Sketchbooks And Journals...

...became big business several years ago.  Articles about how to are all over the internet, not to mention the books.  In this country, I think it's a lot to do with City and Guilds; if it's not developed in a sketchbook or journal, it's not considered 'proper' work.   Snort.  And all these articles and books are full of beautifully finished illustrations, many of them mixed media of some kind, implying that that is what you should be producing.  Yeah, right.   To me, both sketchbooks and journals are working documents, and they're not for public consumption.  They're about process, the development of ideas, and it's unfortunate that this plethora of information and images potentially puts off as many people as it encourages.

I rarely use a sketchbook, and when I do, it tends to be to kill time in a waiting room.  I much prefer to develop ideas through the materials, usually without a specific plan.  As it happens, I was in a waiting room yesterday (more of that later), and I thought I'd share what I did, and what the process was in its production.

So...I started just making marks, a good way to warm up.  They're the marks in the centre of this page, a roughly sketched repeating pattern.  And then I thought, what I should really be doing, is playing around with ideas for a book, more specifically the book that will support the work I showed you here

So... I drew a number of rectangles.  and started to play around with the basic idea, to see if it would work at the smaller size of an individual book page.  The rectangle trick is a really good way of developing ideas; it lets you compare and contrast within a single page.  Seemed to be okay, so I took it a stage further, looking at the way the pages would combine in the unfolded book.  They occur in threes within this particular folded book structure.  You'll notice that at this stage, the blocks I've sketched out aren't particularly carefully done.  This is an idea; as long as I can get a rough idea of how things will work, that's enough.  I prefer to develop on the actual piece, or on a facsimile thereof, rather than in the journal...see what I mean about a *working* document? 

I started on the bottom page, top row.  Three semi abstract landscapes.  As I thought that having them all aligned in the same way was boring, I tried changing the orientation on the bottom row.  That seemed better, so I looked at what that would be like in combination, on the page above.  I'm happy with that, and will try it in real time.  And, as the doctor was running late, that gave me the chance to sketch out an idea I had several days ago, for a shaped book based on a tree.

This one will be all about the cutting, using the same approach as for a doll paper chain.  It won't be possible to stand this one up, but I still think it'll be an interesting thing to do in either paper or textile.  And that took me to leaves, a visual pun on a 'leaf' of paper, using the same technique.  You'll notice I write myself wee notes (and often I never refer to them again...go figure...).  Incidentally, I went back to the original post and made some more notes; the drawings of individual pages made me think that it might be interesting to make some single pages like that, and join them using some wrapped twigs.  I'm not sure if this one will work, particularly not the second leaf shape.  Though the second one might be interesting as a chain that I could drape around a larger book...it's a thought...

So, where does that leave me?  A couple of ideas confirmed as doable; another as a possibility, depending on size, and a further idea for a 'garland' of leaves, possibly made from burned out lutradur and stitch.  Not bad for fifteen minutes of thinking and drawing. 

I hope that demystifies the making of sketchbooks, and proves how useful they can be.  I started with no idea whatsoever of what I was going to do, but the process of doodling reminded me of things I could be doing to develop a couple of existing ideas. 

I said that I'd mention the doctor's appointment.  The ME ( I refuse to call it 'my' ME) has deteriorated quite dramatically over the last couple of months, and I can no longer stand long enough to work. Plus, I will be having minor surgery next week, which has the potential to make things even worse.  As a result the blog will be significantly less frequent.  I'm really sorry about that, but there's a limit to what I can do from my bed, and that's where I've been more often than not this past year.  I'll do my best to stay in touch, though.  Fingers crossed that things improve.

Working With Metaphor

Remember this piece?  I talked about how it developed here and here

It's called Spear.  I talked with my friend Ann Godridge about its meaning.  My original intention was to create a semi abstract tree, with a leaf shape and a rectangular shape that didn't seem to have any meaning at all.  And yet it ended up feeling as if it was a spear and a shield.  I talked about how that seemed important to me, because I felt I needed some sort of defense, mainly against the attitudes of other people towards my illness.  It's not easy, having a physical illness that is dismissed as 'all in your head'.  Or when friends disappear, for whatever reason, other than the illness.  Or when I become invisible in a wheelchair.  It all hurts, and I need some sort of defense against that pain, until I get used to it all, grow a thicker skin, get used to having no friends other than the virtual ones.

I think this is the ideal example of an experimental piece turning into an expressive piece.  Playing about with those elements in an experimental way produced an unexpected depth of meaning which pleases me, and helps me to understand things better.  So I started to play around with the spear and the shield, with the intention of making a series of linocuts.  I recently bought a load of softcut, expecting to teach a workshop which was cancelled under me,  so I had a lot of 'stuff' to use, and the shapes of both spear and shield seemed to lend themselves to linocut.  So... here are three variants on this theme :

I could have made the leaf/shield shapes solid, but chose to work them as if I was making a stencil.  I think it will add a little visual interest.  I think the triangles within the leaf shapes might be too solid, but I won't really know that until I cut them, or possibly until I actually print with them.  I think it's important to remember that I'm not making prints as prints.  Rather, I'm making prints as a base for stitch.  The stitch will ultimately be more important than the print, so I want to make sure that there's plenty of room for it, and also that no single element of the print will dominate the piece.  There's a danger of that with these triangles, so it's something to watch.

