lists....

confession time.

I am a list-maker...... worse - I am a COMPULSIVE and SLIGHTY MANIC list-maker.

the evidence?

I actually have whole books devoted to my lists..... in which my lists have sub-lists (lists for the lists!)

somewhat grotty looking book of lists from the late 1990s

Now I expect that there is a name for this condition (list-a-tosis? to-do-itis? resolutionamia?) whatever its name - it's a condition I know well (it's been with me since my teens) and one I embrace with both arms (come to me my beloved lists!)

Usually I keep most of my lists semi-private, they are scribbled in small little books, kept within easy reach (one never knows when one needs to tick off an item on the list, or add a little extra something, or make yet another 'mini' list!). My lists are ongoing affairs - with unchecked items carried forward to a new list - and they are not necessarily made as New Years resolutions (although I do generally look through the list at the end of each year - just to see how well I'm going on my quest!).

my current 'book of lists'.... it's small but deadly!

I have lists for all sorts of contingencies: there's my pragmatic and practical  'to-do' lists (sub-categories include 'around the yard', 'in the house'....which is of course broken up into room by room sub-lists...see what I mean by manic?); then I have my mini or events lists (like one I have going at the moment - preparing for my solo exhibition in February..... and I'll be starting another one shortly for EJ's Big Birthday Bash); and then I have my very esoteric, philosophical lists - that seemingly plot the course and basis of my life (at least they read like that in hindsight).

I find my lists reassuring; they pick me up when I feel down (nothing like looking at a big page of ticks against a 'to-do' list to make you feel all perky again); they keep me going when I'm unsure of the way forward ('now what was I meant to be doing?'); they help me remember to buy the cat food.

I like lists.

I'm presently reviewing my current lists and writing up my 'to-do' list for 2011 ..... and this time I'm going to post it as a note on my facebook page .... and heck - I think I'll share it here to! That way we can all come back at the end of 2011 and see how many ticks I might give myself! (I also happen to think, that by announcing your plans to the universe - well the universe just HAS to co-operate..... don't you think?)

see you on the flip side - with my new list...


**lifts glass**

cheers everyone!

round up.....

ahhhhhh the final days of 2010 are upon us all...

Ecinacea purpurea (purple coneflower - from the garden this week) 

Right now I'm into day three of a 'juice fast' ... yep three days of juice, juice, juice (and nothing but the juice). I don't know how much purging the great juice fast is doing for my body - but it's certainly setting my mind spinning (wheeeee!) and I've been thinking about the year that's almost gone and pondering the year ahead....

gosh this past year has been a time of transition for us here at Sams Creek..... goodbye old dairy, hello monster building site.... goodbye beef herd, hello dairy girls.... goodbye drought,  hello again my beloved sams creek!

Indeed the end of the drought was possibly the highlight of a rather 'challenging' year.... but my other  favourite moments include the two weeks spent undertaking my Permaculture Design Certificate (after so many years of wanting and waiting.... it was a very special treat and a life- affirming course) and of course receiving all those bookbinding goodies!

But the best times were small moments shared with family and friends (our two kidlins are growing up soooooo fast!) 

Next year is looking like a monster.....  all the expected kids stuff, garden stuff and farm stuff (there's that new dairy to get operational in a few weeks time... eek)...  then I've got a solo exhibition in February, Sculpture on the Edge stuff in March, oh and of course I'm still supposed to doing that MFA/PhD (oops I've been neglecting this!)....

Shortly I'll show you all the Very Big Project that I'm working on..... (hint - keep the first Saturday in May free on your calendar)

Right now I'm starting to spin-out on an overload of orange juice (wheeee!) and I can feel my typing is about to take a turn for the worst....

For all of you who have followed along here, I send a very big TARRRR! Your support and comments have been much appreciated (and a whole mess of fun too!). 

I hope that you all have a blazingly rip-roaringly, fantabulishous 2011!!!!!


cheers from the creek x

its beginning to look a lot like...

Every year since I was a teenager I've handmade all my Christmas cards..... this year I thought it was time to introduce our kidlins to the affair.... so this year our cards feature paper handmade by the three of us, Sass then created an individual drawing on the front of each card....

