You Can Touch!-Part 2 of Kim's Contribution to Lisa's Pulp Redux Labyrinth Book

I don't say this every day but...







YOU CAN TOUCH!!!



I knew you would be so excited!


Now I last left you deep in the labyrinth. If you were left a little anxious after the last post about what was going to come next...



well now you can relax!


The second section of my contribution to Lisa's book revolves around nature, how we as artists are wont to reproduce it and the beauty it provides us with. It seems since man first stuck his finger in the mud and painted on a cave wall, artists have constantly reinvented, recreated and reproduced the natural world in their artwork. Nature has apparently got the goods when it comes to creative inspiration. So how does that translate into the labyrinth theme of Lisa's book?


When I was thinking about this idea I started to notice the myriad things we are surrounded with every day and how labrynthine the structures of some of these items are. I was gazing at probably the most awful plastic placemat in history in a cheapy store when suddenly it occured to me how much the plastic reminded me of vines or ivy climbing up a wall. Said revolting placemat suddenly wasn't such a bad evil item and promptly came home with me for the grand sum of 20cents AUS, and into the book it went. Some creative chopping here and there, a little copper and voila!



The page is a reflection on mans constant reproduction of nature in art. How we take the forms we find around us and find new ways with available materials to reproduce those forms. The found poetry from the underlying page reads:

Then inspiration came,
too wild this burst of sentiment interrupted true reason?

I think creative ideas are frequently like this. A sudden burst overtakes us and for good or bad out it flows until it's finished. Sometimes the ideas and execution are great, at other times...
well no-one is perfect everyday!



The next page also reflects man's continued drive to represent the labyrinthine form in art, but has taken a somewhat 90 dgree turn in thinking. The page is a representation of celtic knotwork. Celtic knotwork sprang into being around the 8th century AD. It is supposed that originally the forms were created to represent particular significance, but unfortunately the knowledge no longer exists and art historians can come to no consensus on the matter. What is agreed upon in general is that the interlacing patterns represent the unending continuum of life. The crossing and recrossing of the plaits is symbolic of the ongoing connection between the physical and spiritual planes. The three lobed Triquetra (the design used below is a derivative of this form), symbolises the connection between the three planes of existance, mind body and spirit.

The page was designed to look like old crumbling plasterwork. Why, just because I wanted to, OKAY! :)
(I like old plasterwork, and I wanted to see if I could!)

Here's the double page spread as it appears in the book.

So having looked at man's continued drive to represent nature in his art, that leads us back to the inspirational forms found in nature itself.

Over the page we go and...





Nature produced the original labyrinths for us as inspiration and we have been reproducing them ever since.
The intricasies of a leaf that reveals its innner skeletal structure as it decomposes. A flower from my garden.

On the other side of the page...


something a little different.




As some of you know, I'm fond of doors in my art.




Couldn't resist this opportunity could I?

(Apologies to Lisa, the book will never close again!)




Under the door the cabinet contains...




some of natures best efforts!





The page contains some exhibits including, coral, bees wax, a shell fragment and an insect wing.
What better examples of natures labyrinths could I find!
(Okay, ones that will fit in the book people!)

The pages have been cast in resin then attached to the book. When I first pondered the idea of natural labyrinths and their inclusion in the book I couldn't work out how I was going to be able to post the book successfully across the world. It has to travel constantly between the States, Australia and New Zealand. This constituted a customs nightmare trying to include these items in an altered book until I hit upon the idea of casting the pages in resin. Hopefully Mr. Customs man will have no objections now and the book can travel safely through everyone's hands!

So now you can touch!



The page as it appears fully opened.




The pieces although encased in resin still reveal their structure if you touch them. You can still feel the the items under the resin.

I have created a small magnifier that detaches from the page to help one examine the exhibits in the cabinet.

And so to the end of my contribution to Lisa's book. I have had so much fun with this theme and enjoyed finding solutions to obstacles that came with the ideas I wanted to include here. I can't wait for the next book to fly it's way over the waters to me. It will be Lisa Jurists gorgeous book and I am so looking forward to seeing and touching the already gorgeous work that Lisa and Lisa (NO it's not a mistake Lisa J posted to Lisa S!) have put into it!

