I don't remember what day it was, just that it was late November... not sure why this has to begin with that but it does
I don't remember and it strikes me as odd that I don't as it was such a day; walking along the Yukon River, past the Depot (train), past the pilings and the ways, the old rusted I-don't-know-what... part of a paddlewheeler from a century ago
Shipyards Park, the site of Sleepy Hollow, where we once lived
places and things assigned to history, reminders of an earlier time but all I noticed that day was the river and the sky
a cold wind, high
the clouds hung low, purple-grey, and heavy
it was early afternoon with a thin winter sun that hung low in the sky, it's light slanted, skimming the surface of the water
in the shadows the water was dark blue-grey, where the light touched it was like molten pewter
swiftly, silently, it moved, swirling, curling... ripples that blurred the reflections of trees along the opposite shore
it was a winter river, one I had never really seen before as when we lived there the river was almost always frozen by that time of year
the current was mesmerizing... the ripples creating the most wonderful surface and I continually zoomed in and out trying to capture what I was noticing, what struck me
I took many, many photographs that day but what I really wanted was a sketchbook so I could try and draw them as I was looking - it was the first time I was overtaken by an urgent feeling to capture something I was seeing with my own hand
the feeling of disappointment at not having pen and paper to hand has remained
but...
I have been working with these images for some time now and will continue to do so for a long while, their influence has been invaluable even without the added reference and understanding of an actual drawing of them but on Wednesday they inspired something else
I have been doing a lot of reading lately along with working through an online course called "Sensing Place" by Debbie Lyddon, an artist from the UK
information has been pouring in and there have been some good revelations but one thing I read or heard lately caught my attention in a big way and gave me pause
(I'm sorry I can't provide credit as I neglected to make a note of it)
"when out and about in a special place record and notice any and every thing but afterward hone in on what was the one thing that really caught your attention, that grabbed you" and won't let go
(the last bit out of the quotations is my own addition)
I've been thinking about that ever since I heard it, thinking that when I'm there, in the Yukon, I rarely am able to sketch outdoors as I'm always with people and somehow I can't convince myself that it wouldn't be rude to ask to stop and sit a minute so I can record something - I find myself reaching for the phone camera instead
anyway, it occurred to me that if the point of this is to capture that one important thing all I really need is a little book and a pen
and so a little book I made
3" long by 2" wide, it's a little chunker of a book at 1 3/8" thick
reclaimed leather for the cover
(my first leather book and I'm smitten)
handmade headband (which you can hardly see)
the pages are khadi paper
thick and ruffled, perhaps not the best for drawing but oh well - I love the feel and mayhap that will be the catalyst to get me to use it
a flash of blue fabric
the original plan for a closure wrap was a strip of fabric scraps reinforced by stitch but a chance online encounter with a book about medieval bookbinding led me down a different path
reading about the first book led me to another book "The Codex and Crafts of Late Antiquity"
a book about how the earliest book structures and binding techniques were developed from existing textile crafts of the time
and that led me to a video presentation by the book's author which was nothing less than completely fascinating
in the end I changed the fastening plan to one used almost two thousand years ago that was developed from how sandal straps were made
I loved making this book... it's a delight in the hand, filling the palm completely, the leather soft against the skin; holding it feels as though I am cradling a small realm of possibility
2 comments:
I always see your posts first thing in the morning whilst sitting up in bed sipping hot water and they always give me such a boost to begin the day.. a longing to be in my studio or out gathering information to feed whatever I am working on. This morning I delighted in your beautiful words describing your encounter with something so familiar yet seen as if for the first time as it presents a different side to itself.
I adore your little book... beautifully photographed.. so I can share how it looks and how it feels, how the paper sounds as it rasps one page against another as Kahdi does....how everything about it is tactile and inviting... and so precious. Khadi is difficult to draw on with dry media but drawing can be done with paint.... perhaps the teeniest of pallets and a water brush in a small pouch would make good companions.
Beware of precious... use it use it use it until it becomes worn and loved and stuffed full of those encounters... until using it is as familiar and automatic as chatting to a friend.
Now you have to take delight in actually using it, as well as just in the feel of it! Maybe play with just tiny details to begin with. You'll find what you really want to do as you play!
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