Turn the Page artists book fair - Part Two

As promised I am back with the second part of my visit to the 'Turn the Page' artists' book fair.  If you missed the previous post you might want to see that first, here.

After a short break for refreshments and fresh air we went back to complete our viewing. It gets tiring when you are standing for hours and super excited about everything you see! Energy restored, we started where we had left off....

First stop was Chris Ruston, one of my friends whose work I had seen in progress.  It was lovely to see it close up and unfortunately I was so busy looking and talking that I didn't take many photos. That will surprise those who know me!! Chris has been working on a project about whales, and it developed into a social history based on real life journals belonging to the captain of a whaling ship and his wife. Life was hard in those days and his wife spent three years on board, giving birth to two babies at sea. Here's some photos that I did take:

One of my favourite parts of this collection is a box with journals belonging to a sea captain and his wife. These are based on actual ones that Chris saw in Hull Museum. There is beautiful attention to detail with a clay pipe, ladies Victorian dip pen, and other interesting artefacts.

Part of the collection includes 2 large books, which you can see in the first photo. The hand printed paper used to cover the books, and
elsewhere in the collection, is beautiful, and the photo does not do it justice. Inside the books are bone shaped pages. Chris has added a video to her Instagram and this is worth checking out.

I think you'll agree that this art work is pretty amazing!

It was also lovely to see Karen Apps, another friend and whose work I have seen coming together. Karen slow stitches and has patience extraordinaire! 




This dressing gown is one of my favourite pieces, the tiny stitched writing is taken from a vintage letter. I wish I had asked more about the story behind it. I realised with hindsight that my energy was flagging after so many hours and I missed opportunities.   Next year I will spread my visit over the 2 days! Luckily I can go back to Karen and ask her to tell me more....

Another friend exhibiting was Paula Macgregor. She is a mixed media artist and enjoys making assemblages with narrative.

Below is one of Paula's most recent projects, a grandmother clock that tells the story of matriarchy. Just as we are connected by
family, each book is attached by a chain and decorated with beautiful vintage linen.

Another of Paula's work is a curiosity that could be a museum piece. The story is so convincing....

Like the grandmother clock, there is so much detail in the next curiosity box that you could happily loose another hour or two looking at. The story is based around the book shown on the door. As you unwind the scroll it reveals a code which you work out from clues in the book, revealing another tale. This appeals to my sense of intrigue.

Among the contributors was another friend, Ingrid Duffy. We first met at a Alice Fox Summer School, 2 years ago, and we discovered we had a mutual friend who lives in the Netherlands. It's a small and fascinating world.  Ingrid is a textile artist who often incorporates her photography into her work.  She is taking part in an Art Trail and I might try and go along. I only took one photo of Ingrid's stand, what was I thinking?!

There were a number of student groups exhibiting and also print making demonstrations.  This beautiful press was recently given to the John Jarrold Printing Museum and been carefully restored.  Based in Norwich this museum is only open on Wednesday mornings and it is on my list to visit, one day.

There were lots more stands but I will end with the Norfolk Longbook.  This is a collaborative project and artists, poets and writers were invited to submit their work. You can see this concertina book has achieved an impressionable length and there is a wonderful variety on it's double sided pages, with more on the table to add.

As you can see, the standard of work at Turn the Page is impressive and I felt privileged to be there and to meet the artists. I came home inspired and excited by what I saw, and I look forward to visiting again next year. Thanks for joining me in this post visit, and hope you liked what you saw too. 

Turn the Page artists book fair - Part One

This weekend saw me at Turn the Page artists book fair, in Norwich.  I’d been looking forward to this for some time, and over the proceeding months and weeks I watched three of my friends completing work for their stands.  My heart missed a beat or two when I entered the venue because there was such an array of book art and some extremely talented artists. It was hard to know where to start! But the beginning is always a good place - so we visited the first stand and carried on from there.

It would be impossible to show everything so here are some of the works that most connected with me.  My husband doesn't have the same level of interest, and said that once he’d seen enough he would potter off and meet me later. The fact that he didn’t potter off shows that there was much to see and admire!  There was a lovely atmosphere and all the artists were friendly and enthusiastic. But 
what stood out was hearing the stories - of how or why the artists made the books. And everyone was happy for me to take photos of their work too, I appreciate that because it is nice to look back and enjoy the experience again through memory.

So come with me and I’ll show you around…..

Visually, this was one of the show stoppers for me.  These books made by Dizzy Pragnell are pages made from fruit and vegetables - I kid you not!  Each is a wafer thin pressed image and the photo does not do them justice.





These are cabbage leaves...

apple.....

kiwi....

and carrot...

Each book was exquisite and I could fill a blog post about each stand that I visited, but I need to move on.....

Next is Pien Rotterdam. One of my favourite books of hers had a collection of fabric swatches that belonged to her grandmother and great grandmother. Pien inherited these fabrics and over the years she has used them. It was only when she started to run out that she thought it important to hold on to the memory and keep a record of the collection.

On the back of the book a small label tells what the fabric had been used for. Pien remembers these... 

Pien also made smaller copies of the book to sell. Each has original swatches and as someone who appreciates nostalgia I really admired Pien's work.  She had lots of other examples of work too, including a stamp album in which she has added beautiful snippets.  Each page is a different colour co-ordination.

