a suitcase and so cheap that the fact that I might hack the innards out of it  made it perfect for me. In truth, the interior was falling to bits so it needed collaging with something to keep it in one piece!. I know the idea of collaging a suitcase is not original. I know using maps for it is not original and I know adding ships to it is not original either.... but I care not a jot because it is now varnished and ready for duty next term and I love it.

Waste not, want not

 In amongst lots of other things occupying my mind at the moment  I suddenly remembered that I had a lot of cyanotype solution left over from the workshop last month. It does not keep well for too long once mixed up so I just grabbed some old bits of sheeting already cut up and messed about for about an hour this morning. It was definitely not as strong as it should be but as I was just using it up for the sake of it I did not care and I quite like the results. Not bad for the first things that come to hand like the plastic dish drainer and the mesh I strain things through. It's all a bit slapdash and carefree but I'm now  looking forward to trying some toning experiments on them next week with a touch of bleach, soda ash and tannin. There's loads of solution left still so I might try using it almost like a blue dye with some resists on other types of fabric. Playdays with happy accidents. My sort of joy!

NB: As the first few comments mentioned the quote I realised I should attribute it. It's from 'Prodigal Summer' by Barbara Kingsolver,  handwritten on acetate for a demo in the recent workshop and luckily to hand yesterday. I do love the words. Must use them in something else.