The Highly Probable and Quite Likely Tale of Billy Wobbledagger

Well, it's been quite a time recently. Holidays and family get togethers. The season is warming up here and social get togethers are on the rise again. Ahhh, distractions. Wonderful, but as always there is time to art. As you may or may not know (and if you don't why not!!! Pay attention ! LOL!) I have had a few projects on the go but haven't had them quite completed to show you. One is finally completed so it's time to post. It was one of the projects that had me caught up in research and distractions as oft happens. As you know from previous posts, (Just nod and agree... It's easier for us both) I have been buried in poetry and renaissance arts recently. The upshot of all this...
I have written a wee rhyme about a bloke named Bill, you may have heard of him. He wrote the occasional piece of prose and one or two fairly good plays. Of course that meant incorporating it into a piece of art. Hence the headaches from a previous post. Details, it's all about the details. However... drum roll please maestro... tada , it is finished.
Presenting...



The Highly Probable and Quite Likely Tale, of Billy Wobbledagger.


(Stunning title, I know!)



And to the rhyme, (for I don't believe it could ever fall into any more serious sounding category!)



Young Bill would oft regale his friends with tales of love and woe,
Of kings and things and faeries that did amuse them so.
His friends and family laughed and cried and encouraged him to go,
Saying "Bill the Globe is all the rage for putting on a show".
One day the Queene came calling as Bill's fame began to grow,
She'd come to see the actors as into character they did flow.
The common folk did gape and stare from the crowded floor below,
They'd never seen so close before, Red Lizzie's royal glow.
Now at first she did but titter, and then albeit slow,
An enormous laugh began to rock Red Lizzie to and fro.
And at the last her Maj arose to clap and cheer, "Bravo",
"That Bill", she said, "I think he has the makings of a pro".
And so young Bill, his future sealed and very rightly so,
Forever more known as 'The Bard', that rocked the royal toe.



Awe struck are you not, LOL!


Okay, okay, I had a wee brain melt down but decided that should make for art as well as the usual stuff one does.
After all everything is grist isn't it.

The piece isn't as far fetched as it may first seem. Shakespeare was member of the Lord Chamberlains Men, a group of players who performed for the Lord Chamberlain and were retained for the courts amusement. Shakespeare himself acted and wrote for the company and also shared in the profits from their theatrical performances. In the days prior to the troops purchase of the Globe there is proof of Shakespeares performance before Queen Elizabeth and her court in and around London in the public records of the Treasurer to the Royal Chamber.

So now for the arty bit. Of course it's all about Bill, err, Shakespeare of course.
So here's the piece.

Now remember I was a card carrying member of a medieval society. So to take on a different tact, here's a recreation of a medieval velvet doublet as worn in Shakespeares time. Sleeves were of course an optional extra of the times and instead of being sewn in were tied into the base clothing piece for men and women. I couldn't get the arrangement I wanted with a sleeve as well, so the doublet is sans sleeve.



The doublet is scaled down of course to fit the canvas board (12" x 16"). Underneath reproductions of Shakespeares first folio productions from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and the Sonnets. (All favs, but I love them all really especially that Scottish Play and Hamlet). The doublet is all hand made no machine sewing anywhere. The trims are all couched by hand (that means sewn on in an authentic period style of attachment for anyone not into medieval dress making) and the button loops are also fashioned and attached by hand. Not as hard as one would imagine and I have had lots of practice now though. Included in the piece a fabulous old book cover from 1885 with a beautiful gilt WS on the front cover that I found in a local bookstore and couldn't pass up. (Okay it isn't from 1600 ish but then who owns a book from then with the initials WS that you're gonna chop up for art???) Also included a couple of feather quills I also fashioned by hand according to period methods and dipped in ink to look like Will could have just left them lying there. Boy that's a whole other story that one. Feather quills, what a hassle, who knew?



Here's a close shot of the gilt on the book cover. It's a little over exposed here but then it's gilt, lots of glare and crappy photography skills.

So sue me, LOL!

Beautiful writing.


Inside the book cover a copy of the rhyme for posterity, and because I like the humorous element to add to the story.
I fancy Shakespeare had a good sense of humour and wouldn't mind me taking the mickey out of him.

It's typed in as close to an authentic font as I could get, my calligraphy isn't that good, on the oldest paper I had.
The paper is from 1835. I have reproduced at the top and bottom of the page decorative elements as they actually appeard in the publications of the works from the first folio.




So there you have it. A little bit of Bill, as I like to call him. Actually in researching Shakespeare I found out quite a few interesting facts and stories. Who knows how true they are. Shakespeare it seems had a wicked sense of humour as well as wit. One story goes that a lady fell in love with one of Shakespeares comtemporaries, Richard Burbage, when she saw him play Richard III on stage and begged him to come to her chambers that night under the name of King Richard. Shakespeare apparently overheard the proposition and as a joke, left the theatre early to take Burbage's place. Apparently he was at it when a message arrived to say that Richard the third was at the door.
Shakespeare apparently replied that "William the conqueror" came before Richard III.
Now tell me that's not a man who can take a good joke, LOL!
Will, you kill me!

