printed material: March 2010

Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Over the top?

I don't know what I'd do without my dining room door to hang things from for photographs. Not that this one is all that great. I'm blaming it on the poor light thrown into the room by the snow - yes, SNOW , the week before Easter! It truth it is more like heavy sleet combined with torrential rain. I'm not saying there's a lot of water out there but the postman came in a canoe today.

I was oblivious though because I've been trying to finish this bag which someone asked me to make for them for tonight. They wanted a big bag and I think I have taken them too literally perhaps? I used a couple of contrasting fabrics I had as the choice was 'up to me'. It hasn't used a lot of fabric and I spent most of the time appliqueing the roses on each side. It seemed like a good idea at the time .... Anyway, I'd appreciate any opinions please. It's too late for tonight - it's going to go to a new home regardless but I think I might make some more as Vickie and I are considering taking some stands at craft fairs later this year and selling our bags etc. My sister in law gave me lots of fabric remnants last week that she kindly bought for me so I have plenty to get on with in the meantime. In return she asked for a felt necklace so perhaps I should do that next while I wait for your respected opinions on whether the bag cuts the mustard or whether it needs a redesign?

Saturday, 27 March 2010

Spring has Sprung

When my window cleaner came the other day she said 'Gosh Lesley, have you had the cows in again?' She was referring to the time about four years ago when cows belonging to our neighbour Trevor escaped from his fields into our garden and trampled it to pieces one night in January. Listening to the sounds of marauding cows in the dark was very scary and when we surveyed the damage next morning we were horrified. This was mainly because our garden was going to open for the NGS Yellow Book later in the year for the first time and the situation looked irretrievable. My husband though is an optimist - and a grafter. He worked incessantly that Spring to put beds back together and save plants and trees. There is no-one like him in the garden for me. He says we're a team because I know the names and choose what to plant but I know the success of our garden is down to his intuitive skill and hard work out there.

All the hard work paid off because we had two successful openings and sold lots of plants we'd brought on. The weather was extra kind that summer and friends turned up to support bringing cakes to sell. I have some very special memories of people sat in my garden enjoying cake, drinking tea in the sunshine from bone china cups and asking lots of questions about the names of plants. It was lovely but the population is a bit sparse round here so we didn't make a huge amount for the NGS and decided the stress and worry of getting it 'just so' took away our enjoyment of our own garden a little bit. Since then we've continued to develop it for ourselves and where I used to plant lots of dye plants and grasses etc to make paper from we're now evolving into a garden mainly for the butterflies, moths and bees we love so much. The damage the window cleaner was referring to is the carnage wreaked this year however by marauding badgers instead. It has been worse than I've ever seen it. Similarly there are more moles than ever and the ground feels as if it is undermined by loads of little tunnels all waiting to give way underfoot!

We've spent today tidying up, cutting down, planning beds, sowing seeds in the greenhouse and generally taking in everything that's in flower now. I was inspired by Jeanne over at Tales of a Cottage Garden today as she has posted some beautiful photos of buds waiting to open and delight us all, so I went out and photographed some of our treasures. The forsythia is just about to open, the snake's head fritillaries are about to open their nodding little heads and I just adore the lovely green and purple colour mix in their flowers.... and then there are the wonderful hellebores which are a bit late this year but have suddenly come into their own. Please forgive me for just posting lots of hellebore photos. Some are bought and others are seedlings that we've grown over the years but they are some of my favourite things in the Spring garden to enjoy.

This lovely warm weather means we'll try a moth trap tonight and then get on with the veg sowing tomorrow. I'm always wary of starting too early with vegetables as the season is a long one and we're still a long way from the warmth of the summer sun that's needed to get them to do their best. We've just got round to our veg plot this afternoon and found that the badgers have dug up one of our rhubarb crowns. Now we'll never eat all the rhubarb we produce ( I make paper with it mostly!) but I'm beginning to get tired of the damage. I need to take a leaf out of my husband's book and take these things with more pragmatism. Of course I shall - even if it's through gritted teeth - I shall live with it! After all it's Spring and we've a lot of other things to enjoy in the garden. If you're doing the same, have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, 25 March 2010

On the Map

Mike Parker is a map addict so I am obviously not alone, although I suspect we admire them for different reasons. His book came out last year and is published in paperback next month. It coincides with a series that started on Radio 4 on Monday. Called 'On the Map' . Mike is presenting 10 fifteen minute programmes looking at all aspects of mapping. They have been fascinating so far and are available on the listen again facility by the BBC for the seven days following each broadcast. Yesterday's programme was about the motoring maps of the past, present and future. The forerunners of today's AA maps etc were the beautifully printed cloth maps of Bartholomew's that I pictured the other day. I began to feel guilty that I use them for a new purpose entirely!