Convicts and Emus in the Nest-Buried Treasure

These days even the most dedicated blog hopper, (myself included here), will find it difficult to catch all the posts of favourite bloggers. There is just so much out there to see of interest and only so many hours of the day one can plant one's proverbial butt in a chair and blog hop and still retain one's job, physical shape and family devotion! So what to do dear blog readers? In order to prevent long hours of eye strain, broken chairs with permanent butt impressions, and millions of sleep deprived zombies from roaming the land, Seth Apter of The Altered Page has devised a plan!!! Buried Treasure! A call for willing participants to repost their favourite blog post. This action is intended to provide scores of deprived blog readers with the opportunity to catch up on posts they may have missed from favoured sites, and so provide said blog readers with the minimum of flat bottom exposure time needed to complete their blog roamings. Yes, yes cheer the Apter child for his insightful clear thinking, well deserved it is too! (Why , oh why didn't anyone think of this before!) This has, of course, led to much dilemma in the blogging community. Entire communities of people suffering from sleep deprivation as they decide what to post! Even I, a decision maker of extraordinary speed, required time to contemplate my navel over this decision. And then, after many moons of deep thought, and a lint free navel, there it was. The decision. As many of you know I have been busy over a few months creating a book construction for my mother. The piece is the culmination of an extraordinary journey into the lives of the members of my family. I feel I know them so much better now. It has also been a learning journey artistically. It has challenged me in both technique and creativity and I have loved every minute of the ride. And so this post is an amalgamation of some of those posts which show a few of my favourite pages from the book.

This is the first, a page about my great grandfather. The emu represents both where he lived and his career. The original name of the town was Emu Bay (now known as Burnie, in Tasmania, Australia, Pooh, bring back the original moniker I say!). His job for most of his working life was as an engine driver for the Emu Bay Railway Company. One of the first railway company's in Tasmania, and the last privately owned one to sell to the government only a few years ago. During his working life he saw many changes and under the picture of the emu, the page includes photographs and ephemera representational of the years he worked for the company. The original post for this page is in two sections. To view them click for part one here and part two here.





The next page is about my great grandmother, Ivy. The page is a favourite as it incorporates copper wire and metal leaves as a visual representation of her name. Love these items! Under the frame, a poem and some dried hydranger flowers which always grew in her garden, and a photograph of Ivy. To see the original post click here.

Next, a frame construction incorporated into the book. I just loved this one. Making it and how it turned out. Hey, what can I say, we all have our favs! You can see the original post here.

And lucky last, the doors to the nest! This page is a reference to my grandparents. At this point in time they have embarked on their married life together, hence the doors to the nest. I enjoyed the change of focus with this page and the switch to a more fabric constructed page. And, lets face it, who can resist vintage laces and doilies! The original post is at the same site as the frame above.

So there you have it! Some of my personal favourites. In all seriousness thank you to Seth for a brilliant idea. Can't wait to catch up with the other bloggers and check out their posts. OMG, I am going to need some serious butt therapy after viewing the number of sites that look like they've joined in!!! For those of you wondering about the convicts referred to in the title of the post, both of my great grandparents referred to here are directly descended from convicts sentenced to transportation and sent to Tasmania. More about that on the original posts. Oh, and Seth, best leave some bright ideas for the rest of us. It isn't at all fair you have so many in one year, LOL!!!

Constructing the Covers

Well as promised here is the book finished at long last. It has been a wonderful experience to construct, both from the family reminiscing point and also for the book construction techniques learned along the way, lots of fun there! I admit to being somewhat headstrong here, (there are so many gurgling noises and throat clearings going on in the background you would think I was at the doctors surgery! The whole family's a comedy act!) Anyway, as I was saying, being the determined soul I am I proceeded blindly into the construction of the covers and assemblage of the book without any prior experience in construction techniques. Never even read a book on the topic. Naive, YES, ABSOLUTELY!!! Yes the construction presented some challenges (read this as design problems extraordinaire!), and I almost caved and sought advice, but (being me) I persisted and eventually solved all obstacles myself (oh, yeah baby, I am soooo proud!)
So here it is the finished article, proudly presenting...