Crashing Back into Reality

Well unfortunately the holiday is over and I find myself crashing back into the world of reality and the demands of full time work. I must devote more time to working out how to earn an income from holiday life. Wouldn't that be wonderful. Unfortunately since I don't, it's back to the grindstone for me! This does not mean that there has been no time for art. On the contrary, I have been completing a couple of projects, which I can't show you yet, and so that means again journal play only to show, well at least for a wee while.
So here we are, the first page in a new journal...
step inside.
Seems an appropriate starting place.






Some play with water colours and acrylics.

And it's on to a collage, I've been headlong into a bit of a poetry plunge and this piece has stuck in my head.




I sometimes feel this happens to me. I spend so long immersed in the research, techniques or the colours of someone else that my own creativity seems to get bogged down in it all and it fills my head. I am in need of some clear space I think to refresh myself. So there will be no more research for a time just art play to enable me to breathe. I feel better already!

Remembering Leo

It's been a lazy beginning to the week, now that I'm on holidays. Oh yeah, kicking back and relaxing, arting when I want, watching a few movies and generally not doing too much, at least so far. Now if only I could work out how to get paid for doing this I'd be in heaven! So while relaxing I've been taking a few lessons from Ann Baldwin's book 'Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists'. Great book! Did I mention it's a great book? I did, well truthfully well deserved too. I do love Ann's collage work, and rarely do I find that these type of books live up to the my hopes for them, but this one! Worth every cent if you're into paint techniques for mixed media and collage! It's a wonderful place to begin anyway. So I been playin'. Have been researching madly for a current project and have a pile of books next to the nightstand as high as the nightstand on the Reanaissance period, my fav historical era. Soo much change in soo little a time period! Have sorted out all the issues for my current work in progress and am now into that, but I'm keeping that a secret at the moment so no peeks, at least not yet, LOL! However, as always the journals a great fallback, so here's the latest journal play.





'Remembering Leo'.



Love Da Vinci, what a fabulous mind. Fancy being clever enough in his day and age to go from paint, to sculpture, to engineering, to anatomy studies and back again! What a talented and inquiring mind he must have had. This page was a direct play from Ann Baldwins book. Her colour palette and style just my subject matter, but I liked it! Pooh, it's my journal and I'll play with what I want!!! (I'm sticking out my tongue and blowing raspberries too, LOL)! Don't know that I've finished with it yet either. I'll just have to wait and see.




'Walking on the Moon'

I've been in love with everything 'spacey' for as long as I can remember. I wonder if it was a direct influence from these guys? I remember watching it all on the tv as a child and being so entranced with the idea that someone was up there walking around as I was looking!
I was a grand 6 years of age (I soo cannot believe I gave my age away! What was I thinking???) and was hooked. I so admire these men, their predecessors and those who came after. I'm probably also a wee bit jealous! I'd go up tomorrow if only NASA would phone and ask!!!
Why haven't they??? Surely they've heard of me!!! LOL! I actually have the original newspaper broadsheets, published at the time. They are yellowing and delicate but I wouldn't part with them for anything! I have copied them and resized them to include here.


Next... onto something a little different.

Some jewelry play. The wonderful Ro Bruhn sent me a pakage a wee while ago and I have slowly been incorporating various of her bits into projects. (OMG, that sounds like I'm some sort of serial killer!!! I apologise to all, believe me, Ro's still out there folks! Alive and well! Trust me, I'm an artist, LOL)

Mwahahahaha, I kill me sometimes!!!


Anyway, the result of playing with beady bits...

Loads of glare when I took the photos. Sorry to all you photography types out there. I so suck at this.
(I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, much bowing and scrapping, LOL). Loads of glare from the mother of pearl discs, but they are sooo pretty. Every girl needs a bit of bling!




And then a little mixed media piece which I think may turn into a series.





I've been practising my portraits since last we spoke. Slow improvement. Ah well, Rome wasn't built in a day and all that!
Do you see the beatles, LOL! Couldn't help myself! John, Paul, George and Ringo in on the act! Mixed media canvas panel, acrylics, oil pastels, charcoal, ink, sheet music and all four beatles! Wow, should be worth a fortune with all four, LOL! I have been scouring the garden (much to the delight of the cat who has been pouncing about at every opportunity as I rummage amongst the bits) for the right kind of beetle but, it's winter here, a disctinct lack of buggy bits in the yard at present, especially the already departed type. Couldn't actually kill any for my art now could I! Unthinkable!!! So had to resort to making them from dried beans. Maybe I should watch out for that Jack guy, I hear he has some used beans!


