Whale Song - a new book

Whale Song

So here we are.

Partly unlocked.

Waiting for the world to adjust and recuperate.

A difficult time for many.

All that I wish to do is to visit my children in Canada. Which will require me to quarantine for 2 weeks in each direction.

And so I will. In a few weeks time.

And while I am waiting I have been thinking about the ocean, and whales. Freedom and space....

Journeys across the water.

In ink.

On paper.

Drawn with a birch twig, an automatic pen and a plastic out of date Tate Modern card.

Ink drawing tools

I started with waves, and ended with whales.

Whale Song

Pages that turned into a book.

Whale Song  -   a book

So there we have it.

A Japanese stab binding. Arches Rives paper, black ink and vermillion ink.

I think there will be more to come.....

And here it is, 'Whale Song' set to music. A video.

I wonder where this new camera-less journey is going to lead me.

Time will tell.

Meanwhile, there is vegetarian lasagne on the menu tonight.

OH will probably starve......

Paper, paper everywhere at the Takeo paper show 'Subtle'.

Subtle

My other half is away, working.

Dealing with heavy rain in the desert.

Most put out he is. He was planning a lie down on the beach after work.

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While he is away, I am having a paper fest.

It is too cold to work in my studio, so I am staying put in suburbia and converting the house into a papery haven. Paper all over my study floor, the kitchen table, and the floor.

It has made me realise how much I can achieve when there are no distractions.

I am churning out small books by the handful. Trying out differrent shapes and covers for my current project of a book on the subject 'Translation' for the Instagram #areyoubookenough monthly challenge.


First I tried making a panel book , but decided it was a case of structure taking precedence over content.

panel book

Next a pearl drop binding and conventional pages.

I liked the minimalistic style of the cover, but the inside was a mess.

messy book

I am working with images of sunlight on water.

When I told OH ( my other half) that I am working on an abstract book, his reply was a groan of despair......

which is why it is better that he is far away.

I called the initial versions 'Lost in Translation', for the sunlight scribbles are not possible to read. I think of it as asemic script ( a form of abstract text).


Later a phrase popped into my head 'So said the Sun'.

And I realised that if I used selected parts in small circles of 'text' (like the sun) I could make it appear more like a written text.

I experimented with horizontal and vertical patterns.

So Said the Sun

So now I am working on this idea, and hope to refine it further. A concertina feels more appropriate, and I am trying to find some finer paper that will be slightly translucent, and yet be accepted by my temperamental printer.

In the midst of all this fun I took a research break to the Takeo paper show 'Subtle' at Japan House in London.

And what a treat it was. Perfectly timed for this project.

An elegant, extraordinary show exploring the word subtle in relation to paper and ordinary life. Accompanying this are luxurious photographs of paper by Ueda Yoshihiko.

paper fan and photograph by Ueda Yoshihiko

A selection of pale pink papers by Miyata Yumiyo reminded me of babies and powder puffs.

'Something like a necklace connected sharing a light contact' by Miyata Yumiyo

Moulded pulp packaging for Parisian cakes.

Probably very expensive cakes...

moulded pulp packaging

Then the tiniest paper 'Chocolate's Hats' by Hara Kenya.

So delicate that their shadow was easier to see than the paper itself.

Like plankton floating on a sea of white.

Japanese calligraphy by Ishikawa Kyuyo.

Initially I thought the lines were created by thread. But it is all ink on paper.

by Ishikawa Kyuyo

Wakana 1 by Ishikawa Kyuyo

In his transcription of “The Tale of Genji”, Ishikawa recorded the “vibration” of  every letter of 55 chapters across the page in a single line as if it was actually pronounced.

He is said to be feeling the words with his brush, across the page.

A very personal interpretation of an ancient text.




 Next a very zen single sheet of paper on a lacquer tray.

White paper symbolises the signal of a new beginning, where the person using it begins something.

I found this all very calming.

When did you last open a handwritten envelope.

And why does a diamond seam have more prestige than a straight one?

Sealing envelopes and then opening them are irreversible acts. As is folding a sheet of paper.