The Book of Hearts






The front and back covers are constructed from book board and covered in a fine kangaroo leather, (well it is Australian) rather than a book leather. The finished article is quite large and heavy so I felt a heavy duty cover construction was needed to prevent the possibility of needing repairs in the near future due to weight issues from a more flimsy construction, and I have never done this before, and the tannery isn't too far away either, so there you are! Brass fittings and leather strapping to bind. The front piece is an old wooden frame I found for 20cents, left in its pre-loved form and into this I have placed the front piece from a vintage book.





(It reads, Book of the Hearts - Loves Emblems)

In constructing the book, the pages are of course heavily embellished and decorated. This meant the in order for the book pages to sit flat and present like an ordinary book that spacers had to be constructed to fit between the pages along the binding edge. Each one individually designed for each double page spread according to the size spacer required for that particular spreads needs. This done, I covered the spacers in a black fabric to enable them to blend into the background (which they do beautifully). Now the assembling! An extraordinary number of eyelets, hammering, leather strapping and the odd colourful language lesson later, tada! Fini!


The spine...







Here's the side view. As you can see it sits flat!, Yahoo!

The finished book was rushed off to my mother in time for Mother's Day here, (JUST!!!) and is well loved, phew!

Last Pages

And so onto the last pages in the Book of Hearts, my mother's pages. My mother is eighteen at this point, and I decided that this was enough, at least for now. The book is so much larger than ever first envisaged and it seems a good point to finish at both as a new chapter of her life began after this (namely the married with children phase ) and also the book worked well at this size before it became in danger of becoming clumsy and awkward to negotiate and utilise. So here she is at eighteen.




The page has a frame constructed using modeling paste and has been stamped and had tulle embedded into the paste to add some texture (got to love the textural stuff :), then a few coats of paints and wax finishes to deepen the effects of the texture additions. At the bottom of the page pictures of myself and my brothers as babes, (the future yet to come), and a cameo at the top because i always regarded this particular picture as a cameo of sorts and, well, just because both I and she love them, OKAY! Under the frame (which has a layer of mica over the pic too), an old doiley and some beautiful embossed papers I really was fond of and wanted to send to a good home.

On the other side of the spread a window frame (curtesy of Jen Crossley, thanks Jen!) coated in paint washes and small gold embroidery threads embedded in an impasto painted onto the surface. It's hard to see here but they glisten beautifully in person. A mica window covers a poetry piece and some seeds from my garden. All this and a wonderful green velvet background, (I also love green!) chosen to represent the future that blooms before her at this stage of life.

And on the inside of the frame...

A little quote for my mother and an image I couldn't resist to finish off the book. (You can click to see details of the pictures if you like).
And so the end is nigh.

The construction of the outside covers was a whole other story so I will post the pics of them in the next couple of days. Needless to say that was frought with obstacles but was a wonderful learning experience in itself.

Roses and Australian Etiquette

Winding up the posts for the Book of Hearts, it is finally time to post the pages of my mothers sister. The passing of my mother's only sibling has left an enormous void in my mother's life, and so the theme is roses, for what she was for us all, beautiful, sweet, and like no other. And so to the first part of the double page. A little book on Australian Etiquette. I must admit it was a great find, a little damaged and so the cover has been edged in lace to give it a bit of something extra and to tidy it up. (I must admit that I was a bit shocked, etiquette for Australia! We aren't really a nation of etiquette style people, are we? Must be a relic from our old colonial days!) Anyway the book was perfect for this spread as it is my Aunts debut ball. On the left of the page some old tulle and some catholic religious medals as she and my mother were raised and schooled in the faith.



Inside the book cover, a photograph of my mothers sister and the then archbishop of Tasmania who attended the ball, and a small vintage victorian angel image that I am really fond of.






And here is the photograph of my aunt at her debut. A small vintage pressed rose held between sheets of mica on the right.

I will post the last pages from the Book of Hearts later this week. I think this has been enough for now.

