Well, thank you,

Scottish and Southern Energy, for telling us last Friday that out electricity would be off this morning.

Fortunately it wasn’t a Babybel day, so we didn’t have to worry about the lack of CBeebies. We’d been thinking of visiting a couple of exhibitions, so we decided the simplest thing was to go out for the morning. Which we did.

And got back to find the power had never been off at all.

At the bottom of the tatty bit of paper they pushed through our letter box they kindly promise, if the work is postponed, they’ll warn us before they do it again  – so we're left waiting to see if we get another scrappy bit of paper tomorrow.

If I was running a business from home I'd been even more p****d off than I am.

However, the exhibitions were worth visiting, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much.

We started off being Precious at the Discovery Centre – a touring exhibition of art made with recycled materials, plus some Hampshire Museum items of a similar nature. Very interesting, very inspirational. There was little that didn’t impress, but the standouts for me were Mary Crabb’s baskets – well, I’m a sucker for recycled basketry, – Stephanie Douet’s ‘porcelain’ speakers, Tracey Bush’s paper plants, and most of all, what I can only describe as an ethereal suspension of holes on fishing line by Pamela Schilderman. One of the best exhibitions I’ve seen at the DC – although I know I’ve said that before.

Then, after coffee and one of the DC cafe’s excellent rock buns, we drifted down the hill to do something I’ve been intending to do for about 20 years – take a look at the Winchester Bible. I’ve decided that illuminated manuscripts are the first artists’ books in Europe – and that therefore I ought to start by looking at a local example.

What I hadn’t realised was just how big it is – 4 large volumes, each about 48 x 40cm closed. Of course, because it is kept in glass cases, you can only look at one page in each volume – so going here gives you a better idea of the illustrations, though not of the crispness of the art and script, and the glow of the colours. I bet I don’t look as good when I'm 800 years old…

There is, apparently, going to be a fuller exhibition at the end of April, to celebrate the anniversary of that mere stripling, the King James Bible, so we’ve added that to our ‘to do’ list.

So it all turned out OK in the end, but we’ll have to think of something else to do if we get another power cut. However, I think I’ll stay at home until the power actually goes off next time.

What's been happening?

Not a lot – apart from the boring routine stuff like cooking and washing, and the more interesting but still routine stuff like Babybel minding – she does like her routine.

Having been all fired up to get going on the RP and the litter photos – I haven’t done much of either. Finally, today, I made myself sit down and make notes on some of the Googled information on artists’ books I found – particularly good sites here and here. So I have about 4 pages of notes and a mile of artists’ names to follow up.

Instead of playing around with the litter photos, I’m reworking my way through Sharon Boggon’s on-line GIMP course – by way of working up to Photoshop Elements, you understand. So in exploring layers  and the shear and scale commands, and adding the photocopy filter, I turned this bit of Pollocking

 

 

into this. Perhaps not the greatest bit of photomanip in the world, but I like it.

 

 

 

 

The only place anything vaguely related to my vague idea about litter and books has been happening is in the PMS.

A one sheet book made from a stuffed plastic pocket.  OK, it’s not litter – but the contents are made from junk mail, so it’s related, right?

Of course after I’d punched all those asterisky flowers out of the junk mail I had left-overs – and one thing led to another…

 

 

 

 

 

Woven left-overs.

 

While I was in a bookmaking mood, I experimented a bit more. I was inspired by a hand stitch idea on someone’s blog - if it was yours, I apologise for nicking your idea and not crediting you, it’s the CRS again, let me know who you are and I'll be glad to tell everyone.

I tried machine stitch on tracing paper. The result is best described as a qualified failure. Straight stitch and a long, wide zigzag worked OK – anything else jammed and tore the paper, even with a Teflon foot. But I love the way it looks – with the one sheet book format, you get lovely shadows through from other pages. More experimentation needed, perhaps with better quality tracing paper, or trapping things between two layers.

A long way from litter, though. Trap bits of litter? Crisp packets might be interesting, if we ate crisps – I can’t quite bring myself to pick up real litter…

And finally – the developing story of the ‘orrible collage.

The ripped and over-painted stage. Wensleydale keeps telling me that litter is related to an old craze of mine, graffiti. Perhaps I need to get the spray can out?

PMS

No, not what you think. I’ve been skirting round that acronym since Wednesday, but I’ve decided I can’t go on typing ‘personally managed sketchbook’ all the time.

After my litter photography, I spent last night playing around with PostworkShop and my litter images. I was going to include some flower photos I took too, but I found the litter ones much more fun.

As you can see. 

I did print various images off on collaged paper and Lutradur, which I was going to scan to show you – but – er – I’m not quite sure where I’ve put them. [CRS, you know – Can’t Remember S**t.]

Today, armed with a pot of white emulsion. I attacked some of my ‘artwork’.

Before and after.  I’m not sure what to do with it next, but smearing, rubbing, tearing and possibly sanding may come into it. [Can you tell I hate it, even now?]

 

 

 

 

But these, I like – inspired by the instructions here. I love those pinky bits which appeared in the black one, and the fact that  the fronts and backs are so different – good if you want to make books.

