Coping with a creative lull.... and some other stuff from 2022

Coping with a creative lull..... 2/1/2023 2 Comments   Cacti in the snow at Red Rock National Park Happy New Near!  I wonder if you felt as jaded as I did at the end of 2022? I had lost my creative mojo, and was struggling to remain positive about my creative endeavours. Having launched my online  book making course, which had taken many hours of work to create, I simply ran out of steam. And then I caught covid (again), which totally knocked any remaining stuffing out of me.  My other half (OH) and I travelled to Canada for Christmas, to see our children. When we left I was still recovering. We had a few days in the desert of Arizona because OH thought it would be a warm and sunny place to get over our jet lag before heading north to Vancouver. Sedona, Arizona ​ It turned out to be below freezing much of the time, with snow on the ground. I never thought to see cacti blanketed with snow. My thermal clothes for the  mountains of Vancouver came in very handy. A few days later we headed north, to the snowy mayhem of the mountains. We arrived at our daughter's home in Vancouver a few hours before a snowfall of some 12 inches,  stepping out the next morning to a winter wonderland, befitting Narnia. OH spent hours clearing the drive with a shovel, as did everyone else in the neighbourhood. Icy driveways and steep hills do not make for a good mix. Canadian law demands that you keep the sidewalk clear of snow outside your home too.  For a couple of days we barely ventured out. Larger branches were breaking and falling in the forest due to the weight of snow, which made for anxious walking. ​Bears in summer...... snow in winter...... that's Canada for you. December snow, Vancouver ​ Beaver Lake, Vancouver Once we could get out, OH and I made a trip downtown to walk at Beaver Lake. I have never seen it frozen before. Low cloud on the ice made it very atmospheric. ​ The beaver dam, Beaver Lake The beaver dam was clearly visible emerging from the icy water. Then the rain came, and washed all the snow away.  ​ Vancouver rain ​As the days passed, filled with family activities, card games and shared meals, I began to feel more like my usual self. I reflected on the benefits of taking time out from creative practice, to recharge my batteries, and to take the pressure off for a while.  Creative lulls ​ Creative lulls are normal; even when fighting fit. Most artists experience them intermittently.  They are hard to predict, but often come after a burst of activity. Recognising this, and finding other ways to pass the time is the best way forward in my experience. Before leaving home I had filled my period of recovery from covid with different activities, that didn't require too much effort, but that still had a creative element. Be kind to yourself. Accept the lack of creativity as normal. Spend time with friends, go to the cinema, listen to poetry podcasts, go for walks. I tried all of these. I visited the Tate to see the beautiful  'Dead Forest Quipu' sculptures by Cecilia Vicuna. A quipu is an ancient Inca device for recording information using different ways of knotting coloured threads. Words expressed without writing.  I found the work an incredibly moving expression of concern for the future of her native forests. It encouraged me to pursue further my work about the coastal environment. ​ Cecilia Vicuna at Tate Modern A paper bag book One evening I learnt how to make a paper bag book, using sandwich bags from the supermarket. This was surprisingly therapeutic. Cutting and sticking is something that feels very calming.  ​ paper bag book I chose random images from old magazines, coupled with words that felt appropriate. It turned into a book about waiting to feel better, and the colour blue. The subconscious has a lot to answer for. ​ 'Feeling Blue' - a paper bag book I enjoyed the ability to hide words inside the openings of the bags, making for a more subtle read. Learning on-line I also took a very good online course on creating a cinematic look using colour in photography with Teresa Freitas on the website Domestika. ​ Architectural study by Teresa Freitas Teresa uses a pastel, slightly dreamlike colour palette in her photographs, and I really enjoyed understanding the theory behind her images. She discusses the role of colour in cinema, and suggests a number of useful tools for approaching colour when processing images and researching locations.  I experimented with some earlier images from Spain, trying to emulate her work. Trying to emulate the  work of an artist that you admire is a great way to explore new ideas and techniques.  Cordoba, Spain ​Whilst abroad I didn't attempt to be creative. And that in itself was a good thing.  A complete break. Walking and exploring without intent. ​A total refresh. ​ Forest stream, Vancouver ​And now that we are home again I feel ready to jump back onto that creative bandwagon. I don't know what 2023 will bring, but I am hoping to surprise myself with new ideas and goals.  I feel another dragon book coming on........ what about you? ​ 2 Comments Down a rabbit hole...to the world of the dragon book 9/11/2022 1 Comment   Do you ever get waylaid when planning a creative activity? Disappear down a creative rabbit hole? I recently fell down a long hole into the world of the dragon scale book. I had not even heard of such a book until recently, but as soon as I saw the structure it spoke to me. I had to give it a go. At the time I was trying to make a book about the forest, wishing to express my mixed feelings about being in the forests of British Columbia where my family live. Love and fear, all mixed up in one. Somehow I hoped to reconcile this by writing some words and making a book. But then I came across the dragon scale book, which is an ancient Chinese book structure, over 1000 years old. I found a video on Youtube that described it. I fell in love. I had an idea to make a book with a forest running across the pages, and my words inside. sunlit forest, north vancouver I made a book and chopped up the image above to sit on the edge of the pages. dragon scale with forest image But the pages felt much too heavy and stiff, and ideally the photo needed to be printed onto the page rather than glued on. I went back to the drawing board and popped up to London to explore different paper options, looking for a much lighter printable paper. I am never disappointed by a  trip to Shepherds near Victoria station. I found some paper that I liked, at just 85 gsm, but the prospect of trying to break my image down and print it across many pages felt daunting. My printer and I do not see eye to eye over working with non standard paper sizes. So I decided to take a little break and try using Japanese calligraphy ink on the folded pages instead. This felt more appropriate for the structure, and allowed me to opt for an abstract style. I glued around 50 pages in by hand, enjoying the repetitiveness and calmness of the process. I felt excited by the outcome, even if it outwardly had nothing to do with a forest  (except that the paper probably came from a forest, and at a stretch the pages could represent trees..... Also I was laying the ink in differing widths on the page as a representation of going into the dark forest...... hand inked pages Dragon Book 1 - the completed book. Once it was finished and had been rolled up, it took on a new character, with curly pages that allowed a sculptural arrangement. hand inked dragon scale book I realised that it was not possible to store flat, and having rolled it, it needed a box. Now that was a whole new project. I ordered some card. I made a dummy box from cardboard, and worked out a template. I then made it three times before I got it right. I accidentally cut off tabs, I made a hole in one fold by creasing too hard, I wasted a lot of money with my mistakes, but I learned a lot. I learned about how to correctly crease and fold card. My life is that exciting..... But on the third attempt I had a black box with a burnt orange sleeve, just the right size for my book. It felt like a major achievement. Never has so much effort been expended on a box! the box artist booksNow that I have made one dragon book, I can't wait to make more. It might be a forest book, but then again, it might not. The possibilities for different sizes, papers, colours and shapes are exciting. I can't wait to get started. And if you would like to own this one, then please click here 1 Comment <<Previous