Not something I had ever really considered before.

But obvious really....

Suitably amazed by all of these delicate paper creations I made my way home determined to make my book much much better than it is right now.


Perfection takes time.

Tomorrow is another day.

And I have some new ideas.

paper at Japan House © caroline fraser

playing with paper and thread

Time is of the essence.

My 'to do' list has 'food' on it. Signs that doing an MA distracts from normal daily activities.

I have to keep a reflective diary, and this week's homework is to play with paper and thread to see what 'book' forms I can come up with.

A book can be almost anything if you choose to take the loosest definition of the word.

Already I am confused about what a 'book' actually might be; it has elements of

•  order
• binding
• sequence

but these might not relate to pages in a traditional book. A group of people telling stories..., a film, sedimentary rock, to name but a few of the suggestions I have come across so far.

I have been asked to make a book about a certain space/place. I have 2 weeks to do this. I have also been asked to play with paper folding and thread to see what variants of book form I can come up with.

I started with a palm leaf binding of some images about a walk.

very simple, and allowing the images to be kept in sequence while being able to view them as a sequence if the thread is long enough.

palm leaf binding

concertina with pockets

concertina

folded concertina and a paper cover

a more rigid structure with pockets

loosely bound pages using needle and cotton

It is possible to fold paper very intricately and mathematically.

If you have no other tasks in life, then that might be for you.

I enjoyed loose sewing and crushing; more in line with my fuzzy photos.

But for my space related book task I have chosen the seawall at Camber Sands. Rigid concrete on a massive scale dividing farmland and the sea.

 A place to breathe.

A short stroll on the shingle in search of ideas for my book revealed evidence of people making their own creations from natural and man made objects; stones, feathers, shells and a poppy stalk.

Is this a book?

I collected some bits of string, wood, stones and seaweed .

The structure of the book needs to represent the wall; strong and linear.

The content is going to be about the feelings and thoughts that I had while walking along the wall. Words that came to mind....

• wind
• sounds
• space
• dogs
• birds
• you get the picture

I had better get on with it.

'complete the piece' - an experiment at the School Creative Centre - on the theme of the colour blue

real art

I told you about the project at The School Creative centre to complete another artists's work. I was given this painting, with blue waves in real paint and brush strokes. What to do with it?

part of the incomplete painting

I had promised do do a drawing/painting.

Then I chickened out and took some photos of the paint.

...........and played around with them in Photoshop. Blue is the colour favoured by the artist that started my painting. She paints in blue and wears almost exclusively blue clothes.


I felt compelled to play with the colour blue, using digital technology to distort my photographs of the paint.

Blue, according to colormatters , a colour psychology site means;

Dark blue: trust, dignity, intelligence, authority

Bright blue: cleanliness, strength, dependability, coolness
(The origin of these meanings arise from the qualities of the ocean and inland waters, most of which are more tangible.)

Light (sky) blue: peace, serenity, ethereal, spiritual, infinity
(The origin of these meanings is the intangible aspects of the sky.)

Lapis Lazuli was a precious commodity in the Middle Ages , used by renaissance artists and exported from Afghanistan to Europe to be ground into the very expensive ultramarine pigment.

Ultramarine pigment

It was often used for painting the robes of angels and the virgin Mary.

I am not good at angels or virgins.

So I did squares and octagons instead.

I abstracted the paint using just the colours.

I then played around with grids from the paint and paper.

paint abstacted

I turned the blue squares into a T-shirt.

 the colours didn't look as vibrant as I had hoped. 

And then today, I felt bad that I hadn't finished the piece as promised. I don't have any paints, so I used my old chalks.

I scribbled and drew like a five year old child.

It was fun.

It was not impressive.

I was drowning, not waving..............


But the whole process had given me hours of fun, and really made me think, discuss and experiment.

So now, if you would like a T-shirt , I know how to make one.

Just ask.

And if you would like a very childlike drawing, I can probably oblige too.

All I will need is a blank piece of paper.

Paper whites

I think I like this one best.......