Winding down to year end

I find that the winter solstice is the day when I start to really think about one year ending  and another one on the horizon. Christmas is nearly upon us but I've already taken stock and looked back on 2014 whilst planning ahead for 2015.
This is just a round up of some of the things that have meant something to us this year; visits to the beach for walking and beachcombing; the end of the beekeeping when my husband became allergic to the very thing he loved;  lots of rooting around in churchyards and exploring them; the making of many books and then teaching them in workshops;  birds, birds and more birds in our garden and further afield; enjoying our garden and encouraging wildlife into it; design and printing in all its forms.... the list goes on.
A major part of the year was spent working on the project at the local museum, researching the men who volunteered for the Great War. I found some wonderful stories but I never shared them here as I felt they were not mine to share. I became fond of men I could never know or have known and shed many tears when I found photographs to support my research. It has been an emotional year commemorating the start of the war but I think it has been fitting.
I have a plan for 2015 that might have also been an intention for 2014 too but this time I feel very positive about it. I intend to spend more time simply drawing. I want to sharpen my skills. I know I can draw already but I want to do it better and more spontaneously. I have an idea in mind and have set up another blog to go with it. If I get it off the ground I will let you know!


I hope everyone else has had a good year and wish you all a great Christmas and an exciting 2015.

At last , a post pops up from me!

 Ran a couple of workshops last week and wanted to share a sample idea from the first one, which was a day of paper pop-ups and paper engineering. Everyone made some ingenious cards once a few basic supports had been mastered; so many so, that I could not photograph them all and do justice to their work here,  so I want to share a free download with you or anyone else encouraged to pick up the scalpel....

 If you visit here, you will find some fantastic paper engineering with quite a few generous free downloads.Look in the 'Learn' folder and download the snowflake PDF.  I picked the snowflake for the obvious seasonal reasons and then realised that what went into one card could be expanded into an accordion book.

 So, I folded and cut my book, but not before I bought a jewellery gift box from Wilko's (the UK's new type of Woolworth's) and converted it to my needs.

 The box is only £1.50 and with a bit of luck, there will be a few discounted in the sale! I removed the satin liner and measured my paper to fit the box. After folding accordingly, I cut three snowflake templates and then popped them. The download site even has a video showing you how to do this. Once you get going they only take a few minutes to cut as they are all straight lines. The snowflake book is really effective and looks like a I spent a lot longer on the project than I actually did. The last page is blank and I've decorated it and used the whole project as a special card for my brother and sister in law. The box is well made for the money and I'm thinking that with a bit of collage on the cover etc etc, they can be used as a carrier for future accordion book ideas. I know it's a bit late to start giving out the festive ideas but it might spark the production line for next year!!

Waking and walking

We have had a few days of stunning weather. Waking up to strange early morning mists that hang like ribbons as I look across the field next door. Our first frost as autumn slips into winter but with the promise of sunshine later.

So, there's been two days of walking, enjoying the company of friends and my lovely husband on the coastal path from Abermawr to Aberbach. Not a massive distance by any stretch but the warmth of the sun and the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks below meant frequent stops to look, to sit, to listen and to absorb it all. All topped off with a trip round the headland to Pwll Deri stretching its arm out to sea.

 Pwll Deri

 High morning tide at Abermawr

 Walk around the path from the bay at Abermawr........

 ...... and you'll see the little beach of Aberbach

I've been restless all of this year,talking about moving, frequently. There are times when I feel a bit cut off from the rest of the world and want to be closer to the action. I wish I could hop on a train and get to London to see exhibitions or just visit places without planning it like a military manouevre... and then I have a week like this and it makes me realise what I have. Great friends, a charmed life  and some very special landscape to be a part of. Why look for more I wonder?

Finally!!

 I've had a great week making more marks on paper, rusting fabric, trying out some different book structures and generally messing about in my shed. I thought it was about time I finished my glass book idea. The plates have been made for months but my soldering skills are minimal and the loops needed re-soldering, so it has been an idea on hold until I felt ready to tackle the soldering iron again. Any close scrutiny of the loops or the soldering will show that it is still a process I have not mastered, but, hey, the book stands on it's own (with a little help from the windowsill.....)

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.