Let's make maps!

In my last post I spoke about a recent visit to Warley Place.  This is a favourite place to visit this time of year with the meadows and hills of daffodils.  There is a circular path that wanders around the extensive grounds, starting along the well worn track, past the circular drive way to the house that can be traced in the grass, with the haha and wonderful ancient walnut tree standing alone in the meadow. Then you turn right, around a rockery that is shaped like a maze, twisting around ferns to dead ends or curving paths that twist back on themselves. The maze always brings a huge smile, with memories of my then-3 year old granddaughter as she skipped around the path, giggling and lost in her imagination. 

Then, onwards, through the carpets of wild garlic with it pungent scent filling the air, past trees with tessellated plates of bark, and smooth birch with it's silvery smooth trunks. The trees increase in number, a small woodland now, and loops back onto the track towards the walled garden.  Or what remains of it, because Warley Place was once forgotten. A large house with stables, greenhouses, and a large conservatory, that over time fell into decay and was demolished. You can still see the raised brick rows of beds, rusty nails in the garden wall that once supported plants and cobbled steps that lead nowhere, except in your imagination.

So when I went to a map making workshop yesterday I knew what I would draw. This garden is so full of interest and happy memories that it asked to be recorded. Christine Nicholls of 'inkpotandpen' ran the workshop, I had been eagerly looking forward to this day and it was everything I hoped for and more. Chrissie bought a large collection of her map collection as well as her beautiful map books. These provided great inspiration, and Chrissie also gave a wonderful introduction to making maps with clear instructions and lots of ideas. One thing I love about attending workshops is how the tutor gives guidance and everyone ends up with totally original work. All of our maps were completely different, and this gave even more inspiration and ideas. I was also impressed that while we were totally absorbed in our own map making, Chrissie drew one of the room and I learnt another way of drawing a map....

It has given me great ideas for future and I can't wait to make some more. But first, let's see my map of Warley Place. 
After folding the paper we started to draw...
   

I took photos and background information as inspiration...

added some photos and colour...

then attached the cover to make it into a book.

Today I added more, and the finishing touches.
Unfortunately,lack of light means they are not the best of photos but it feels good to have a completed work. So often I add these to 'work in progress' and that's where they remain.  

Thank you to Chrissie for a wonderful day. I see more books being added to my collection and if you want to find out more about Chrissie's work check out her website here.

 

It's concertina book time again!

On Tuesday I showed photos of a concertina book that I made for a solo exhibition, and I promised to come back and show the other, so here it is:  

You can find out more about the exhibition itself in this post so I won't go into detail here.....

except to say that I chose the concertina design as it could be shown with its pages open. Because how else can you show the pages inside a book when it is displayed on a high flat board? 

Once the exhibition is over the book will be added to my ever growing collection. I might have cracked how to display the book at the exhibition, I just need to work out how to display or store all my books at home! (Excuse the belly laughing).  But I won't dwell on that, because that's another post for another day. 

If you would like to see the other concertina book, here is the link. Thank you for visiting and I hope this might inspire you to do something creative with your own photos.  See you soon.....

How to exhibit a book on a display board

In my last post I shared how I had been invited to have a solo exhibition of my work at a college. It was a lovely opportunity and it also posed a challenge, because my passion is making handmade books. How do I display these on a flat upright board?!  

After giving it some thought I decided to take photos of some book pages, so that there were examples of the different construction and designs.  But I felt it was important to actually have my work on display so that visitors could see the layers and detail, so I decided to make 2 concertina books specially for the exhibition.  

I chose this construction because it is simple and quick to make. Time was a factor, but even more important, it could be open and attached across the board for easy viewing. I love taking photos and one of my favourite ways of sharing these is to put them into a book. So I chose two sets, and spent several days covered in paint and glue. I was really pleased with the result, as I could create a slight dimension with the folded pages when attaching them to the display board, rather than having the books flat.  

The other pieces of art that I displayed are pages from my art journal, and a collection of tree experiments, using tissue, ink and wax. The exhibition will show for the month of March and in a few weeks I will be meeting the students to tell them more about my art. I have offered to show them how to make a mini book so I'm looking forward to this, and now I have re-fired my love of the concertina book I can't wait to make some more. They may be simple and easy to make, but they are so versatile and fun to do.  Come back soon to see the second book that is on display.  And if you'd like to see the first one it can be seen here . 

I have just noticed the row of art journal pages are not placed very well. Trying to support the large board while stapling wasn't easy especially when you can't stand back to see what you are doing! It  didn't help that we were trying to put the exhibition up in between tutorials. Hopefully the students will know that I am practising imperfection!  

These two photos show how the concertina books could be displayed to show the open pages.

Thank you for visiting and I'll be back to show the second book on Sunday. 

5 in 5 - March 2019 - Concertina book saves the day!

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

each month I post 5 photos that I have 
taken in 5 minutes.