The most interesting part of the programme was when Mike had to overcome his dislike of the Sat Nav and concede that, for some people, they were a boon. Now, I get annoyed when people say we women have a poor sense of direction and, are therefore rubbish at reading maps! Sadly though it was mainly women who chose the Sat Nav option .... but it reminded me that the Sat Nav is not a recent invention you know....

This wonderful invention is called The Routefinder and it was available to British drivers of the 1920's. It showed the roads to use, gave them the mileage they'd covered and even told them to stop when they got to journey's end. Each journey was on a scroll which was placed inside the Routefinder and then put on the wrist just like a watch to be scrolled down as the driver made the chosen trip.

The system had some obvious limitations. There were a limited number of journeys and the system could not be updated to account for sudden road changes like road works or traffic jams. Mind you, there were not that many traffic jams in 1920's Britain as not that many people could afford to run a car. Perhaps it was the fact that there were too few drivers that stopped the Routefinder from taking off. Who knows? I could just imagine the accident rate as drivers were trying to scroll down the route, having to use both hands, taking their eyes off the road... even at the slow speeds of early motor cars the consequences don't bear thinking about. No wonder it took a good few decades for someone to come up with an alternative!

Wednesday, 24 March 2010

Royal Mail strikes again.....

As my husband is on holiday this week we had a day out planned yesterday and went off to Hay-on-Wye early, after we had inspected the moth trap we'd put out for the first time this season, the night before. I was expecting something in the post so checked as soon as we got home late afternoon - and I found this wonderful envelope on my doormat!

Inspired by the art of Harriet Russell in my weekend post, one of my blog readers, John in Cheshire, decided to see if the Royal Mail was able to deliver this to me. He had no idea of my address other than the scant information put into my blogger profile.. The text reads : 'Postie, please try to deliver for me to blogger Printed Material who resides in a domestic dwelling near Narberth in South Wales. She has numerous deliveries of new books. One last week that you enquired about was the book 'The Map as Art'. Please try your best because she heads her latest blog 'Three Cheers for the Post Office'. Husband keeps bees. Thank you very much'.

Well, this was posted on Monday afternoon in Cheshire an arrived in Pembrokeshire on Tuesday morning. You can't tell me that that is not great service! I spoke to Ceri about it today and he said it got to him because John did put his name on it and as soon as he read it he knew it was for me. However it reached me, it just shows what can be done doesn't it? Thank you John, it really made my day. Mind you, so did this wonderful moth. We only had a small number in the trap but here is a male 'Oak Beauty'. Their colour can be variable but the brown strip is diagnostic and in all of them. Look at his beautiful feathered antennae. The moths this early in the year tend to be known as 'little brown jobs' because they can be hard to differentiate from each other.

Here is one of the most common you could see at the moment. It is called a 'Hebrew Character' and I love its markings. When you study these photos up close the colour variations are stunning but I appreciate that moths are not everyone's cup of tea. We let them go last night and might have another trap tonight if the rain holds off.

By the way John, I don't only have numerous deliveries of new books, I also succumb to the temptation of old ones too. I bought quite a few in Hay-on-Wye yesterday whilst my husband bought some old copies of bee-keeping books. None of mine cost that much and I bought a lovely King Penguin copy of 'Larger British Moths' with a cover designed by the well known textile designer Enid Marx for just £2. We also stopped at a nursery on the way home and bought lots of plants ...... what a fabulous day!

Monday, 22 March 2010

WonderfuLLLLLLL!

I posted last week about the papier mache letters I'd given my friends in a sort of challenge. Well, we met today and handed them over to each other. Joan was delighted with hers, Vicki too and as for me... well, I was nearly struck dumb with pleasure. Mine is just wonderful. Vickie has incorporated lots of things that I love : there are pages and words from Winnie the Pooh, not only because I love collecting childrens books but also because it's all about BEES! There's a mini book made with handmade paper and incorporating postage stamps and lots of references to the garden and sowing seeds... and rabbits.....and birds with binoculars....and butterflies... and moths.....it is a true delight. Have a look at the photos and see.

