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...  

A SoulBook Gathering

Have you heard of the SoulBook Gathering experience, an idea recently shared by Melody Ross? I decided to invite a group of friends to join me and I was lucky enough to be given creative space to use at a local community cafe. It was the perfect location, and the warmest of welcomes (thank you Emma!).  Throughout the morning people popped through to see what we were doing and hopefully some of them will join us another time. 

Usually, when I take an idea, I expand it and always make my own tweeks and adaptions.  But this time I decided to keep it simple, and follow Melody's instructions to make the book. So I cut enough corrugated card so everyone had 6 pages, and we attached them with masking tape.  I wasn't sure how this would work as it seemed a bit basic, but with addition of papers and some strips to connect the pages together it proved a strong and useful construction.

With the instruction download came pages of prompts, such as:

'These are things I always want to remember' and

'I want to remember that every single day is a brand new chance to start over'

These were cut into strips and shared among the group and we put our books together. Then using the collection of materials provided we decorated our pages and added personal touches such as photos. There was chatting, and drinking tea and coffee; but more than this, there was periods of stillness as everyone appreciated this 'me' time, because too often we are dashing around or caring for others and not giving ourselves time to just be present in the moment. 

Here are some of the books made that morning: 

 

Afterwards we gathered in the cafe for lunch, and as always the food did not diappoint. It was made even more special by my favourite lemon merignue pie!  

I would certainly arrange another SoulBook Gathering and this it might be something that you would be interested in doing too - let me know how it goes if you do. Thank you to the ladies who joined me to made this a special time, and to Emma and her team at the School Room Cafe for providing such a warm welcome. I will be back soon!

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.