Ahh, I think that's all for now. Gotta get back to my...

well nothing really, but I gotta get back to doin it anyway!!!


I so LOOOOOOVE holidays!

Creativity Can Be A Rough Journey!

Well, I have finally finished going through all the blogs that were participating in Seth's Buried Treasure. The butt's recovered and ready to go, the therapist is a damn sight richer than me now, LOL, but alas, between blog hopping, family and work there has been little time for art! Ye gads! I knoooow you are all soooo shocked! (me too!) I am currently head bashing around some art ideas and they are causing some, what had better be very temporary, wrinkling of the forehead.
The subject has been chosen, step one complete!
The format, arrived at, step two complete!
Now do you here the screaming sound of brakes being applied!!!
That's the old noggin grinding to a halt, and herein lies the issue.
I just haven't nutted out all the little details!

Guess I'm feelin a little discombobulated! (Oh yeah baby, look who swallowed the dictionary for breakfast today, aha aha aha! Go out and use that in a sentence today, then let me know how it goes. I'm interested in the unusual stuff!) For any of you completely at a loss now, the dictionary defines discombobulation as: to confuse or disconcert, to throw somebody into a state of confusion. That's me!

I am one of those people that maps it all out in my head when I embark on some major piece. Never does it just go blithely on and develop on it's own. Painting play yes, collage yes, but altering books, no, and that's the problem. I just cannot break, chop or generally destroy a book, even for the sake of art, without some sort of overall plan first. Oh, it may all change after I start, but there was originally a plan! I just loooove books too much to hack one up only to find I am unhappy with the way it is all going so let's just cut up another. Think it was too much time devoted to reading over the years, I loooove reading, so just can't do it! :( Sooo, the current problem is just that I need to nut out the finer stuff. I have no doubt that will happen shortly as I am about to take a two week break from work and intend to spend some serious time arting, woohoo, can't wait!!! Roll on Fridaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!


In the meantime, however...


DON'T PANIC!!! No matter what is going on there is always time to journal, phew! Sooooo, here's the latest round of journal fun, just so you know I haven't fallen off the planet!

Umm do you think this reflects my current dilemma? Maybe journalling will help!






Naaaaa, didn't work. Time to watch the storm instead!





Oh yeah, now I rule da house!!! Getting closer I think, LOL!

As you can see a variety of styles from various journals I have going, all at once too I will add. (For my sister in art, Cat, who's got the AADD now baby!! LOL! To all those souls out there wondering about AADD, a common affliction amongst members of the artistic community, AADD stands for Artist Attention Deficit Disorder. An affliction which causes said sufferer to constantly rove between various art forms and ideas without being able to settle on any one particular art form or style. Yeah you know you have it too, LOL!)

As a small aside I also suffer from DTS, otherwise known as dyslexic typing syndrome, which I define as a person who manages to type slower than their brain composes and so ends up with words completely typed in a state of utter chaos which would render any spelling bee champion apoplectic! (Woo that's two fun words in one post! Doin' the fun dance now kiddies!) Thank goodness it only happens when I type. I can actually behave in a semi normal state at other times, LOL!

Digging Deeper into the walls-Buried Treasure Round 2

So welcome back dear blog readers. Did you enjoy Seth's Buried Treasure? I know I certainly did, although I'm not sure about my butt, LOL! After serious remedial therapy, the butt's good to go for a second round, so on to, Buried Treasure Round 2! Seth has put out the call for another round of willing participants to join in and repost another of their Buried Treasure posts. But what to post??? In the words of a famous WWII poster, Keep Calm and Carry On. (Read this as...Now panic and freak out!!!) Well, the navels already clean from the last lot of contemplation, so... a snap decision. I have only been a participant in blogland for a small amount of time (since christmas last) so not a large vault of goodies to choose from really, but being the ever resourceful soul I am, I have found something for you. Although only posted initially a short time ago, I so enjoyed creating this piece that it's back for another round. And so.... drum roll please...
here's the repost for you

If Walls Could Talk.
(I'll let it speak for itself now folks. Stop clapping so loudly, I already know I talk too much, LOL)


Rolling back about 8 weeks or so...