Lovely words about bees...

Just when you think things can't get better, they do! Joan had a clear out of her button tin yesterday and asked me to drop them into a charity shop in Tenby on my way home but I owned up to my button fetish and she said I could keep them. Naturally I had to sort through them as soon as I got back. Here's a small selection of some of them. There are some lovely ones here : ceramic, mother of pearl and even a couple of art deco inspired ones. Trouble is I love these things so much that I can never bring myself to use them but an idea has germinated this afternoon and I have a plan....

Sunday, 21 March 2010

Crows

These Bartholomew maps can be found in many charity shops and second hand book shops for a small price. They are usually cloth bound and they make perfect substrates for an artists book or small art journal . They are already accordion folded and they are a great size but can be cut smaller if required, plus they are sturdy enough to take all manner of paint treatments. I've been working on the book below for a couple of weeks on and off. Just have to add the covers now which I'll do later this week. The text I used are lines from a great poem by Mary Oliver called 'Crows'. The photo isn't very clear but read the poem and I think you'll see how it worked its magic for me.

From a single grain of sand they have multiplied.

When you look in the eyes of one

you have seen them all.

At the edges of the highways

they pick up limp things.

They are anything but refined.

Or they fly out over the corn

like pellets of black fire

like overlords.

Crow is crow you say.

What else is there to say?

Drive down any road,

die and be born again -

wherever you arrive

they'll be there first,

glossy and rowdy

and indistinguishable.

The deep muscle of the world.

Saturday, 20 March 2010

Three cheers for the Post Office

My postman Ceri is a real gem. When you live in a rural area they can be the eyes and ears of the neighbourhood and they look out for people. When I'm not in he leaves my parcels in a secure place but I was home today to receive the book I ordered - 'The Map as Art'. Ceri asked what 'this one is about?', rolling his eyes to heaven when I told him. He always says that my book orders keep him in a job so he told me to 'enjoy it' and got on with his round. I then made a cup of tea , sat down and had a quick preview and saw this image above, taken from a book by illustrator Harriet Russell called 'Envelopes'.

This is a book I bought a couple of years ago and it is a collection of decorated envelopes by Harriet, all of which have been sent through the Royal Mail system in the UK. After receiving mail that had been delivered despite being misspelled she decided to send herself envelopes where she tried to hide or disguise the address to see how many would get through. She used many ways of communicating the address ; mazes, join the dots, anagrams, illustrations, puns, visual games, experimental fonts, puzzles and literary word play. When you look at some of them closely you can see where the postal staff have joined in by completing the puzzle, determined to beat the sender and deliver to their destination.

You may find it hard to believe that the majority of the envelopes arrived at their intended destination but they did and all have their postmarks to prove it. The Royal Mail has added a preface to the book - apparently our posties deliver up to 15 million poorly addressed letters every week and the Return Letter Centre - where items are opened with the hope of finding a return address - handles a further 72 million undeliverable items a year!

It makes me even more grateful for my wonderful postie. I love being online and e mailing people but there is still nothing to beat getting a handwritten letter, card or parcel. When I am waiting for something I listen out for his van driving up the road and I'm out there like a shot when I see him stop outside my gate. Long may it continue. Go on, write to someone today that you have not contacted for a long time. Imagine their delight when they get your letter - and yours when you get a reply!!

Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Kilpeck Church and Herefordshire delights

I had a fabulous day out yesterday, meeting my friend Sue in Hereford to see an exhibition there by the Aberystwyth Printmakers. It was fascinating to 'do' an exhibition with a practising artist and look at the exhibits with a 'makers eye' as well as with your own gut feelings when you see something you like but can't explain why. We then popped over to Baileys Home and Garden near Ross-on-Wye for lunch. This place is a mecca for all things vintage and trendy. I bought some vintage cake wrappers (don't ask) and a couple of silly things before we split up to head home in opposite directions.

As I had my camera with me and because it was on my return route, I spent an enjoyable time on my own at Kilpeck Church , which is the parish church of St Mary and St David there and described as 'one of the most perfect Norman village churches in England'. Well reader, they do not lie! It is a gem of a place.

The church was built around 1134 and it is renowned for its carvings which are carved from wonderful red sandstone. Despite this they are really well preserved and the inspirations for the carvings come from the Bestiary, the source of practically all the animal lore that was known at this time. These animals were not meant to be exact representations. They were meant for moral teaching but since their origins were unclear it is not surprising that the carvers, who were illustrating beasts they could never have seen, exaggerated facets to bring home the message they wanted to give more clearly.