We all did a bit of simple binding 

and EJ penned (most of) the 'Merry Christmas'es inside

(it's a lot of hard work for a 5 year old!)

et voila!

(I like this rendition best! there's something very pagan about EJ's 'christas'.... )

for all my bloggy buddies (and random stragglers) out there 

I hope you have a fabulous festive season - 

filled with good friends and good cheer 

and a super-duper terrific new year!

.....

wordswork....

I just picked up my mail and look what was there...

'Wordswork'  is a book produced by the ASC showcasing calligraphy and lettering arts in Australia New Zealand 2009-2010 (all the work inside is from the last 18 months...) so the book is a real snap-shot of what's going on in the craft in this part of the world RIGHT NOW.....

and lookie - here on pages 8 - 9

its....

(look familiar? you've seen these works before in here.... it's good ole 'virtues' and 'vices')

In all there are about 70 calligraphers from Oz and NZ represented - with work ranging from traditional to contemporary - and from commercial to individually artistic.....

here'a sneaky peek of the work of my friend Nicol .....

yummy eh?


ooooo it's lovely to see a book of contemporary calligraphy (with so many long standing great mates included) printed and in my hands - hugestest biggestest hugs and kudos to my mates Julie-ann, Linda & Meg D who put in a MASSIVE effort to get this over the line!


p.s. the book will be available from ASC shortly - I'm told it will be $25 plus post and pack...... so for lovers of letterin' it's a cheeeep and delicious treat!


....

orbis floris finished....

Is there anywhere on the eastern seaboard of Oz where it hasn't been raining (and raining and raining) over the last week?

no....  I didn't think so.....

all the moist weather has made my current art-making quite tricky... I've finally finished the hinged lid box for 'orbis floris II'..... but it's taking a long time to completely dry..... I've snuck the piece out from under weights for this quick pic....

 orbis floris (box top... featuring ink, thread and collage network 'drawing')

(detail)

'orbis floris' (sans box!)

 

 

ooooo golly...  here comes another heavy downpour! (after ten years of drought I absolutely refuse to whine about too much rain!)

....

booky memes and me

 (up close and personal with 'orbis floris - world flower II'  ..... what goes around comes around....)

I've been bemused and befuddled (it doesn't take much) by the recent rounds of the BBC book list (you know the one that goes  'The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here....' and of course that's where the 100 books are then listed and peoples everywhere are frantic to prove that THEY score somewhere above average....) now here's the funny thing - this list goes around and around and around (I've seen this go around facebook twice now in about an 18 month period....) the list changes just a weeeee little bit as it goes (just like the game chinese whispers ) -  but no one ever links to an actual BBC site where you can find the original list.....

today I stumbled over this site that talked a little about how the BBC book meme supposedly operates.....

But still this doesn't stop me from wondering about what I might have read on the different listings.... or indeed on alternate book lists (like this one from TIME - its top 100 novels since 1923.... I score much the same here as with the 'BBC' mob and a whole lot better than I did with ampersand duckies oztralyan books list ) Anyway - I like reading about what everyone else has read (just as I like peeking at the library shelves at my friend's house..... or any house for that matter! Beware - I'm a shocking bookshelves snoop!)

And as I've filled in the lists (in my head mind you...) I noticed something so obvious I can't believe  that it hasn't registered until now....

I haven't read a 'new' (new to me that is) novel/ work of fiction in more than 15 years.... no wonder I was scratching my head trying to recall if I had read 'The Little Prince' or 'The Three Musketeers' etc.

Yet I'm an insanely booky girlie (I'm actually known by my uni as 'that lady with all the books'.... and they know nothing of my shed load of encyclopaedias!) I usually have about 20 books out on loan from them at any given moment.... and I'm usually reading about 5-9 books sorta simultaneously.

But

They're all Non-Fiction....

hrumpf! fancy that  - I haven't noticed this before....