Next was Peter Knight.  He makes copper etchings and uses these to make amazing prints and three dimensional constructions.

This one had particular interest as I visited Down House in recent weeks and have always been fascinated by Darwin's work.

Another stand that held my attention was artist, Jane Sasanow. I love constructions and how shadows and surprise comes from folds and concealment. I have often used these constructions to make my own books, but I was inspired how Jane had put these together, to create collections and works of art. Jane will be adding photos to her new Instagram site.

Another series of work that captured my imagination was by Annette Kreiser. 

I love to use found objects in my own work, as it is a way to create longevity.  This is even better where stories are involved too, so imagine my excitement when I heard that some of Annette's marks are made by pieces of WWII aircraft, washed up on the Norfolk coast line. Straight away I was taken back to the crashed WWII plane I found in the Shetland islands. But I digress....

There was so much to see that it was necessary to take a brief break, but a short walk and refreshments gave the much needed energy to go back for more.

And I suspect you might welcome a break at this point too!  So I'll come back with the rest, tomorrow. Thanks for joining me in this visit and I hope you are as inspired by these art works as I am.

5 in 5 - Melanie - May 2017

Melanie is my friend who lives in Australia and she loves photography.  Every month since the start of this challenge Melanie has taken part in this monthly meme and as she doesn't have her own blog I post here. I love that we have found a way for her to take part, so over to you Melanie:

"May 5 in 5 and another month when my intended subject didn’t happen.  Instead I am giving you pictures of a grille on the Patawalonga Lake which traps much debris and proved of great interest to my three year old grandson.  The Patawalonga Lake is a man-made system designed to stop flooding of urban areas by diverting storm water, and is kept clean and healthy by tides flushing the lake with seawater from St. Vincent Gulf. It is part of the Patawalonga River system which has its mouth at Glenelg a town close to where I live.  Unfortunately the flushing with seawater does not prevent smells and the ‘Pat’ as it is called by locals is often very smelly.  The smell, caused by seaweed growth in the river estuary and often storm water pollution, I unfortunately cannot show you in a photo"

Thank you to Melanie for sharing these photos and for taking part this month. The description of the grilles made me think of a recent walk along a beach on the Isle of Man. I was suddenly stopped short by a terrible smell, which I thought was seaweed, since I was approaching a large area. However I later learnt that there are outlets along the shore front that release methane. Take it from me, they are not nice to be around when the wind blows in the wrong direction! It seems what ever side of the world you are, smell is sometimes best avoided! 

Hopefully Melanie will be back next month and I look forward to you joining us. Thank you for popping by, it is great to have your company.

_____________________

If this has inspired you to pick up your camera and join in please go to the original post where you will also find out how to link in.

And to find out more about this monthly photo challenge, and how this started, please go to this post.

5 in 5 - May 2017 - The Lighthouse Ship

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of

each month I post 5 photos that I have

taken in 5 minutes.

Trinity Afloat is a lighthouse ship and stands permanently anchored on the Essex marshes.  Since her retirement she has been used as an outdoor pursuits centre where residential and day courses are organised. You can learn photography, to sail, paint, and go bird watching, and her magnificent red hull is a prominent landmark.

As well as going on organised courses you can also hire Trinity and arrange your own group activity. I have done this several times as I used to run a women’s writing group and organised residential weekends. This is a magical place to find inspiration and visit, and
I have always wanted to take my granddaughters on board. Last weekend I got my chance, as they had an open day. I'm not sure who was more excited!  
It is a long walk along a sea wall, to reach Trinity, and as we got near the huge bow reached up before us. We agreed it looked like a face, and that the cables running services on board look like she is eating spaghetti !

Once on board we were welcomed with cake and drinks, then given a tour of the ship.  The most exciting part was climbing to the top of the lighthouse.  This is where I took my 5 photos in 5 minutes:

The huge counterbalance keeps the light at the top of the ship stable. In her working days, Trinity Afloat would have been at sea acting as a floating lighthouse and warning ships of danger. I bet she has some stories to tell, of raging waters and violent storms! 

Now a days she quietly sits in the back waters, and continues to provide a haven.

Once at the top the 360 degree view is spectacular and well worth the climb.  My granddaughters are foot-sure and adventurous, and took it all in their stride.

These mudflats are a familiar sight, here in Essex. I love their contours and meanderings, and the shapes left behind in the mud by wading birds and anchor chains.
Man has tried to tame this coast but the sea always wins. On the horizon the sea wall was deliberately breached in 2002 in an attempt to both farm commercially and protect wildlife. It has been a great success and it's heart warming to know that this can work in harmony.  

The lighthouse is no longer operational but the workings are maintained. I like this photo for it's distorted reflection and topsy turvy  image.

The girls are interested in having a days sailing, so we might be back. I hope so.

But for now, if you fancy picking up your camera to join in with 5in5 it would be lovely to have your company!   

Here's what you do and there are more details here. 

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a timer for 5 minutes (I use my mobile phone).

4.  Take as many photos you can (or wish to) until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool below.

                              You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos.

Please add your link below if you would like to take part. I am often excited and inspired by the ideas and photos of others so thank you to Melanie, Paula, Mary-Lou, Melissa, Karen, Maggie, and Borqna for joining in last month. I'll be back next month with another 5 in 5. Enjoy the weeks in between and happy photo taking!