The Song of the Five Chicks

I have been so busy lately that I have almost forgotten to post the remaining pages from the Book of Hearts construction. Well I had better get it done, especially as I have posted the slide show for the book on this blog now, LOL. I saw this picture and just had to include it. You will see why in the coming pics.

As my mother was still very young, approximately 3-4 years of age here, I decided to depict this time by creating a little cotton shift dress, a miniature of one she would have worn and use this as the backdrop for the page.





The picture is attached to a green velvet covered board, and inside...


the five chicks.

Love this photograqph. Mum is the curly haired cheeky urchin on the right. (Always reminds me of Orphan Annie in this pic!) Her sister, Bev on the left. Her cousin that passed away last year next to Mum and two other cousins are the two boys in the photo. The five children ran around and grew up together into their teens and remained very close. (Bet they terrorised Burnie between them all, LOL). I also really liked the picture of the five little cherubs, and how fitting, 5 of them, so in that went too!





Below, the decoration from the bottom of the page.

And I just bet it was too!

The Nursery Years

Time to press on with the book of hearts. Another childhood page (it actually faces the previous one that was posted). Here is my mother and her sister with their grandmother, Ivy. I just loved this photo so had to include it. Mum is the wee tot in her granny's arms, too cute Mum! Surrounding the photo an old silver frame thats taken a beating, literally, LOL. Re shaped and glued down over the photo so as not to cover too much of the background paper. I really liked this old book page and , well it suited the theme rather well. It was after all mums nursery years. So to go along with the theme, the birds nesting in the top corner, some old vintage lace and an oyster shell button with a little silver hummingbird charm.




The picture shows some green tinting which isn't actually there, just a light trick. If only I could work out how to do that when I want to!
Dud photography skills again:)





And a closer view of the lower section of the page. The branch and a wee nest of silver wire and beads (for eggs) with a few tiny down feathers under the beads. The partner to the top hummingbird at the nest.


And music of course. Birdsong. Can't you hear them?

Book of Bubbles

Bubbling...




in...

the past...

And so to the next chapter in the Book of Hearts, my mothers childhood years. The Book of Bubbles page. This appealed to my sense of humour, lots. :) Bubbles and childhood just seem to go together really. These pictures are of Mum and her sister at their first home in Burnie, Tasmania. Mum is the little terror with her doll bottom left. (hahaha mum, dobbed you in). I think she is about 2 years old here. Won't reveal her current age, thats just not very ladylike really.



Suffice to say she was around a little after the dinosaurs (just kidding) LOL! ( Ouch. I felt that Mum!) hahahahaha!
Oh, the lock and key are to symbolise the key to a happy childhood...carefree times with your best friend, your big sis!

Ivy's Trail

A new page. This time it is my other great grandmother, married to the great grandfather in the previous post. Are you completely confused yet? Her name was Ivy. The front of the page shows a construction which incorporates metal leaves and copper wire used to represent, well, ivy. A visual representation of her name. (Click on the picture for a closer view of the details if you like).



Here's a closer view of the top of the page.




Ivy enjoyed gardening and was by all accounts a great cook, looking after her extended family, and so the page is a reflection of those things that my mother remembers about her. So here is a little piece of poetry for the gardener...

Who loves a garden
finds within his soul
life's whole;
He hears the anthem of the soil
While integrates toil;
And sees beyond his little sphere
the waving fronds of heaven, clear.

-Louise Seymour Jones

One of my mothers strongest memories is of the Hydrangeas that grew in her garden, and so I have captured them here for her.

And here she is, our Ivy. The microscope glass contains little phrases of text describing some facts about Ivy, while on the side of the page some text relating to her convict heritage, as Ivy's heritage also contains a convict background. As with my great grandfather, I wanted to acknowledge this past but not focus directly on it. (You can click on the picture to see the details). So the focus remains on the things my mother remembers about her. The garden, her cooking, where she lived, for the aim was to bring alive those memories for my mother, the things for which she new her best.

Ivy was also a very one eyed football fan. Apparently the family gave her a wide berth when she was there supporting the local club where my great grandfather used to play in his younger days. A seriously one eyed supporter was our Ivy. Love her commitment :) Apparently the rest of the women in the family caught this particular gene too, lol.