And when I looked back (admittedly, mostly via my research bibliographies) I noticed that I read in clusters (does that happen to you too?)..... in the late 1990s I was mostly reading education theory (no surprises here - I was completing a Grad Dip Ed back then...) In recent times there's been my 'craft theory' cluster, 'sewing feminists' cluster, 'biblioclasm' cluster, 'new agriculture' cluster, and most importantly, my ongoing 'permaculture' cluster (actually this one has been a constant since the 1980s)

so I'm wondering - has anyone spied a 'non-fiction best-reads-of-all-time' list? (or something of that ilk)

Maybe I should create one.....

1. David Holmgren - 'Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability'

ummmmmmm......

phworrrrr soooo many to choose from!

this list-making is exhausting (and I've only put down one!)

maybe I'll leave it to someone else to make and then I'll get to criticise everything that I think is missing!




.....

orbis floris (world flower II)...

I was rushing around sooooo much this morning - trying desperately to get a booky piece finished (just enough) to manage a photo or two to add with the entry form to the SCU aquisitive book art award


I'm sure I noticed steam emerging from the paste brush.... such was my rush...

it's not COMPLETELY finished (yet) - but here's what I managed to get into a piccie to send off to SCU.....

it's another circular coptic bound 'orbis floris' (world flower II) - made from more of those collected atlases..... presented in a hinged box - not finished yet (shhhhhh don't tell anyone)  at least I managed to get the interior done! (phew!) and I could slip the whirly book inside for a photo opportunity

Fingers crossed that Australia Post breaks all sorts of land speed records and manages to deliver my express post to Lismore by Monday.......

yeah I'm not holding out a whole lot of hope either........ (one of these days I'm going to have things done well ahead of deadlines!)




....

work in progress...

this is what I'm making at the moment.....

(sorry about the piccie quality - it's overcast and raining here today.... and I've turned on the yellowish lights to take a photo..... and held my breath to keep the camera as still as I could to avoid using the flash...... hmmmmmm it's not the best outcome!)

never-the-less....

the piece is coming along quite nicely I think......  fingers crossed I'll get it all finished this week


...

resignation....

Last night I formally withdrew my membership of the Australian Society of Calligraphers and by extension, Guild Membership of the ASC. I've been a member of the ASC for just over 20 years, and a Guild Member for the last 15 years.... 

but sometimes a (creek) girlie just has to accept that time's up.....

...and there's no point bashing your head against a brick wall

*waves to calligraphy mates in the distance

play nicely now 

the ronster has left the building

.....

the interrupted book.....

I've just finalised plans for a little solo exhibition early next year..... it will mostly consist of works from my Master of Visual Arts (completed last year)...... but I'll sneak in a few newer surprises as well....  sooo here's a quickie preview of the vital details to put in your diary....

codex interruptum - the interrupted book

'book works' by Rhonda Ayliffe

Spiral Gallery

Church Street Bega

19 Feb - 9 Mar 2011

.... more details and the odd nervous breakdown to follow shortly!

...

spotty..

I'm spending most of my time in the garden at the moment - planting so many seeds (mostly in our either our little or BIG vege garden).... sometimes I forget what I planted where - and I get a sudden surprise.... right beside my studio at the moment a little aussie native flannel flower has popped up from a seed I planted YEARS ago!

gosh its gorgeous (yep this is its actual colouring.... very minimalist....)



November is time for my spotted gums (Corymbia maculata) to shed their spots....

as their spotted bark peels back inside is an incredibly vivid green trunk....

 
 oooh look there's my little house as spied through the spotties.....

.....

heads and tails....

Gentle rain began falling just after our little pumpkin seeds went in yesterday (yay!) so I've been back inside thinking book-thoughts again - I found this old worksheet of mine tucked away in my course notes (Dip of Western Calligraphy course that is!)..... and as it's better than anything I'd be able to manage these days to explain the parts of a book - I thought I'd share it mostly for those who may not have encountered terms like 'head', 'tail' 'spine' etc in conjunction with books.....

now you'll know what I mean when I talk about trimming the tail of your text block!



......

in the BIG vegie patch.....

