As usual, I forgot to photograph it before I framed it and in addition to that I also forgot to photograph before I took it out to the Strathnairn Art Gallery and Shop. As a consequence there are reflections visible.
This piece was inspired by a workshop conducted by Massimo Polello. I have called it Progression as a bit of a play on words as the piece is essentially musical but also looks like boats sailing.
As usual, I forgot to photograph it before I framed it and in addition to that I also forgot to photograph before I took it out to the Strathnairn Art Gallery and Shop. As a consequence there are reflections visible.
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During the week the lovely Bev generously showed Carol and me what I call making book cloth. Bev had previously taught me this but I hadn't taken notes and as a consequence could not remember the whole procedure. It can be used to cover hand made books. Bev also shared with us some of her beautiful hand made books. Very inspiring.
We hung our paper up to dry but I think that if you had time and room it would be acceptable to dry them flat.
Bev advised that when they were dry we needed to board them a little and then iron them. I have not yet done that. I had wanted to create something cheerful and bright. My initial reaction to my paper was that it was too bright and rather garish. In attempting to make it more subdued I risked making holes in my book cloth so I left it. When it dried the colours were lovely and more muted - exactly what I wanted. That is something to remember. Thanks again Bev. This structure is based upon the oldest English book in existence, dating from the 7th/8th century CE. The original was found in the year 1104 in the coffin of St Cuthbert. The original is displayed in the British Library and a detailed examination of the volume was carried out by Claire Breay and Bernard Meehan and the results published. The manuscript is also published online. St Cuthbert’s Gospel is sewn with Coptic stitch with thread laced into wooden boards. It has a primary Coptic headband (challenging for most of the class), with a secondary end band sewn through the spine leather. A Celtic knot work pattern is laid out on the boards with thin cord which is attached using an ingenious technique of weaving and pegging.
The book is covered in terracotta goatskin, molded over the cords, which picks out the design in relief on the upper board. It is then embellished with a little blind tooling and part of the tooled area is picked out with yellow paint. The measurements are 9.7cm by 13.7cm. Quite small. It fits nicely into the palm of my hand. The oak boards are 5mm thick. I have not yet completed my version of the binding. I need to trace the design and then embellish it with blind tooling. It is a beautiful binding and I was especially pleased with the results. Many thanks to Michael Burke who showed a group of us how to make this structure with both patience and humour. Autumn leaf birthday greetings paper using brown craft paper and leaves coloured, cut and pasted onto the paper. The text written in David Jones script.
I made this box for a friend who is going to SSIW for the first time. It has enough room for a collapsible water jar. The paper is some beautiful Japanese paper I have been hoarding for some time.
My second piece didn't attract as much attention as my first. Perhaps it was a little too busy. The words are written in David Jones script and the hand marbled paper is from a batch I did a few years back. I am starting to use the paper instead of hoarding it!
Over the past couple of months I have been working on my pieces for the 2017 Canberra Show held this weekend. I enter the show every year mainly to be part of a group that promotes calligraphy to the broader community. I also, along with other calligraphers demonstrate and write names on bookmarks at the show. It is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the show.
The first piece 'Friendship' is a combination of Neuland and Roman lettering on a piece of 'witches broom' paper. The text is a repeat of the words 'Friendship is the Golden Thread that Ties the Heart of the World' by John Evelyn. It has gold shell paint running through it and highlighting the word Friendship which was done with a ruling pen. It is quite a large piece. I was very pleased to receive a 2nd prize for it. I forgot to photograph my second piece before it went to the Show. Oops. I will have to do that when it returns home. Sgraffito is a technique that I haven't used for ages. I laid on a layer of oil pastels and then cover all of it with black gesso. I'm not sure if this is the right use of gesso but it seems to work. By putting one color under another one and scraping through the upper layers, you can show colour underneath. It is a pretty cool technique. Of course I only did the one and then moved on to a piece of bookbinding that I haven't yet finished. My studio is full of half finished pieces! Still it was fun.
I have had the materials to make a gilding cushion for nearly a year now. Finally got around to making the cushion. Now I need the box to go over the top so the gold does't fly away. Maybe by next year??
Revisiting an artwork from a couple of years ago. Solomon's Song is always nice to do for the beautiful words. This particular piece was done on a marbled paper done in my backyard. Mental note: Do some more marbled papers!! Looking back my calligraphy could have been a little better but on the whole it is quite a nice piece. It was placed in an exhibition and did sell at the time so someone else also thought that it was quite nice! |
LYNDELL DOBBS
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