I was invited to put on a solo exhibition of my art work at a college. This was a wonderful opportunity, but as most of my 'art' is hand made books how could I display these on a flat upright board?  It obviously needed a bit of thinking about, and I decided to print photos of some book pages just to show examples of  constructions and design.  But I also wanted examples of actual books there, so that viewers could appreciate the layers and detail. And so I set to making two concertina books for the occasion. This was no hardship because I don't need an excuse or reason to make a book, usually it's just the time lacking! But by choosing a simple construction it was manageable and after decorating the surface with layers of paint, papers, and detail, I added some favourite photos. Because as a lover of photography, my handmade books give me somewhere to share these and to recreate memories. For the purpose of 5in5 I will just show one of the books but I will come back very soon with photos of the second. You might also like to see photos of the exhibition, because my work is now proudly on display for this month and I am really pleased with the way it looks. Especially the concertina books. They have been opened across the display board and held in position with staples. The books are not precious, or fragile. They are made to look at and handle, and the layers of paper and paint strengthen the base card. And the holes won't notice afterwards, card and paper is very robust and if they do show they can be easily concealed. 

So, let's waste no more time. Here are 5 photos and I loved making these books so much that I can't wait to make some more. Often my book constructions are more complicated and time consuming to make, and it's easy to forget the simple concertina, even though they are really effective. They have won a place back in my heart!  

Thank you for visiting and I hope some of you will join me this month in the 5in5 challenge. Here's how it works: 

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a mobile timer for 5 minutes.

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

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

   

You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos and if you want to know more about 5in5 there are details here.

And one more thing - when you use the link tool, please click on your post title.  This will show the web address. Please right click, copy and paste this as your link.  This will take readers directly to your '5 in 5' blog page and be easier for them to find.

How to read water - In 30 days

Recently I bought a new book as I want to have a better understanding of tides and currents. I have lots of local waterways  and I would love to explore them in my kayak; however, lack of knowledge and experience makes me wary. But this is a good thing isn't it - because it would be foolhardy to go out into tidal waters without some knowledge and preparation. 

I have learnt so much from just two chapters and I thoroughly recommend this book if this is a subject that interests you too. We hear so much about the moon's gravitational pull on the earth and how that creates tides. But did you know that the sun also has a gravitational pull. How have I lived all these years and not realised?! Suddenly, so many things have become clear and as well as learning a lot it is also an enjoyable book to read. 

And as I read the book this morning, I was suddenly had an idea for a project. So for the next month I plan to visit the river every day at about the same time.  Naturally life goes on and there will be days I miss, but I'm looking forward to getting involved and seeing what comes from this.

And to start, I have unwrapped a beautiful handmade book that a friend recently sent me. It has a sea chart cover and watercolour painted pages that representing water. It's just perfect! I will make notes of all the interesting facts and things I learn. I knew I would find a special use for this book!

                

                           

The purpose of my river visits are to observe and connect with my experience. Because, we can miss so much when our thoughts distract us. These are the times when our mind can be in a different time or place, and so it is my intention to practice being present and to  awaken all my senses. 

Today I paid attention to:

• The tide lines, as these mark the highest level of the water.
• Flotsam - what gets left behind along the tide line.

• Wind direction and speed - It was a light breeze today but it was interesting to notice that it blew in the opposite direction from the flow of tide. This was deceptive, as on first glance you'd be mistaken to think the tide was coming upstream, but the photo below shows otherwise. 
• The flow of water - being mudflats and estuary this makes for interesting features. I was reminded in 'How to Read Water' that when water runs through narrow channels it becomes faster and more active. I saw this for myself, and could see the directional flow. The boats on their mooring can tell you this too, as their bow always points to where the water is coming from. But today they were stranded on the mud, the water a mere puddle around their keels.
  

• The current tide - it happened to be at it's lowest at the time of my visit. Probably the lowest water I have ever observed, although that might be because I was paying proper attention today rather than just noticing it as low tide. I realised that if I had boots on I could probably wade across easily. Many years ago, before a school was built this side of the river, children used to have to cross to the other side to go to school. They'd be ferried across by boat at high tide, and come across in a horse and cart at low tide. What a fun way to go!
• Relation to the sun and moon - today is a New Moon so I couldn't have chosen a better time to start my project. This is purely coincidental and not planned!

• Plant and animal life in and along the edge of the river - I was lucky to see a pair of egrets, and as always, the large flock of resident swans came up the causeway to see if I had any food. For the first time, I became aware of the funny padding sound that their feet make on concrete, and how their feet are reptile-like in appearance. I always admire the swathes of sea lavender and the reeds blowing in the breeze. Today was no exception.

• How the water makes channels and gradually changes course - I love this landscape and have always been fascinated by this, but today I was even more attentive. I looked for small hollows in the mudflat, and others that have grown deeper. And I saw how  eventually a new water course has cut through, or a mudflat is separated to form an island. I also paid attention to the stickiness of the mud. In places there was water still lying on the surface, or making a small channel. Most of the mudflats are covered with course grass and sea plants. But one was partly exposed, the surface cracked and crusty. Perhaps it was baked by todays sun, because I am certain it is covered by each incoming tide. I will have to look on future visits. 

I will use my photos as a record and I plan to make a book to keep them in. Today's photo collection numbered 200+ but that's because it was low tide and I could see all the different landscapes and features. My main focus will be to record the tide levels, and learn to read the water. Of course I won't be an expert in 30 days, but I should know a whole lot more than I do now!  
So I'll be back with more photos and progress soon. 

Thank you for visiting...