There are three of these lovely corbels. These projecting brackets, beautifully carved, give support to the structure. By reading the information in the church I found out that 'corbel' came from the Latin corvus for a crow and as I've been working on a book made from maps and about crows this week it seemed apt to finish my day here.

There was absolutely no-one else about yesterday except for an elderly chap clearing the grounds. I passed the time of day with him, enjoyed the warmth of the sun and spent a few reflective minutes on my own inside this beautiful church. It rounded off a lovely day!

Saturday, 13 March 2010

Hoedown from Rodeo

Using the music of Aaron Copland, in more ways than one, Eleanor Stewart has made this fabulous stop motion film. It's worth waiting for the dancing girls at the end. They are wild!

Hoedown from Rodeo from Eleanor Stewart on Vimeo.

Thursday, 11 March 2010

The Map as Art

I've just this minute come across a review of this book by Katherine Harmon all about artists who use maps in their work. I already have her previous book called 'You are Here'. I'll give you three guesses what that's about... I'm off to Amazon (other online booksellers are available) to get my copy. Be still my beating heart....

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with J...

Sometime towards the end of last year I bought these three papier mache letters in a Hobbycraft store, intending to customise them as presents for the three friends, Vickie, Joan and Lynda, who work with me in a textile group of our own making. We are meant to push each other to try out new things but I lost all track of time before Christmas so this idea fell by the wayside. Then in January I set a challenge for Vickie, Joan and myself to take an initial and turn it into a personal record of the person whose name began with it. As Lynda lives quite a distance away we don't see her as often as we'd like so I thought I'd stand in for the letter L.

Well, I got the J for Joan and I went blank. I had no ideas. My brain hurt from thinking about it too much! Then I picked up a map in a second hand bookshop that was closing down. For 20p I had a map of South Wales. It covered the village and area in Brecon where Joan used to live and the Pembrokeshire village of Manorbier where she is now. I had one of those lightbulb moments and decided to merge the two areas of the map and collage them on to the front of the letter.

This is what I came up with. Having painted the whole letter I then placed the maps on and merged them together. All the relevant areas that are important to Joan are on this map so I was away. What next? Well, Joan is a great natural dyer and a fabulous knitter, so I found some little spools I bought yonks ago and wound some naturally dyed threads around them. They are dyed with indigo, madder and weld. How to represent knitting provided a challenge but I made a little pair of needles from some cocktail sticks and stuck some beads on the end. I then cast on with the indigo thread and knitted a small amount. My husband thought I had lost the plot as I sat there kntting with cocktail sticks! I told another friend about it the other day and she described it as 'micro knitting' - exactly!! It was fiddly in the extreme - but necessary for what I wanted to achieve.

Next I had to think of other things that sum Joan up. Well, for a kick-off she is ALWAYS on the phone and I had a little telephone from a dolls-house supplier that I've also had for more years than I care to remember. I knew it would come in handy one day! She has just bought a laptop and is trying to become more computer savvy so I found a mini laptop via another dolls house shop and I was in business. Finally I added some handmade felt in the shape of the boat. Not because Joan sails but because she is a feltmaker and lives by the sea - hence the shell as well.

I have only placed the things on the letter at present and I'm going to superglue it all into place later in the week. I have no worries that she will see this. She can just about switch on the laptop and send an occasional e mail. Blogging is a mystery to her so this will never spoil her surprise. Overall I am very pleased with how it has come together but I can't say the same for my monoprinting this week. All my plans went astray as I was sidetracked into completing this whilst also finishing my map book (more of that again). I was also sidetracked (it's easily done...)by playing around with bleach and Quink ink on paper. Then today I made some printing plates instead of sticking to my original plan. Thanks for all the comments asking if I'll show my monoprints. I promise that if I ever get around to doing some I will post the pictures no matter what - but don't hold your breath.....

Monday, 8 March 2010

More paper and maps.... how unusual....

Spent a few hours in my little shed this afternoon inspired to get on with a few things that have been chipping away at my thoughts. Got on with a book using a map as the base and cut some stencils for some monoprints I'm going to print tomorrow and Wednesday. No surprise then that I started looking at map related things tonight and came across this stop motion papercut animation with the apt title ' A Map comes to Life'. I was intrigued and had to watch it. It's a bit surreal but it works for me!

