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  *****