 Today was pumpkin planting day.... and we're getting serious about some of our vegie growing  - we've now got a BIG vegie patch (its over the road, down the hill about 500m from our house - on the flat bedside sams creek) for our pumpkins, potatoes, watermelons and rockmelons - (these plants don't need the daily harvesting and constant attention that other vege need but they do need ample SPACE)

We are planting only one variety of pumpkin in this field - Waltham Butternut  - cucurbits (eg pumpkins and squash) are notoriously promiscuous - by planting these a great distance from any other possible plants we can ensure they won't get up to any plant hanky-panky (I have promised the Bega Seedsavers a crop of pure butternut seeds....) 

  all hands to the tools - (at the far end of this field are our rows of potatoes - waiting to be hilled) -

FP and Sass made all the lovely mounds - then EJ planted all the pumpkin seeds (that's 25 mounds worth) all by herself.....

EJ's pumpkin seed planting tips:
poke a little hole - seed goes pointy end down - cover and pat down  - tell the little seed to grow

 

and EJ will tell you - it's three seeds to the mound

I don't think you're ever too young to learn where food comes from and how to grow it for yourself.



.....

mmmmmm paper....

I loooooove paper! I love everything about it - how it looks and feels, how it's made and what you can make with it. I love thick paper and thin paper, cheap paper and super-duper arty (expensive) paper. 

I'm making another pile of paper at the moment - this one has parsley flakes in it!
next week I'm doing an activity day at my kidlins public school -
(I'm doing things with PAPER this pile of 'parsley' paper is destined for those young fingers...)

When paper-making (as we know it) spread from China to the western world somewhere around the 1400s it revolutionised book making (and I'm sure a whole heap of young animals breathed a sigh of relief..... no more sacrificing their skins for book pages!... hee hee hee). Paper remains the foundation of book production (be that mass production or one-off arrrrty creations) so it's a subject that requires particular attention..... I've found the more that I understand about paper, the more I'm able to actively control what's going on with all my (papery) art making.

Now paper is a HUGE subject - we arty folk spend a lifetime developing our understanding - I'm only going to go over a few key properties (every one of these needs consideration before tackling any arty project) and I'm going to concentrate all my arty energy on ONE paper property in particular (it's the one I think makes or breaks a booky project)..... 

very briefly these are the main properties of paper (and an even briefer explanation!) that I consider in my arty process (and I'll be using these terms every time I talk about book projects so it's best I introduce them now....)

the archival quality (is the stock acid free?);

the weight, which is the paper's thickness (boards are described by the thickness - eg 1mm, 2mm, and paper is generally measured in gsm = grams per square metre..... the bigger the number , the heavier the paper....360gsm is heavier eg thicker than 80gsm);  

the surface (rough... aka cold press = CP, smooth is hot press = HP, and something in between rough and smooth = 'not' short for 'not hot pressed');

the colour (I'm one of those pitiful creatures who carries on about getting just the right the subtle shade of white....);

the furnish - or what the paper is made of (paper is essentially cellulose from plant matter, like cotton, jute, mulberry, esparato, etc etc that has been mushed up in water, before being 'pulled'.... the better artist papers usually have a high rag content - eg cotton or linen....but japanese papers, also uber-arty-great, are made from the inner bark of mulberry)

the sizing (that's the stuff added to inhibit bleeding..... ever bought some delicious handmade paper at a market and found that you can't write on it without creating a monster puddle?.... that's what happens when a paper has no sizing);

and the grain (no I don't mean oats, wheat or barley hee hee hee)......

        ....and it's paper grain I'm going to chat about here - let's call this...

How to ....

work out the grain direction of paper 

(and why it's something you need to know...)

All mould-made and machine-made paper has a grain* - (yep all of it - it doesn't matter if your paper is el cheapo wood pulp or the finest grade artist's rag paper). The grain refers to the way the fibres align as the sheet is being formed. Have you noticed that newspapers tear easily in one direction but not the other (yeck.... what a mess)?

 
that's because all the little wood pulp fibres are all lined up neatly in that (easy to tear) direction.
And that is the grain direction of the paper.

So why do you need to know this?