And finally – I made a book, from the instructions here. After all, if [and it’s a big if] I am researching artists’ books for my RP, it’s OK to make book samples for the PMS, isn’t it?

It is an interesting structure – like a flutter book with attitude. I used a failed screen print, and realised too late the crucial importance of folding it very very accurately. But, hey, it’s only a sample! I like the flappy bits, which, I think, don’t have to be precisely that shape – and I like the way the flaps in the example on Jane’s blog contrast with the background. Definitely something to return to.

I thought when I started typing this I hadn’t done much today [usual post-insomnia lethargy - PIL?] – but that’s not too bad a list.

Tonight, of course, is Danish Detective Drama [DDD] night – but the last one! Tonight we find out who done it! What we won’t find out is how we will survive Saturday nights until the BBC [enough with the acronyms!] runs the next series next autumn – though rumour has it we are getting another series of the almost equally good Spiral to keep us going.

Will I have any fingernails left?

I’ve started!

The Research Project, that is. During an insomniac Thursday night I started the essential mindmap, which I tweaked yesterday and copied into the portfolio.

Copied, because:

1. It will allow me to add bits to it when I change my mind, and
2. I am trying to use glue as little as possible. I have a hate/hate relationship with glue.

Why?

• PVA? – too messy
• glue stick? – dries out and peels off
• wallpaper paste? – too wet
• something obscure in a tube from a chain that no longer exists? – buckles the substrate [showing off again]
• Bondaweb? – currently my favourite but the iron can have a funny effect on the print, as I found out with the photos in my Identity book, which are slightly more distressed than I intended.

Yesterday I found a Wikipedia article on ‘Artists’ book’ [sic], which I summarised, as instructed by the tutors, while sitting outside in the sunshine this afternoon. [Note to self – must add details to the burgeoning bibliography.] I also began a list of artists to research, none of whom I have yet looked at, despite spending the early evening Googling about. Why? I rediscovered the UWE website. Fossicking around on there led to a paper on UK and Irish book artists, and following up some of them led to the Oxford Brookes artists’ books website. And their list of links led all over the place – MMU, the V&A, the British Library. I’m beginning to realise just how much stuff there is out there.

One of my colleagues has got a box for her RP and is putting everything she finds in it. I've only got a box file. So far.

I have also started the ‘personally managed sketchbook’ which, we discovered on Wednesday, is what is known in this house as a compost heap – chuck everything in it and see what grows. We are supposed to be including design ideas arising from the RP, [but not  people’s ideas, they go in the portfolio], reports and evaluations of exhibitions we’ve been to, other design ideas, doodles, great thoughts etc. etc. etc. ‘Design ideas’ could be drawings, words or photos. Yay! Photos!

So as I have had a vague idea about doing books about litter – I have been photographing litter.

This was prompted because every time we go for our Thursday dog and Babybel walk, [no ducks on Thursdays] I am struck by the fact right next to something like this

 

 

there is a lot of this. Even Babybel has noticed – and she doesn’t like it, any more than her granny does!

So maybe my book will be about litter – or alternatively I’ll find another idea and you’ll never hear about it again.

Since then I've been carrying my camera when I’m going somewhere I think there may be litter – which, of course, is almost everywhere – but this morning that did allow me to take advantage of this surreal experience.

Not often you see half a house on wheels.It gives a whole new meaning to ‘mobile home’.

I’m much more organized…

now I’ve made myself an organizer.

In theory, anyway.

By consulting my organiser I can tell you that today was marked out for getting ready for college tomorrow, and working on my research project.

Of course, that didn’t allow for slippage - this morning was spent finishing off the book of photos instead.

After lunch I got round to looking at the list of requirements for tomorrow – which is ‘student managed sketchbooks’. [No, I don’t know either.] The list includes a sketchbook - we had a discussion last week about whether this meant an old sketchbook or a new one. In the absence of a definitive ruling I made an executive decision and packed a new one – or rather three – a commercial one and two hand made ones, of different sizes.

The next thing was ‘images relevant to your research project’. Like pictures of books? It was at this point that I realised that when I think of artists books, I think of books like these – and it is difficult to see how images like those might relate to working in a sketch book – apart from just drawing them, which I don’t think is the idea.

Which made me think. Maybe I ought to to put something on the pages of the books I make? Like this? [I love Dorothy Krause’s stuff.]

I assembled a few images to explore in paint or collage – mostly sort of grey, blurry, amorphous things. Hey, Picasso had his blue and pink periods – I can have a grey, blurry, amorphous period!

Back to the list.  ‘Materials which reflect your practice or are experimental and will complement what you have planned.’ This of course assumes that you have ‘a practice’ and/or have planned something.

After panicking long, hard thought I  decided my practice was probably splashing left over paint at random on bits of paper, ripping them up, sticking them down and printing computer manipulated images on them – a tiny bit like Krause but without her talent – so I assembled lots of interesting bits of paper and must remember to take the laptop. I shan’t print anything in college, though – I think it will cause less aggro if I don’t wreck their printer by putting strange layered things through it – that might be a bit too experimental.

