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.

 

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 - June 2018 - The South Asia Collection Museum In Norwich

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

each month I post 5 photos that I have 

taken in 5 minutes.

Last week I visited the 'Turn A Page Book Art Fair' in Norwich and one of my exhibiting friends told me of a place I might like to visit, just round the corner. What I discovered was a hidden treasure!  The building was built as an indoor skating rink in 1876 (this was a surprise in itself) and it was worth visiting just for the building itself. 

But once inside I was immediately transported to the far east, and amazed at the displays and diverse collections on view. Part shop, part Museum, I wondered how I had never heard of The South Asia Collection Museum before, and was very grateful for my friends tip off. The skating rink was not long lasting, and the over the following years the building was used as a Vaudeville Theatre, a temporary home for the Salvation Army, storage for tinned meat, and a warehouse for a building manufacturer. Philip and Jeannie Millward purchased the Rink in the early 1990's and renovated it, making it what it is today. I thoroughly recommend a visit if ever you are in Norwich, and it was the perfect place to take 5 photos in 5 minutes. But before I share these, let me quickly show you the building itself:

Some of the exhibits are large pieces of architecture and furniture.

Upstairs you could look across and admire the beautiful beams and wooden ceiling. Back on the ground floor I set my mobile timer and got my camera ready:

This teakwood spinning wheel was used for winding bobbins, for fabric weaving.

I was excited to see antique wood blocks, used for the printing of fabrics.  I had to add these to the collection I bought in India!

And it was lovely to see examples of dyes used and printing in the museum section.  Upstairs the shop sells fabric and linens as well as clothes. Again everything was beautifully laid out and it reminded me of a recent visit to Liberty's in London.   

Other interesting things I found was this collection of padlocks.  I thought of the beautiful doors I had seen in India that were architectural works of art in themselves. 

This bowl of goat bells attracted me too. So much of Indian wares are beautifully decorated and detailed. 

I could have stayed longer, browsing and admiring the exhibits. But I had gone to Norwich for the Book Art Fair and still had more to see; and so this hidden treasure will be a place to visit again. 

Meantime I look forward to using my new wood blocks. I have a workshop planned 'Inspired by India' where we will be printing our own fabric and Khadi Papers to make book covers, and making a book. I'll be back to show you these another time. 

For now, I invite you to join me in this monthly photo challenge. This is what you do: 

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.  

If you want to know more 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.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have had some recent good discoveries of your own.

Celebrating 5 years!! 

Next month this monthly photo challenge will be celebrating 5 years! That's a good reason to mark the occasion and I would love to hear any ideas that you may have. Please leave a comment below and I will be back with more news and updates soon. 

Book Art Day

Last week I went to London for The Society of Bookbinders Book Art Day. Would you believe that my friend Ruth came all the way from the Isle of Bute to join me?! I was super impressed by her intrepid journey for this one day event and it made the day even more special.  

The event started with an illustrated talk by Tracey Bush. In 1995 Tracey made a series of books connected to the River Thames and I really enjoyed hearing about stories and process behind these. Her latest book 'Dusk' is a beautiful work, each page carefully hand printed and hand cut out. This book was awarded the 2017 J.Hewit 'Excellence in Design' in the SOB International Bookbinding Competition. It's easy to see why when you see and handle the book.  You can see this and other books by Tracey on her website.   

Around the room were a selection of other book artists and it was lovely to see the wide range of techniques and designs.  Enjoy a few photos, and apologies to the artists - I was so engrossed in talking, looking and taking the occasional photo that I didn't make notes to attribute.  

One of my favourite stands was an Iranian lady who made journals using Photoshop and mixed media. And Dizzy Pragnell, who I met at Turn the Page in Norwich last year. Her fruit and vegetable books still continue to amaze me. I mean, really! Can you believe each page is a cabbage leaf?!   

I realised when I got home that I did not take photos of all the books that I admired, but that's okay. The ones I have show the diverse and colourful collection that was on display, and it was lovely to meet the artists in person. 

A meeting of Paperlove

Three years ago I signed up for an online course.  There is nothing new in this, I do a lot of courses, online and otherwise.  But what makes this one different is the friendships that grew. As part of the Paperlove course, Rachel Hazel set up a Facebook Group so that we could share our work and experience. The course only lasted 3 weeks - but for some of us, our friendship lasted and grew. 

After the course finished I suggested the idea of planning a gathering, and we talked about it again last year, when four of us met in London. We spoke of how nice it would be to meet more of the group and the idea took hold....

Ruth agreed to our request to meet at her studio on the Isle of Bute. News was shared, excitement spread, and soon people were booking accomodation and flights.  Because the amazing thing is, people came from California, Canada, New Zealand and Europe! Can you imagne?! Some bought partners and some travelled alone. A feast of friends drawn together through the love of paper! 

For my own part, my husband came with me to Scotland and we stayed in the campervan in a beautiful bay, not far from Ruth's studio.

The first morning I was wandering along the beach collecting shells, when I heard 'hello Sandie'. It was a friend from New Zealand! She saw the campervan parked up and stopped to see if it was me. The excitement of meeting face to face was extraordinary and suddenly it had become real - this was really happening!

There is so much I could share, but to spare you I'll choose some of the highlights and save the rest as memories. So grab a coffee if you like and I will begin:

We all arrived in advance of our 3 days together so had an improntu meet was arranged to say hello and quieten our excitement. And then it was time to gather....

Ruth is an artist and we felt very grateful that she was willing to share her studio for this time together. She showed us how to sketch and paint, something I am keen to learn....

 As you can see, I'm working on it! LOL

Then it was time to walk to the beach where we collected shells and plants.  

The plants were for Eco-printing. We had each offered to share a technique or something we enjoy, and as there were other people who make books I offered to show how I make prints onto paper and fabric.  Chris also does this, back in New Zealand, so we did this in collaboration.  I had also made everyone a small notebook using my eco-printed paper, and this gave examples of what we would make.  

It took a long time to steam all the bundles but it was worth the effort. The results were lovely and several of the group were keen to do more in future. 

Two of our friends were unable to join us but they were very much there in thought and spirit.  Julia had sent us an an individually wrapped gift pack full of treasures....

while Linda sent a postcard to us each. On the back was part of a phrase. There was great excitment in working it out and as one card arrived a day later there was suspension!  

During our three days together we made paper constructions: folded books and origami lanterns... 

and we guilded shells

and did lots more besides.

I am still holding my excitement and amazement that some people travelled so far to make this happen. I'm feeling very blessed and grateful.

But that's not all, there is more to tell, so I'll be back very soon. Hope to see you then, thanks for popping by!