Saturday, July 22, 2023

how it happens

it's been another long hot dry week here, the drapes and blinds shut all day to block the sun... an afternoon in the studio had been planned but all my energy and ambition had faded away with the cool morning air

tidying then... the continual little pile of things that don't get put away

these two were there, in amongst the hastily scribbled notes and diagrams

placing one on top of the other, liking the effect, thinking about what could be next, i had an overwhelming urge to make of these small linen, paper and sometimes cloth and lace collages

tidying was off the table 

a little more cmc added to the glue jar, a dash of water and swirl around; setting that aside, 
into the linen scrap box I went, then the paper and cloth ones respectively

some used parchment paper from the last collage go-round laid out and i was ready to go



and just like that there were 33... all laid out over three sheets of parchment paper, drying quickly in the warmth of the room


they were made quickly, almost nothing was trimmed except for a few over-size pieces.. a few scraps of lace here and there but only four or five - mostly it's paper and often but not always there's a scrap of cloth


they're small, a couple are long and narrow, maybe 1 1/2" x 3", most are perhaps 2" x 3" or less




love the ones on dark linen... stray threads here and there, a selvedge left in place


the one below is from a making session a while back - there are 8 or 9 like this, all about 3 1/2" x 5" or thereabouts, all on a scrim/cheesecloth base... light and airy, fragility at it's best

no particular plans as yet for all of these but the wheels are turning


in addition to that there was an afternoon spent putting together my coptic-binding sketchbook

it went well, only one tangled thread, holes and signatures lining up well, a nice firm binding, flat covers, a book that sits closed and opens flat



the neat, regular stitches on the inside




so far so good... next is to tackle the large one 

in my usual fashion though, the urge to paint my own cover has hit and so the project is stalled for a bit whilst that gets sorted out... never having painted anything that large, and wanting something in my favourite yukon palette but abstract, not representational, some experimenting is in order

and so here we go again...


2 comments:

Christine Barnes said...

Well, doesn't that prove where just showing up, even with nothing more than the tidying of a little pile in mind, or not even that, can lead to. Just moving stuff around the desk, a spark ignites and then suddenly a few hours gone in the very activity we had not the mind for at the beginning. And here, now you have two piles and both need attending to in their own way. And what a delightful pile this new one is.

Your book is exquisite... such precision and so beautifully photographed!

Rachel said...

Indeed - here we go again!

But isn't it lovely to have that happen, especially to have the ideas come sparkling gently to the surface while you were doing the tidying!