Sunday, 7 March 2010

Spring is just around the corner....

Virtually every blog I've read in the last week has mentioned the 'S' word. We all have Spring fever and cannot wait for it to come. I think the weekend sunshine has lifted everyone's spirits and I got out into the garden today to take a photo of the only crocuses left in our garden. These are the only few that the badgers did not eat! They are a treat and I'm so glad they did not find them. Those orange stamens just sing out and make you think those other bloggers are right.

I also took advantage of the warm weather to bleach some fabric. I bought this 100% linen shirt for a couple of pounds in a charity shop the other day, thinking I might use it in some stitching project maybe. Then I thought about resist bleaching it as it was warm enough to do it outside today , giving me the ventilation I needed. So I cut off one of the front pieces and folded it....

..and then put pegs all around it. (If you're wondering about the writing, I used them to hang up some samples at a workshop I ran last year about felting the fleeces of rare breed sheep.) Then I put the package in a bowl and poured on some thick bleach. I was wearing my gloves so I was able to squeeze the package, but with no discernable effect. After about five minutes I thought perhaps the fabric was just not going to bleach so took the pegs off...

I was amazed at the result. There was no way I expected this. Trouble is, now I want to do it to the other side but have no real idea what I'll use the fabric for yet. Any thoughts?

Thursday, 4 March 2010

The Ostrich

Handcrafted paper marionette. Short animated film. Loved it.

The Ostrich from Lucas Zanotto on Vimeo.

Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Postman's Park

A few years ago I was completing a City and Guilds Sketchbook Studies course and we had to work on our final book using architecture as our inspiration. I'd read about Mary Seton Watts and the work she'd done with local people at Compton in Surrey to build Watts Chapel during the Arts and Crafts period so went to have a look. I was blown away and if you've never heard of it do a search and have a look at the images online. I mention it because Mary was the second wife of the painter George Frederick Watts. I did not know much about him until a chance TV programme last week told the story of Postman's Park and his involvement with it. Of course, since then, I've been intrigued and obsessed with the story and have already read as much as I can find about it. It's a great story - and a very British one!

In September 1887, G F Watts wrote a letter to the Times with a suggestion for commemorating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. He suggested erecting a monument to commemorate 'heroism in everyday life'. Thirteen years later this was realised with the unveiling of the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice in a small public park in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral. Because of its proximity to the General Post Office it was used by postmen during their breaks and hence it became known as Postman's Park.

The monument consists of a wooden cloister, tiled with plaques commemorating those unsung heroes of civilian life. Orignally they were made by William de Morgan but after his business failed they were fired by Doultons in Lambeth. They are not as good as the originals but it is the memorials themselves that tug at my heart strings. Watts chose the people and wrote the first memorials himself, sadly dying when only a handful had been erected.

Mary took up the project after his death but she eventually phased out her involvement. Today there are sixty one plaques in Postman's Park, the last one being put up in 1931, even though it commemorated the death of Herbert Maconoghu in 1882. The site is now Grade 2 listed so it is unlikely there will ever be any other names added . Those that are there are a mix of men, women and children, each of whom gave up their life to save another. The descriptions on the plaques refer to terrible events like fires, boating accidents, drownings and fatalities on the railways.

These simple statements tell of great sacrifice; of brothers and sisters rescuing siblings, parents saving children and doctors saving lives but it's mainly strangers giving their life to save someone unknown to them. It is hard to read these plaques without a sense of loss. Perhaps it is also because they are 'of their time'. They are so poignant and just make me want to know more about the people they commemorate. My husband and I have now planned a week in London this Spring as I have to go and see Postman's Park for myself. I also have to revisit Watts Chapel and then go to the Watts Gallery nearby and find out more about this philanthropic man.

I've said before that I have a fascination for memorials and the way we mark remembrance but it's not everyone's cup of tea so I've only included a few of the plaques found via Google images.The one that touched me the most though was the only one that included a spoken word:

Solomon Galaman, aged 11, died of injuries, September 6 1901, after saving his little brother from being run over in Commercial Street. 'Mother, I saved him but I could not save myself '.

Heartrending.

Monday, 1 March 2010

Keeping up with the fashions....

This is another little gem from the British Film Archive. I was keeping it up my sleeve for an appropriate occasion but it is so funny I just wanted to share it today. I love the hat with the headlamp. I want one!!