Paper is: Circulation

I have nearly finished my most ambitious piece for the exhibition next month at Mont de Lancey in Wandin. I've called it Paper is: Circulation playing on the title of the exhibition and on newspapers and the spots and other circular imagery in my spherical books.

When I took these photos I had made six books with cases but decided it looked better with an extra three so I have now made nine books and have nearly finished the cases and I've used each of the colours of the hemp paper that came from Bangladesh and has been living in my studio for around a year.

Herring Island Summer Arts Festival

 Each year a small group of volunteers puts on an arts festival on Herring Island, a lovely bushy island in the middle of the Yarra River. The first two for the year were Association of Sculptors and Basketmakers of Victoria and next up is the Contemporary Art Society of Victoria followed by A4 Art. I usually enter both Contemporary by Nature and A4 Art however this year I've just entered the first show and for the first time instead of framed wall hanging pieces I have entered these two artist books. The first I did some time ago after a workshop with Glen Skien and the second more recently.

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Second box

My second box also incorporates the well beaten abaca plus the hemp that used to be my Christmas tree. 

I made a drum from a cardboard cylinder with abaca and hemp. I made the string from a mix of the two fibres and the bits on the end from hemp pulp. The abaca worked beautifully as the drum surface.  It makes a lovely sound, I made a video but unfortunately had the sound turned off.

I cut all the musical symbols out of abaca.