Paper tears more easily and folds more successfully along the grain, but paper is stronger/ stiffer across the grain.... it also expands and contracts across the grain..... (this is why watercolour artists pre-stretch -and tape down their paper before slopping about puddles of water! if they don't - ooops it's a cockled-paper catastrophe!) In any book project it is important - no I'd even say it's ESSENTIAL that you know the direction of all the paper grains (in the boards, in the papers used to cover them, the text pages everywhere) -  that they are aligned in the same direction - and that the grain runs (almost without fail) from the head (top) of the book to the tail (bottom). Now for every rule of course there are exceptions - but unless stated otherwise that's what's going on in all my booky projects.

so how (other than ripping it) can you easily figure out what direction the grain is running on your paper?

I do the 'bouncy-bouncy'...... pop your piece of paper on a flat surface... lightly press down with a bouncing movement and feel the resistance....

bouncy bouncy bounce..... mmmm nice and easy this way around....


now rotate the paper 90 degrees and repeat the light pressing action....

not so bouncy bouncy bounce..... oh how can you resist me so!

the paper offers less resistance along the grain and more resistance across the grain - so the grain is running parallel to the fold with the least resistance - (eg the top piccie here) wheeeee!

It's a good thing there isn't a spy camera my studio - I'm sure everyone would think I'm quite mad when they see me bouncing little bits of paper all the time - when I'm making book things with paper I am constantly checking the grain direction (check twice, do things right the first time is my credo!). oh and to check boards (which don't really take to the bouncy bouncy test) - I do the flexy flexy...... flex the board in one direction, rotate 90 degrees, flex again..... one way is much easier to flex than the other..... and, you guessed it - that's the way the grain is running.

Now we're almost ready to get into bookworks eh? well not quite (I've got another favourite topic to talk about - and a couple of booky terms to relate first...)

and before I head off to tackle a HUGE pile of monster mulberries (mmmmmmm mulberries...) I must add - 'which paper' by silvie turner is a rippa reference book on 'choosing and using fine paper'..... I thoroughly recommend it (good luck trying to find it however...).... ahhh I loooove paper.... and books!



*handmade papers display a less distinct grain - in part because the motion used to create handmades is much more random than machine-made papers.... still, handmades CAN have a distinct grain - so it's best to always test)






.....

first things first.....

I've made a positive start on those promised book models (see attached hint pic below)... and I've started an attempt to write up a how-to .... which of course created my latest bloggy dilemma....just where does one begin when discussing basic book-binding bits?..... at the moment I'm tempted to go -

in the beginning there was a big bang.... then there were dinosaurs..... then mammals... then humans.... and then there were BOOKS!

but from there wellllllll.... I've realised that in order to discuss some of my book-type makings I need go over some other basics first.... like a few terms, tools, materials, and what-nots ....

take paper for example (mmmmmmm p-a-p-e-r....... i looooooove p-a-p-e-r... I will happily take ALL the paper I can carry...)

(I have 2 large map drawer sets chock-a-block full to bursting with p-a-p-e-r....)

As I've been making my models (and wondering about how to write a 'how-to' post for each) I was also thinking about how I came by my arty education - I was remembering all the things folk have shared with me over the years - staring with my Nana A, who taught me the value of good materials (she bought me my first set of artists quality oil paints and hogs bristle brushes when I was 7 years old...) and the value of good techniques ('fat over lean darling, fat over lean'..... 'ok nana'). When I was 11 Moria Van Hout taught me to spin and to touch type (weirdly,  two very useful arty skills... that typing skill secured me a design career.... ha!). I had fantastic high school art teacher (I'm talking seriously fantastic) Pip C gave me a love of design (and I think inadvertently set me on the road to calligraphy....) and Pete Otton (aka Mr Rotten haa haa haa) gave me a life-long love of art history and theory (I did extra art theory for my HSC - what passion! what madness!) and a love of big bright colours (Pete is a really fab artist as well as teacher..... he paints realistic, hyper-colour acrylic landscapes..... and damn are they good!).  In between high school and the rest of life I spent a year studying art privately with another terrific local painter/sculptor - David King - who taught me (among other things) the first things you really need to know about paper and a love affair was born (with paper of course!)..... and after all these folk - then my REAL arty education began (but I've already told some tales about all that...)

anyhowdy - I owe a great deal to all these lovelies.... and when I (finally) do get to post my booky basics stories - it's from these (and other marvelous makers) that I'll be drawing from....

here are some of the book models I'm making right now..... it's so satisfying playing with paper
(mmmmmmm p-a-p-e-r....) I'll be sharing a post alllll about paper in the next bit.....

