Overwintering or dead?

 

Overwintering or dead?

It's not always easy to tell in the middle of winter. It isn't until spring comes along and everything starts to sprout again that we see where the leaves aren't coming through. Which ideas, after a hiatus, just aren't alive anymore? Sometimes things come to an end, and that's okay. Knowing when to let go of an idea, a project, even a friendship, helps us to move on and not put energy into something that is never going to bear fruit.

So when the winter is over, check everything over and make sure it is worth the water, the time, the weeding, and the fertiliser that it will need to assure that it is fruitful.

Are you prickly?

Are you prickly to deal with? What is someone else's experience of you?

That latter question was one I read in a blog post this week. When these cacti turned up on my page, I knew that the question had been going round in my head. 

So, when someone else encounters you, do they have a pleasant experience? Are you a delight or a monster to deal with? Are you kind and polite to those who serve you? As someone who works in retail, I work really hard to be understanding if someone who is serving me has to deliver news that is not really what I want to hear. Generally it is not their fault and they don't necessarily have the power or authority to do anything about it. 

Are you making excuses for your bad behaviour? If you're having a bad day, there is no excuse to visit it on other people. And if you do find that your prickliness has leaked out, be quick to apologise. Most people are understanding, but not if you let things fester!

New paintings

I've been working on a new set of pieces - mainly acrylic, but also with some collage (in the deep, deep layers!) acrylic paint pens, and water-soluble oil pastel. They are about transition, waiting, and getting through things. This is my artist statement:

"My work has its basis in abstract expressionism, using acrylics, collage, and water-soluble pastels to investigate the way we count our way down to - or through - everyday, dreaded, or looked-forward-to experiences. My canvases explore how we mark our days, whether literally on our calendars, or emotionally, as we approach those things we are dreading or waiting for with anticipation. Whether we are counting the days of a year to mark menopause, tallying chemo doses, or marking time until we can leave a situation we’re not happy about, as humans we are aware that our days are numbered."

The piece above is called Breathe. The one below Overwhelm, and the one below that Unsettled. There are a few close-ups further down.

Grow or rot?

 

The seed is cosy and comfortable underground, but if it doesn't stretch to reach the light, it never grows, it just rots.

This page started with the stripes, the lighter stripes at the top suggesting sunlight, and the lower ones strata in the earth. I wanted to put something in the cosy little dark place, and a seed seemed to be the most appropriate thing. A seed sits in the earth, but it needs to germinate and grow. If it just sits there, it will eventually lose the potential for growth and rot away. 

Are there places in your life where you have stopped reaching towards the light, where you are letting the seed of something rot instead of grow? Cosy and comfortable is fine for a time, but don't become so ensconced that you stop living.

More experimentation

So I got into the groove (some might call it a mini obsession, but what do they know?) and carved some more Lino plates to make more cards. After having tried a few flowers, I found that I preferred the leafy designs, so here they are. These are printed on to paper that I have patterned myself, some on the gelli plate and some by marbling. 

Experiments with two different types of block-printing ink have revealed a clear favourite which cleans up easily with water. This is very important as I seem to be one of those people that only has to open the pot of paint/ink to somehow get it on my elbow. The ink I've discarded was very persistent, took for.ev.er to dry, and required scrubbing with soap and a brush to get all the equipment - and my hands - clean afterwards.  

So which is your favourite?

 

A new Lino-cut

I had fun last night carving a new block for my mini printing press. Before I've done prints that are basically outlines that I then colour in, but this time I went for a different look, and I'm really pleased with the result. I'm not a very competent carver yet, but I think it's the imperfections that give a print its charm. I have a few other ideas for prints in the same style of native Australian flora.

Watch this space :)

More book forms

 

So I've been making more book forms from Making Handmade Books. Here we have the flag book, piano hinge, winged book, tied binding, origami wallet. Not pictured here, but one I have made before, is the flower fold. As I'm working through them, I'm finding that some of the forms are only subtly different from each other. Those subtle differences can come into play when you make an art book with a particular theme. Having all these forms made up, rather than just a photo in a book, means that when I have an idea for a project I can pull them out and work out what would be most suitable. 

Less is more

Sometimes less is more.

I've been watching the Sky portrait artist of the year vids on YouTube and feeling inspired and intimidated in equal measure. 

I set out to do this portrait thinking it would require a lot of refining, that I would cover up a lot and re-do just about everything. Instead, I popped a couple of blobs down for the eyes, thinking I would use those blobs to give me a hint of placement, but when I stood back, it felt like I had somehow - miraculously! - captured enough for my brain to tell me that it was an eye. So I am calling it done. There isn't much of a likeness, but I like it as a piece as it stands.

 

Book forms

 

I thought it would be a fun project to work my way through Making Handmade Books by Alisa Golden. I've made several books out of it before, but now I'm working through from the beginning, starting with the easiest forms, made from a single sheet of paper. 

So far I've worked through X-book, X-book with pockets, Ox-plow pamphlet, simple accordion, simple accordion with tunnel, snake book, storybook theatre, twist card, brush book, T-cut book, house card, guest book, and crown binding. Some I would definitely make again. Some had instructions that weren't that clear to me (plus one that seemed to have a typo in the size instructions as the size given really didn't work), but I eventually worked it out. So now my book has pencil notes in it ready for next time. 

Next I shall be tackling the slot and tab book. It's looking like an interesting week ahead as I try out new forms and work out how they could be used in Christmas and Easter projects.

What's your favourite book form? 

Speaking up

To be heard you need to speak up, maybe several times. 

It's no good hoping that people know what you're thinking. If you want to be heard, you have to speak. If it's something you really want to be heard, you may have to speak up several times. People don't always hear us the first time, especially if they don't feel that what you're saying is relevant to them. 

So if it's important to you, speak up!