Postage project

When we were on holiday in France last year we went to the flea market in Nice.  There was plenty of stuff, although it was extremely hot so we got quite burnt and didn't stay for too long.  Anyway, over the last couple of months I have been working on something new, based on some old letters and post cards I found there - all in French.  Started to create something using fragments of what people had written, reflecting their lives.  A postal/postage project.....

Anyway, the Sheffield Book Art Show came up, so I speeded up to finish the piece of work so that I could send it in for the Show.  Just about made the deadline!

It was fun to make, and I tried out some new ideas, and used some of my marbled paper for parts of it.  I entitled it "La Plume de ma Tante" - remember that phrase?  It's in all the best early French/English translation help.

Here's a few peeks -  it took AGES to make the whole thing look old and worn, stained and well-used.  I wanted to age it because the source materials were all dated 1920s and some 1950s, so it seemed like the folder/container needed to look as if it had a bit of a life ....

 

 

 

 

This one above was using some of the marbled paper I made some time back.  It closes up to form a wallet, and then I tied it in some thin red suede.

 

 

Tried to use old string where possible too, all in keeping with the theme of postal this and thats.   I hope people take out all the bits and pieces and look at them - there are a lot to see and they are fascinating fragments of times past.

 

 

 

 

 

This pic shows a concertina booklet filled with parts of letters, and each little envelope at foot of each page contains more writing to look at inside.



Update

Haven't been on here for ages!  So - time for an update. 

Press & Release Book Art Show
It was very busy at the Press & Release Book Art Show at the Phoenix Gallery in Brighton, and we had a great Private View opening night.  It was lovely to see everyone who came, and what a wonderful display of work!  Many talented artists.  The show ran for 6 weeks and most people came back for another look - there was so much to see.

I organised a Visitors Book in the Book Ends Lounge and we had some very amusing entries, because no-one was allowed to state their name, they had to think of other ways of disclosing themselves.

Amy Strike and I also did the events afternoon on 1st June and had lots of visitors, some of whom had not collaged a book page in their life, so we had some fun.

My two pieces of work that were selected for the Show in the end were -

Half Hours at the Seaside

 

and my textile and book piece

 

Skirt Around

 

 

 

I also organised a 'Private' Private View of the Show for my Sussex Book Arts Collective meeting, and we had a good evening, with a few people giving a short talk about their art work.

 

 

All this took up quite a lot of time (more Excuses?!!  YES!) so haven't been back here to update stuff lately.

 

More Collage

Another collage, another image.  Her dress is taken from the picture of a moth in National Geographical - a great mag for all kinds of great images.  I don't realise how many images I have stored till I start doing some collage -

SUSSEX BOOK ARTS COLLECTIVE

The Sussex Book Art Collective that I thought up is Up and Running!  I have created a blog with all the information on it, and the first meeting is on 28th March.  Please have a look at the link -


http://bookartsinsussex.blogspot.com

Any thoughts on the blog and the idea very welcome!

Collage

Have been catching up with a bit of Collage this week, after finishing my Half Hours at the Seaside book for the Phoenix Show in April.

A close up of some of it -

Press and Release 2013

Phoenix Gallery/Artists Space in Brighton are having a Book Arts exhibition called 'Press and Release 2013' from 27 April to 9 June.  Am very glad to say that two of my pieces of work have been chosen for the show.  If you have been reading my blog you will have seen the images of both pieces of work - the Skirt and Dressmaking book, called Skirt Around (August 2012 blog entry), and my Half Hours at the Seaside (previous blog entry) which is actually still work in progress, so I need to finish that PDQ.  The Seaside book is 124 years old, so am treating it with great care, whereas the Dressmaking book goes back to the 1980s when there was actually a TV programme about dressmaking which this book accompanied.  Times have changed haven't they?

Half hours at the Seaside continued ...

At last, after much sticking and glueing and cutting, my Seaside book slipcase is complete.  It took sooooo long to do, and was a headache at some points.  Here's the finished thing -

It's covered on the outside with book cloth and the coloured inserts are my hand-marbled paper.  This pattern just seemed right out of all the choices I had left.  The Seaside book looks pretty good placed inside its new cover, and I now need to work on the book some more.  So far, I have added a little collaging -

and a bit more ...

I'll be continuining with the collages, although need to spend time now on getting the watercolours I showed in a previous bog entry ready for the book.  No decision yet on how I'll include them - much problem solving to come ....

With Christmas on the cards, (and in the cards I have been getting!) it may be a while before I complete this piece but the odd mince pie and other seasonal food and drink might help it all along.