I had a hospital appointment, so that was the ideal opportunity to sketch some more.  I said that I don't usually use sketchbooks to develop work, but linocut is a definite exception.  This sketchbook is exactly the same size as my blocks, so working out how the different elements will combine is useful.  I find that marks on softcut don't erase all that well, so I like to work things out properly before I mark the design. 

I think I like the bottom one better...the top one may prove to be a little cluttered.  Nonetheless, when I've got the size of the shields right, it will probably feel more balanced (one side is clearly larger than the other). 

These sketches aren't perfect; I didn't have a ruler with me, so the division across the blocks is approximate, for example, not to mention the wonky spears...  I also discovered that it's not easy to draw in a wheelchair, even in a hardback journal; no flat surface.  At home, I have my legs up on a footstool, which makes them level; they are on a slant in the wheelchair.  Don't think there's anything I can do about that, other than work in a smaller journal, which would be easier to handle.  Lugging a work board around really isn't an option....but I digress.

You can see how straightforward it is to take a couple of elements and combine them in different ways to make different images.  I have at least one other to try out.  I did have a day of panic when I couldn't find my lino cutters, which, unlike the missing felting needles, would have been expensive to replace (they're professional quality, as I really couldn't get on with the wee cheap red handled things).  Fortunately, though, I found them this morning, in just the place I thought of at three o'clock this morning....insomnia has to be useful for something.

So...more development and some cutting.  Wish me luck.

Lutradur Lovelies!

If you haven't realised it by now, I am going up to Birmingham on Friday to the Festival of Quilts, where I will be demonstrating how to colour lutradur on the Spunart stand (just behind Ricky Tims, apparently...wonder if he sings while he works, too...?). And, of course, I'll have copies of Lovely Lutradur with me... but I thought I'd bring some small bits and pieces made with lutradur so that you can see what I use it for. Small pieces of work, ACEOs and postcards, for instance, as well as these pretty journals.

I think these journals would be an ideal accompaniment to a finished quilt, whether traditional or art. Information about the quilt, its making and its care, would all sit beautifully in a wee book like this. They could even be customised for each quilt. I've made a dozen to bring with me, each one different, and of course, they too will be for sale.

I'm really looking forward to this; I enjoy demonstrating...and chatting... please do come and say hello if you are visiting the festival! And if you can't, but would really love a journal, don't worry, I'll be listing them on Etsy when I return. And if you really can't wait for a copy of Lovely Lutradur, click on the image of the book on the top right hand corner of this blog.

Playing

I'd forgotten what good fun it is to do some simple bookbinding. So, as Robin worked away at trying to get the doorbell chimer to work in the shed (took all afternoon to get a partial success, shame, really), I made some little pamplet books. The covers were a piece of acrylic painted watercolour paper that had been lying around for a while; the insides are made of a curiously textured hand made paper (no, not some of mine) with intruiguing fibres contained in it. As you can see, the result is four bright, cheery journals, each different, just right for popping into ones handbag. Bright is important, or at least it is to me... some of my handbags behave like the black hole of Calcutta. And, of course, now that I've made these, I'll just have to make some more!

It Has Been A While...

since I posted, the demons have been dancing, and keeping me busy. I was asked recently to describe a bout of depression. In the end, I said, imagine your worst ever day, when nothing goes right, you feel lousy, tired and low, you hate your work, you hate everyone and you hate yourself. Then replay it over several weeks, as it gets steadily worse...and then steadily better...until you are wondering what all that was about. I'm one of the (arguably) fortunate people for whom fluoxetine (Prozac) actually works (if you believe the most recent studies, which suggests that antidepressants of this type don't work for many people), but all that means really is that I don't get quite as low as I used to.

I'd like to show you two things that I've received recently from other artists. The first was a PIF on another blog, by wonderful textile artist Karen Hall. I had forgotten about the PIF, and was amazed to receive this fabulous doll from Karen in the post, just after Christmas. As you can see, she is me !!! And I'm flying!!! Isn't she amazing? The second image is of a journal I received as part of an online swap in a group I'm part of, ZNE Artists And Poets. Again, it is a beautiful piece of work, by Heidi Eberle, expertly conceived and made.

So what do they have in common, apart from the fact that they were both made for me? Well... I have taken part in swaps, trades and such before, and doubtless will do again, but what makes both these pieces stand out for me, is that the artists have clearly seen me as a person. They have gone past the outer facade and made something for me that touches me at lots of different levels. That indicates a level of caring, much less craftsmanship, that leaves me both cherished and humbled. Karen, Heidi, thank you.