.......

life is good...

.... if you're a cat here at the creek

the three musketeers (clockwise from the bottom.... Dante (brown Burmese.... known to those who ran him out of town as 'the dreadful' we've found he's really 'the delightful'), Rocky (lilac-point Burmese... and Dante's less smarty 'cousin'), Boots (tabby of questionable breeding but great intelligence.... and also of great appetite)

Next time around I'm coming back as an extremely pampered, overfed, puddy-tat..... 

geeez but it's tough to be a cat in our household!

back to basics

I'm resolutely one of those annoying 'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade' type of people....  so, given the challenges to be faced in the coming short while, I'm getting stuck into something positive: - over the summer months, along with dairy-building, studying, arty-making, (and all the usual stuff - gardening,  kiddie and/or cow wrangling and preserving lemonade anyone? )

there's an abundance of lemons at the creek right now....

I'm setting a small, and I hope, distractingly enjoyable task - I'm going to make a collection of booky models showing the different stages and ways of creating handmade books... and I also hope to post the odd 'how-to' of these as I go....

Wheeee won't that be fun? (well it SHOULD take my mind off milk vats and vacuum pumps and heat exchange hot water heaters and all the other things FP is trying to get me to understand.... not to mention all the pressure of Higher Degree Research!)

I'm going to start at the beginning - the basics of bookmaking  - like understanding paper grain, making and using paste, tips and tools....

 (I made this little box model of the steps in making a multi-section paper case binding as part of the bookbinding unit in the Diploma of Western Calligraphy - back in the mid-1990s..... my whole summer project is inspired by this little model)

I hope that all you more experienced booky folk don't enter a yawn-fest as I go over what might be really familiar (and very basic) ground....

 (a snippet of my 'alphabet practice'.... circa 1996)

Like I've said before - I always find reviewing basics really valuable - and I LOVE to sneak a peek at how other people do things - it either reinforces or challenges my current practices... so I consider it a win-win situation.....

I hope everyone feels free (but not obligated) to chime in at any time - and by all means you can question any way that I may do things (particularly if you think my way is TERRRRRIBLE!!!!)


oooo I'm feeling excited and more positive already!



.....

angst... and the future...

Gosh this year is flying by! I can't believe it's November already (how did that happen?) As the year is winding down, things have been hotting up here at Sams Creek (and I'm not just talking about the weather!).... it's been a very (VERY) challenging year - so many changes in the air, so many challenges yet to face.... I've mostly just wished for a big cave to go hide in!

no this beautiful piece is not my work - it's by master calligrapher, and someone I like to call a friend-
Denis Brown - from his '1000 Wishes' series ....

But yesterday I finished and sent away the first (gulp!) draft chapter of my MFA/PhD..... (phew!) and now I'm feeling (almost) up to giving an abridged run down on some of the juicy stuff from down here by the creek - big changes are afoot ....

After much angst-ridden deliberation, my man (FP) has decided to return his farm and cattle herd to dairy, supplying fresh milk to make Bega Cheese..... so that means, like it or not, I'm about to become a milkmaid..... (and right now it's more NOT).... not only will that mean black and white cows in the paddocks (big, hungry, troublesome beasts if you ask me!), we will also have to embrace monster lifestyle changes (hello 5am), a monster farm overhaul (I've been showing the first pics and hints about this here) and monster (and I do mean MONSTER!) debt (eeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!! run away!!!!!).

I've found the spectre of The Dairy haunting almost every aspect of my life for the last 2 years.... and as the project has moved from idea to physical being, I've moved to ever higher levels of angst.  FP hopes to have his new dairy complete and operational (which also means sourcing a suitable milking herd) by the beginning of the new year... Now there's simply no getting away from the fact that (hi-ho-the-dairy-oh) A Milking We Will Go.....

Soooooooo


of course when faced with the mammoth change - I do what I do best...

