take note...

You've perhaps noticed that I haven't been around here lately

I've been up to my eyeballs (and then some) in life and work

(this is my newest promo head shot --- looking up! ) 

the life part, while interesting to me, is not overly blog-worthy

but the WORK part --- ahhhhhh well.... 

This weekend I will be part of the Noted Festival in Canberra sharing 

#LookUP - a collaborative work with poet Melinda Smith. 

 #LookUP started its life as my daily moment of sky time which I shared right here every day of 2015.... the project then grew into something else when Melinda wrote the most exquisite words in response to each  (and I can say that because I have read each of her jewel-like responsive micro poems)... And THEN the project took another turn when we came together to discuss what might become of our pictures and words... a published book? an artist's book? e-book? self-published affair? a poetry reading? a slideshow? (actually Melinda DID do a poetry reading/slideshow from the work last year, even before the year ended -- called 'all the seventeenths' she presented the picture/poem combination from the 17th day of each month... it was delicious and buckets of fun) or maybe we could do something else? 

As we bounced ideas off each other we soon both came to fall in love with the idea of individual postcards (perhaps of our favourite pieces?) -- and before long that idea rapidly grew into a series that contained a postcard for every. single. pic/poem combo.  

oh myyyyyyyyyy!

(here's the very last cards we've printed -- and its my favourite -- 'intermission' from the halfway mark in the look up project) 

But that didn't seem enough for us 

no --- we both liked the idea of projecting the works, 

and one of us (I'm not going to say who.... ) 

got the bright idea of projecting the works onto the ceiling (someone shoot me!) 

for the past few months I've been preparing 366 little pieces of individual artwork 

(and painfully loading each one to the press... shoot me!)

as well as making a projection piece

(shoot me!)

I think the hard work has been worth it....

(I have spent more time than I care to mention staring at computer monitors over the past few months)

Both the #LookUP projection piece and #LookUP postcard series 

will premiere this Sunday, March 20 at Gorman House, Canberra 

as part of the Noted Festival 

and Noted Independent Publishers Fair. 

If you are in Canberra - be sure to drop by and say hello

(first tech trials of #LookUP --- what a challenge each little bit of this has been)

 #LookUP and look out for cobwebs! 

this is the final home trial before the on site tech trials start.... 

at least I can leave home knowing that my 'interesting' rig for holding a projector in a vertical position works a treat

We hope that #LookUP will appear at a few other spaces/events this year

(very soon we are creating a little online space to showcase our #LookUP postcard series) 

in the meantime you can follow the news on our dedicated IG account  

.... 

abecedary nine-patch

I was reluctant to join instagram but I must confess....

I really really really like the instagram way of things

here's a little snippet of things I've been sharing over the last few weeks
at my little corner of the IG world  ...

(drop by and say g'day why don't you)



xxx

I am alpha and omega -- the beginning and the end...

I began playing with my abecedary project on instagram today 

--- throwing an initial (ha! accidental pun) couple of letters into the ring...

I found an old hand-lettered 'A' calligraphic piece in one of my plan drawers
(circa 1996 perhaps?)



and then looked out my back door to the courtyard gate

-- and what do you know

there's a 'Z'

and I didn't have to do anything other than raise my batphone

and tap the screen


(and that's what actually interests me the most in my wonky little project
- finding letters in the ordinary parts of the day, snapping them and making them mine
then sharing them in an arena - just because I can)



I've started with the beginning and the ending of the alphabet....
now I only have to find the middle bits

simples

yes?



feel free to find/tag/send letters that you might find going about your life

#abecedary2016

@book_ronnie


just because you can
(nope I don't have any more plans other than that 
lets see what happens together shall we?)


...

the year of the abecedary...

Now that you know what an abecedary is 

here's what I'm hoping to do in my self proclaimed 

year of the abecedary 

(look - here's something I found of mine from the early 1990s - oooo what fun!) 

The year of the abecedary is all about reconnecting to my past life in letters. So this year I'm going out into the world actively looking for the letters of the alphabet.... the more gnarly and obscure, tattered and torn, obscure and ephemeral the better! I'm particularly on the look out for handwritten snippets -- maybe I'll find some wonky letters on hand written signs... maybe I'll find some on beaten up posters... scratched into cement or wood... perhaps I'll decipher some letters in seaweed arranged by the waves on a beach.... 