Confessions of a bloghopper.
I am always jumping from one blog to another, sometimes I admit, I get lost and can't find my way back to where I was, or worse see something I love, close a page then can't find my way back there again! Do you do this too? Terribly frustrating! I am slowly becoming more disciplined about my blog hopping and bookmarking pages and sites I love so I can refind my way there again, but I still madly bloghop, driving my family nuts as they ask, "Are you downloading pages again?", all the time! :) Umm, yup, that's me, sorry to all the obsessive online gamers at my house, but raspberries to you I say!!! In my mad dash from place to place I often find myself returning to Le Divan Fumoir Bohemien (if you haven't caught this wonderful blog, then do. It's full of the most incredible fragments of interesting things!) So while there in recent weeks, an amazing piece of texture caught my eye. Paper and resin, brittle from the passage of time. Okay I'm hooked just from this alone. LOVE texture! But vintage texture!!! Ooooo! The piece was all about this fantastic house built from paper. Okay, a quick bloghop over to Rockport, Massachusetts (don't you just love the spelling challenges presented by some words!!!), and it's a quick spin through the paper house. Walls, furniture all made from paper and resin, how interesting. (Read that as brain ticking starting up). Alright, so now I'm thinking about the paper house and remembering a news article I saw sometime ago about how many years ago (that's centuries past), folks in the U.K. would bury sentimental items from loved ones who had passed away, in the walls of their homes. Baby shoes, clothes etc, and now workmen called in to do repairs are turning up all manner of strange items in the walls. Now, I have been watching with interest Seth Apter's Disintegration Collaboration where artists are making up bundles and leaving them out to the ravages of the elements for a period of time, only to reclaim them and produce something using their altered pieces in an artwork. Great stuff too Seth, can't wait to see more of this one! (If you have been under a rock somewhere and haven't caught this one, then jump to it and check it out, it's a must see!) So with all of this churning around in the noggin, the beginnings of an idea. Keep with me here, we are going somewhere, albeit slowly. The birth of a creative idea. What would your walls reveal about you? What would you imagine someone putting in there, preserving for all time? What could be hidden from view, secreted away in those spaces? Precious things, posessions, secrets waiting in time. Ahh, so here is the idea. Following along with the disintegration line, what would happen if there had been a fire? What would be lost or revealed?








And so...






the layers peeled away...

Under the wallpaper, inside the walls, what was hidden is now revealed.






A secret love...






a choice made...

a love lost.


Under the wallpaper, inside the walls the fire reveals, pictures of a love forsaken. Love letters hidden within the walls, kept close in the secret heart of the home.



The piece in its entirety.






Layers of paper, glued and colourwashed, then covered in dimensional magic. Now for the fun part, burned. Yes that's right, bubbled and blistered to form the texture of the piece. I had so much fun with this, burning the paper and dimensional magic to my hearts content. The family constantly checking to see I wasn't personally alight, (or at least the house!). I think I must be some sort of closet arsonist, LOL! Anyway, after the burning, lots of embossing in black, red and gold. More burning!!! (said with glee and maniacal laughing). I seem to be on some sort of upswing lately, everything rolling along so well. I am pretty pleased with this one (just in case you were in any doubt. LOL) Here's another glimpse of the textures, click away for a closer look.

Now I think I might have to contemplate the issue of water and how to apply it. (Just to put out all the fires you know)!

So there you have it dear blog readers, a wordy post from the vault but I wanted you to understand the piece, and how it evolved. I do hope you enjoyed it! Now to initiate another round of butt therapy by watching all of your posts. See you at the therapists. I think I will recognise you all as you'll all be bent over double like me! This therapist is sitting on a fortune, LOL!

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!!!

Journal Chillin

It's been a weekend to relax and catchup on a little journal play. I have been so busy recently it was nice to just sit and play at something without any pressures or expectations for a change. I have been reading art books, magazines and blogs and taking a few lessons from them all. So here's the first one. The first page is a sort of hybrid creation after watching Pam Carriker and Sharon Tomlinson create portraits for their journals. I've never been tempted to do a portrait, always felt I couldn't draw for quids, but, in for a penny... (and you have to learn sometime, right? Yeah... right! LOL). So here she is.


She's a little washed out from the scanner, but you get the drift! I can live with her, so that wasn't a complete failure!
(P.S. Ro, notice your fabulous stamp!!! LOVE it!)

Onto the second page... texture play!!! Woohoo!


Again I wanted to try something completely new, so, I'm gazing into the garden comtemplating the trees and what captures me...
Bark!!! Hmmm, must be able to use it somehow, what about a major texture play. Incorporate as much as I think the journal will hold up to without completely caving in! So off I went. Tissue paper and gel medium. Modelling paste with background and foreground stamping (I told you I love this poppy stamp Ro!!!). Then sheet music and gel again, then layers of acrylics and oils, followed by gel and bark. Add a few words and the piece d' resistance (did I spell that right???) wax!!! Oh yeah baby it sneaks in again! Gotta say I love, love, love the feel of the page, can't stop touching it! (Makes me sound a bit suspect really, but you know how it is with us texture peoples, LOL) Not an earth shattering picture but the texture... drool!




Okay Kim, wipe your drool up and move on!

And finally the outpourings from too much time spent at NASA/JPL's website.
The eye of the universe. Read into this piece what you will, I'm not influencing your take on this one!


The orange is actually copper but once again I succumb to crappy photography skills. Perhaps I should have stuck to reading photography for dummies instead!