I started making lists (of my hopes and dreams and wishes and plans),  I started putting my 'house' in order (that's why you got all those 'beginnings' posts),  I ran away to a permaculture course (of course!) and that's why earlier today I was whisking off a note to Denis - asking permission to post his lovely work here... (Denis' wishes series reminded me that if you breathe life into your wishes they can be made real.... I participated in his first call for wishes - mine was 'I wish it would rain" -  so of course I've joked with him about how powerful his wish-writing stuff was!)

Ok folks with that in mind - here's the big wish list I'm sending out into the world.....

I wish to create a sustainable, soulful farm model where success is not measured merely by the dollars made, but by the land saved. I hope that together we can leave a working property for our children that can be sustainably farmed for future generations: with improved biodiversity, improved waterways, improved soils. I hope that our place remains the antithesis of multinational corporate agribusiness with their vile factory farms, hideous feedlots, GMOs and stupid dependency on chemical interventions.  I hope that I can convince my stubborn proud partner that permaculture is the only way to achieve our mutual goals.

I wish my lovely man every success in his great new venture with my whole heart - I hope we can stay on our farm and grow really really really old together - I'll still love you phil... even when you've got no teeth...

********  now it's time to take up the challenge and make it happen  *****

show and tell and guess and ask....

I've been going over all the lovelies from that booky-find-of-the-century (yes I'm still pinching myself)... And we are now undertaking MAJOR changes to my small studio in order to accommodate all this gear (when that work is basically done I'll show you more of the larger booky bits in their new home)..... While the heavy duty (slow) work is going on, I've been going over the smaller things in the collection - and trying to work out (via the internet) the identity of some mystery items... gosh it's been an education! - like how HARD it is to track down quality useful information... Believe me I'm all ears and eyes (and gratitude) for any advice or leads anyone out there might like to share...

here are most of the small hand tools from the collection ....

and yes I know what some of the bits are (like that beautiful bone folder above.... and the backing hammers, awls and dividers below)

but from there it gets a bit 'interesting'. I have been scouring the internet trying to glean something, anything useful.... I was able to work out a bit via bookbinding suppliers like Faulkiners and Talas and J Hewit & Sons and Hollanders (all of these are in Europe or North America -as if I didn't need confirmation that there is a great lack of Aussie suppliers ... gosh where DOES an Aussie buy good bookbinding gear?)

Anyway back to this collection. Common sense told me that these...

.... are paring knives (for working leather in binding).... on the left, with the wooden handles, are lovely French paring knives.... and the others?... well that's where I start to get confused... does anyone know the difference between a French or English (or Swiss for that matter....) paring knife?

and talking knives does anyone know what these two would be used for?

... the serrated one is rather large and looks positively VICIOUS!


It took me all day but I finally worked out that these.....

... are sewing keys (used in conjunction with a sewing frame..... I posted a pic of the smaller of the two sewing frames from the collection last time) I THINK I can figure out how they basically work...

and this...

... I've discovered is a book plough - but I haven't been able to figure out how it works with either the lying press or finishing press (yes, you might have noticed I scored both of these in the collection too)..... I have NO IDEA what blade this beastie needs let alone where one can buy book plough blades from....

here is the underside of the lovely thing....

has anyone seen a plough like this before? .... (ps I found this site one of the most useful for tracking down info about old bookbinding gear....)

still - many more mysteries remain.... what, for example, is this?...

is it something to do with making mitred corners?

and how about this.....

I'm totally totally bamboozled!! (I THINK it has something to do with measuring.... the numbers seem to refer to fractions of millimetres... but what the heck might it be measuring?)


well I might not know all the ins-and-outs of the collection, but gosh the small tools are delightful! they are really beautifully made from quality materials. And while we are on the subject of quality materials - look at what I found inside a big garbage bag that came with the gear....

lovely book leather!

and sweet rolls of french linen thread

Don't be surprised my book-art-object friends, if some of this leather/thread stash doesn't end up coming your way in the next BAO edition!


Time to get back to cleaning/moving/re-modelling the studio (I've left that long-suffering man of mine working alone making a passionfruit support for the studio sink to sit under..... you'll have to wait for the finished pics for that vision to make sense!)