So now I have 6 bags sitting in the hall, containing paper, sketchbooks, books, paints, glue, and drawing stuff – and the all-important organiser. That’s not counting my lunch bag and my handbag. This is one of the problems of not knowing what you are doing – you take everything you think you might possibly need and you still don’t have the right things.

I think I need a mule.

By now it was mid-afternoon and I hadn’t even thought about the RP – well, apart from the thinking that went into getting ready for college. [My brain hurts.]

To be fair to myself, I have been doing a bit of reading in the evenings – this, which is where I first came across Krause’s work, and this – but I’ve been put off making notes by the thought of working direct into an A3 book. Difficult to manage on your lap, along with the book you are making notes from, a spritzer and a cat.

So use a ring binder, I hear you cry. In the old days, I would have grabbed the nearest ring-binder and got started – but that is no longer good enough.

1. Take one tatty old ring binder.
2. Take two experimental screen prints which almost match, sew them together, quilt them and make a cover.
3. Take two experimental bits of calico, gesso, muslin and wallpaper [inspired by Lynda and Carol] and make end papers. Sew on a page protector to one to make a pocket  and stick them inside the ring binder with carpet tape. [The left hand one is back to front – when I made it I used up left-over bobbins in the machine, so the wrong side is multicoloured, and I decided I liked it better.]
4. Make dividers from an old calendar, and add paper.

Now I feel much more organised.

Books, books, books, books.

As planned, [I’d written it in my planner!] we went down to Walford Mill on Friday to visit their used book sale, look at the current exhibition, have a cup of tea and toasted teacake in the cafe, and collect our purchase from the last exhibition, by Pat Hodson.

As not planned, and definitely not in my planner, we arrived very late due to a broken down tanker on the A31. [Those who know the A31 will know exactly what that implies.] There was only time for the cup of tea [essential, after sitting in a traffic jam for an hour], a look at the books, and a very quick whizz round the exhibition. I wish we had had longer – the lively and exciting work was mainly by artists with learning difficulties, and made me realise what can be achieve if you forget your inhibitions ad go at things with enthusiasm!

I did pick up one or two books – well, at £1 a time, proceeds for a good cause, who could resist?

 

 

 

 

 

This was a little more than £1, but well worth it, especially given my research topic – and the next exhibition at Walford is of artists’ books. How serendipitous.

My planner also told me to work on the triptych and book of manipulated photos on Saturday afternoon. I disobeyed, and got ahead of the game, by managing to complete the triptych on Friday morning.

It is quite difficult to photograph, but here is an aerial view and the first panel, showing some of the more embarrassing photos.

 

 

After that promising start, things went pear-shaped on Saturday, as making the book took a lot longer than expected. Of course I’m used to making books where the pages are blank, or made from stuff I made earlier, so all I have to do is assemble them. For this book, although I'd printed off a lot of the images in advance, I had to glue them to the pages, and it all took a lot longer than I anticipated. It wasn't helped by the fact that I kept having ideas.

Ideas like pop-ups, and weavings, and paper dolls, and tearing pictures up, and cutting letters out of photos … And since I took these photos I’ve drawn on a lot of them too.

The binding is my speciality, wonky Coptic. I think it’s finished, apart from the colophon. [What a show off! I mean a note thanking my colleagues who took the photos and listing the programs I used to muck about with the images.]

According to my planner, today was going to be the day I started on the research project properly. Needless to say, I didn’t.

I did, however, make the RP book. A3, utilising the backs of two old sketchbooks and some hand made paper I bought years ago at Ally Pally, for some purpose long forgotten. Those clips were going to be temporary. to allow me to add more pages if needed, before stab binding it when I’d finished – but they are growing on me.

Now I've made the book I can really get started.

Ah – now I see…

We had a sort of mega-tutorial at College yesterday, so now  I understand what I am supposed to be doing for Module 9, the Research Project. I had seen it as a formal academic writing exercise – which was why the apparent lack of any parameters was so scary. However, rather than an essay, what we have to do [I think] is collect visual references, and written information and evaluation about our research topic – a sort of annotated scrapbook.

My topic? Artists’ books.

Bet you’re surprised.

So I've collected my books on books in a heap by my bed, ordered some more from ABE books and Allibris, and begun to do some Googling. This could be fun.

If anyone has any suggestions for good books on artists’ books, or any artists whose work you think I should look at, please let me know…

While at college I almost finished my triptych - all bar glueing it together, because I’d forgotten the glue. I didn’t get started on the book of manipulated images as I decided I wanted to do a Coptic binding and realised that I didn’t have any suitable card for covers with me. Finishing both is now slotted into the planning [a part of my new organised regime!] for Saturday afternoon. Evidence of planning and organisation is one of the marking criteria, so I have invented planning record sheets and started to fill them out. Wonder how long that will last.

And of course I have to make a book to keep all the research in – I could hardly chose a topic like artists’ books and use a manufactured one, could I? [Although of course an artist’s book could be made in a manufactured one – one of the points I need to mention when distinguishing between hand made books and artists’ books. Right after I’ve defined ‘a book’…]