... and of course I have a whole studio and past life in letters to drawn from... so I'm thinking that a year of ABCs just might give me an excuse to show you some bits from waaaaaaaaaay back (like many calligraphers I have something of a collection of hand drawn ABCs - a ready made abecedary!) The year of the abecedary might just provide an impetus to drag out my beautiful calligraphic tools to pen a new letter or two.... you never know!

 

ooo look -- its a page from one of my very very very VERY old books of calligraphic exemplars
here are some of my wobbly skeleton Roman caps - circa 1993...

Perhaps the abecedary will provide a good reason to go through my drawers of type and produce a type specimen book of all the typefaces in my collection --- for the uninitiated, the type specimen book is a classic example of an abecedary -- type specimen books were a common item of type foundries and printers as they demonstrated the range and quality of type on hand. I love letterpress type specimen books (particularly the ones that contain weird and wonderful ligatures, ampersands and display capitals in a type set) 

I've learned quite a few things about my art process over the past few years of photographic, ephemeral, online arty interactions and of course I'm bringing all that to this adventure. I know that I like spontaneous, informal, humble and uncomplicated photography with minimal equipment and post-production. I enjoy the thrill of the chase -- finding things in unexpected places and/or creating unexpected combinations. I love working with found and salvaged objects and creating temporary artyworks that I can share freely. I love the process of art making (I'm not so much in love with arty world shenanigans). I like having a basic framework to work within but one that has lots of flexibility to encourage freedom of expression... I like to zig and zag all over the place! That means I'm going to let the year of the abecedary evolve naturally and I'm not going to make a whole lot of promises or deadlines or rules (other than 'there shalt be letters'). 

The year of the abecedary will principally be an instagram project --- although I'm still finding my way in the IG world I felt an instant connection to all things instagrammalandish --- I love the immediacy, the ease of uploading and sharing, the hashtags and the ease of connecting posts from IG to my facebook page... oh yesssss IG is just right for the year of the abecedary.  When I find me them thar letters I can throw them out into the universe straight away... wheeeeeeeeeeee! and I can keep throwing things into the ring in rapid succession whack, thwack, whackity thwack! or I can hold off for days (or more) and just present one. little. pic. at. a time. 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

For those of you not on IG - I will be sharing many bits and bobs from my IG account to my facebook page -- oh and I expect to occasionally curate a few collections of my found ABCs and share them here on the blog (plus you can always have a loosee at my webby IG place )

And that's it

simples really

Lets see where it takes us shall we

(I say 'us' because if you are on instagram
 perhaps you'd like to throw some things into the abecedary too?

 just use

#abecedary2016

or alert me to things with
@book_ronnie

and that way I can find
(and maybe, with your blessing, regram)
your abecedary offering to the world?)

ooooooo what fun!

I do hope you'll join in

(texta tag - found in pambula)

.....

look out!

 oooooo look --- its a new year 

(2015 seems so ... yesterday!)

and I've got a juicy new interwebs project stirring



I am declaring 2016

the year of the

abecedary

abecedary : n.
"primer, alphabet table," mid-C15th. from Medieval Latin
abecedarium - "an ABC book"

(ABC by lil' ole me -- circa 1995 --- this one lives in our bathroom -- and that starts with the letter 'B' --- wheeeeeee)

abecedarium, abecedarius, abecedary, abecedaria, abecedarian, abecedaries....

try them out on your own tongue --- aren't they just delicious words!

abecedarian : n:
1. a person who is learning the letters of the alphabet.
2. a beginner in any field of learning.
adj: 3. of or relating to the alphabet. 
4. arranged in alphabetical order. 5. rudimentary; elementary; primary.

welll yes -- the words are tasty

but I can almost see your perplexed expression through the interwebs

what in the world does one do

in the year of the

abecedary?

ahhhhhhhhhh...


(drop by here tomorrow and more will be revealed...
yes I'm teasing aren't I!)

ps

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

and thanks for dropping by throughout the past year



....

look up (three hundred & sixty five) ...

xxxx three hundred and sixty five xxxx

look up (three hundred & sixty four) ...

xxxx three hundred and sixty four xxxx