** November 5 update
thanks everyone for all your hints and help - both here as comments and as private emails - and thanks to anonymous bloggy angels for sending this out into the universe...... big thanks to jeff peachy for dropping by to add his greater wisdom to the mix..... I'll continue trying to track down further details regards all the gear.... (that book plough remains mysterious! what blades does it use? where would I find them? what press does it work with? and how? whats the best way of maintaining the wooden screw? etc etc etc!) ahhhh but learning about all this is GREAT fun!

.....

oh bestill my beating heart!

oh-my-golly-goodness my booky friends.... you are NOT going to believe the following true tale.....

Guess where I've been and what I've been up to today.... do you give up?

I've been to Moruya - township of my daddy-darling's birth, source of the Sydney Harbour Bridge granite (another true tale), home of the creepy public toilet that scared the bejezus out of me as a littlun (also true) ... yep  I headed one whole hour north of Sams Creek in a convoy (2 vehicles makes a convoy doesn't it?) as I was about to collect a bundle of booky goodness..... but I'm getting ahead of myself in the general super-duper excitement of it all... let's rewind about 6 weeks shall we...

*brrrring-brrrring brrrrrring brrrrring*
"Hello - Ronnie's Sams Creek silly farm.... this is Ronnie speaking"

"oh, uh, yeah are you that book-making person in the Sustain article?"

(pause as brain is engaged)
"ah YES that's me"

"HI there, you don't know me, my name is Damien..... (and about now I'm thinking - this is all going to go pear-shaped and end in heavy breathing and phone slamming.....) My aunt Therese was a book binder and I was showing her your story (so now I'm thinking this is going to be can-my-aunty-come-for-a-visit...) My aunt has got this funny old press-thingy and we wondered if you'd be interested in it?" (so now I'm thinking 'funny-old-press-thingy?' do they mean a wooden flower press?)

"welllll Damien, what sort of press does your aunt have?"

and after a long and rather fruitless phone conversation, with Damien trying to describe something that I couldn't picture, I ended up giving the poor guy an email address and mentioned maybe he might like to send me a picture ..... and I figured that would be the end of the story...

a couple of days later the most extraordinary picture arrived in my inbox ....

 swoooon!


what - the - heck - is - that - thing?


"my aunt says its a 'French-percussion-press' - she had it shipped out with her when she moved from France to Australia a couple of decades ago..... "

cue frantic google search

.... nope nothing much to be found .... except some hints and whispers... just enough to dash all hope that I could bring this beauty to the creek...

I consult my sad looking bank balance....

" dear damien... I love the look of your aunt's press - indeed I'm positively ACHING to give it a home, but I seriously don't think I can afford to pay what I suspect it may be worth...."

*sigh*


This has been our financial 'annus horribilis' - we've battled through the year surviving on less than the smell of an oily rag (sadly true.... but today I'm telling the happy true story....) I looked and FP and he looked at me.... we magicked up a figure - but is was so small and pitiful I couldn't bring myself to offer it to Therese for her lovely press

*sigh*

then came a call from Damien "look my aunt says, you sound like a nice book person and what do you think to..... (what for it..... its its its the magic figure!)"

"YESSSSSSSS-SIREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!"

but wait there's more


"of course she'd like for you to have ALL her book gear - does that sound ok?"

 OK?

*FAINT*


now I had to get Damien to ask his aunt 3 times  "are you SURE that figure is ok with you?"


fast forward to today.....

so there we were at Therese's gorgeous little home in Moruya, collecting the extraordinarily HEAVY percussion press and all her beautiful booky treasures (OK here's a tiny little peek at some of the collection - I'll do a better show and tell over the weekend)

I've just taken these shots quickly this afternoon so you could see some of the beauties - there's OODLES MORE - including a box full of small hand tools I started unpacking......

 

OMG the QUALITY of these - they are simply INCROOOODABLE

ooooh my head is getting dizzy again from all the hyperventilation


time for a lie down - as I contemplate the kindness of strangers....

French percussion press on Sams Creek verandah October 2010

 

(I truly am the luckiest girl in all this book-lovin' world)

.....