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a to z...book making

Perfect weather,a converted walnut mill in the south of France and five whole days devoted to making and filling books...that was how I spent a week of my holidays. It was as idyllic as it sounds- a well balanced and mixed group of characters, picture perfect countryside and an inspiring tutor.

 the studio- L'Espace

Les Soeurs Anglaises in the Dordogne region played host to the book art workshop run by Rachel Hazell. It was a beautiful place to stay;generous,charming hosts who created an idyllic space in which to relax and work, exceptional food ( a cook book is in the making ) and an inspiring studio workspace.To top it all off,I had a room with its very own bath that looked out over the terraced gardens across fields to the nearby village- bliss!

 
the view from my bath

 

A few mornings, I managed to get myself out of bed for an early run along quiet roads and back again, in time for a long soak in the bath before breakfast.

 A' warm up book' -day one

Between, running, swimming and eating, I managed to squeeze in a little book making...

The theme of the workshop was Dictionaries and Definitions: A Personal A-Z.. The workshop outline promised that we would learn 'unusual and beautiful bookbinding techniques, with humour and the luxury of time to experiment".

That last bit about the 'luxury of time' sealed it for me - for me the week was about spending as much time as I wanted on each stage of the book. Nothing done quickly or just for the sake of filling the pages: the focus was on the process rather the the finished product.

  Final book in the making

 

 

it's not easy being green....

Bit of paint chip fun.

rusty vs. vintage?....

 

I've been hoarding this lovely old card of safety pins for a few years (thank you, Aunty Jane)...finally a chance to use one.

A mixed media postcard swap had me a bit flustered for a few days. It's a while since I've had the chance to do one and the first one I made just didn't feel quite right. On the second attempt,I kept it all much simpler and stripped back.

A bit of safety pin love. What would we do without them?

(Incidentally this is one well travelled card of pins...made in England, shipped to Australia, sent back to the UK with my bits and pieces and now once again on it's way to Australia......)

a bit behind...

by now most of you would have read about, heard about ,looked at or perhaps even bought The Book. It seems so long ago that I put together my project for  Meet Me At Mike's: 25 Fun And Crafty Projects.
(I guess it was quite a while as I was pregnant with Grace and she is about to turn one in a week or so....)

 

If anyone decides to make their own, I would love to see how it turns out.

shades of pink...

A good use for a handful of paint colour chips.
I always enjoy wandering about the paint section of the hardware store...full of colour, brushes and possibility ,not to mention paint chips!
I try to be good and only take what I actually need but some of the colours and names are impossible to resist. I think I would be hard pressed not to feel a little bit happy in a room painted a lovely shade of 'mint melody'.Or perhaps 'spearmint rush' would be just the thing.
Whoever gets to think up these names- I want his job.
Fun,fun.

just add glue...

A few evenings ago, I really needed a break from all thing wedding and moving related. Out came the paper and glue and I made a start on these decorations for Christmas.

Really, there were so many other things I should have been doing...which is probably why I enjoyed the simple act of cutting and pasting so much. A welcome change indeed from stitching meters (and meters) of silk chiffon ruffles.
I need to add a little bit of something shiny and they'll be ready to hang.

brown things....

are not usually my thing.
Howvever,these paper mache decorations caught my eye when I was hunting down a particular shade of pale green cotton to finish the girls flower girl outfit.

I thought that in my spare time when I have finished The Horror and before I pack up and move I might squeeze in a bit of Christmas craft.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
At least they won't take up much room in the shipping cartons.

distractions....

I'm in the middle of packing up my office.
I need to sort everything into piles of Things to Take, Things to store and Things that need a new home.
This includes my magazine collection which in theory should be a simple and quick task - pick up a magazine and put it on the Yes or No pile.
Except first I have to open each one and have a brief look through just in case there is Something Useful in it.
Which I then tear out and add to the Pile of Pages of Useful Stuff.
This Pile must then be filed away for future use in a group of folders that I have especially for these types of Pages- let's call these the Folders of Pages of Useful Stuff.
This can take a while.

When I stop for a well deserved reviving cup of tea, I often take a look at what I have just added to my Folders of Pages of Useful Stuff. Then I might pick up a glue stick and my favourite Micron 005 pigment ink pen. Just for a minute or so, because I have come across exactly what I was needing for an idea that has been floating around my head for quite a while.

A quiet song that I have sung all of my babies off to sleep with.
At last,a small collage to hang on Grace's wall.

And a still sizeable pile of unsorted magazines. 

and so to sleep...

five red doors...

the class art work is finally finished.
After the last session with the children, where they decorated their paper mache boxes, it was time to start constructing the finished piece.
Except that I changed my mind on what the finished piece was going to be.
When I laid all of the work out in front of me, I was really taken by the graphic simplicity of the mono-prints. Most of the children had asked when they could take their boxes home and I still had this very large, incomplete canvas from last year kicking about my office.
So out went the idea of a shadow box type 3-D thingy ( see- even difficult to describe) and I went to work on putting together a mixed media collaged canvas. I have to say that I am so happy and just a little relieved, with how it turned out. So happy that I think I might even have to put a bid in on it ( I have just the spot for it on my big white wall...).

It's called 'five red doors".

Don't ask why because I really couldn't say.

One of my favourite images is this leaping figure

This village is a place I could see myself living - perhaps in the skinny tall house right next to a giant flower pot.

Hope it sells....I think.