Open Drawer Classes

I have been teaching a range of classes for Open Drawer in the last month and a half and it is the last class tomorrow. We will be making scraper paper and soft cut print blocks tomorrow, the first session we did nature dyeing/printing and the second session involved playing with indigo and rust. I had already made lots of books with the nature printing but since the indigo workshop I have made quite a lot of books with indigo and rust dyeing. The covers are scans of one particular sheet that I have printed onto bookcloth and each section contains one sheet that has been dipped into indigo or rust or both.

Last class we made paste papers and stamps and one of the participants asked what could you do with the paste papers so in the last week or two I have been playing with the papers and came up with a few ideas.

Two of the stamps I made

Pillow gift boxes

Gift box

Gift bag

Book covers

Yummy papers

Yummy papers

Yummy papers

Yummy papers

Yummy papers

Yummy papers

Picture frame

Lidded box

Lidded box

Europe and workshops

I am about to go to Europe for the IAPMA Congress that is happening next month in Fabriano, Italy at the Museo della carta e della filigrana. I have just finished putting together a catalogue for the members show and am putting the finishing touches together for both my travel plans and those for husband and daughter who will be travelling in Italy while I am at the congress. I will be visiting Paris for the first time and Netherlands and Italy for the second, it will be Mike's first trip to Europe.

From the week after I get back I will be teaching a series of workshops for Open Drawer on decorative papers.

A series of classes looking at ways of getting pattern and colour onto paper.

4 x 3 hour workshops $60 each payable to Open Drawer

Time: 12.30 – 3.30pm

Friday July 25th:    Natural Dye and Print

Make marks onto paper using a range of natural materials including tealeaves, gum leaves, ferns, berries and a range of metals. Some great effects can be achieved.

Bring along a range of leaves from your garden

Material Fee $6 includes: paper and other materials needed – payable to Gail on the day

Friday August 8th:    Indigo and Rust

Learn how to set up an indigo vat for dyeing paper (and fabric) to a range of beautiful blues. Also learn about rusting paper using readily obtained chemicals then combine the two processes to achieve some wonderful effects.

Material Fee of $10 includes:  paper and chemicals – payable to Gail on the day

Friday August 22nd:   Paste Papers

Get back to kinder with some finger painting. Use a range of tools to create beautiful patterns on paper using paste and colour.

Material Fee $10 includes: all materials needed for workshop

Friday September 5th:   Scraper Paper

Get some wonderful effects on paper using acrylic paint and a scraper of some sort, a great use for old plastic gift cards.

Bring along a spray bottle and at least three tubes of acrylic paint (Jo Sonya works well, anything that is not too thin) including one metallic colour. Please also bring disposable gloves and wear an apron.

Material Fee $6 includes: all  Paper - payable to Gail on the day

Too busy to blog???

I notice it is almost two months since I last blogged. I have been thinking lately that I have been spending too much time working for and promoting other peoples practices and not enough on my own. I have been spending a lot of time helping with the organisation of the next IAPMA Congress that is happening in Fabriano Italy from 1-6 July. And yes, I will be attending and having some holiday time in Paris, Amsterdam and Rome before the congress.

Connections cyanotype on handmade cotton paper

Nexus - detail cyanotype on hanji

These two pieces will be exhibited as part of the member show in Fabriano, they are on their way to Italy now, I have my fingers and toes crossed that they'll arrive safely. Back in 2000 the work I sent for the members show failed to arrive. Three of the boxes arrived back in Melbourne in January 2001 and one was delivered to the Tuscany address a couple of months later.

This dress is currently in Jeonju Korea but due to the ferry disaster there won't be shown until some later date. All public events have been cancelled or postponed.

I have made a few journals lately including a new series of Melbourne icons. It all started when I made my daughter who is currently living in Netherlands a cardboard Christmas Tree and Vegemite jar ornament. Since I had the photo of the Vegemite jar I put it on the cover of a couple of books but they were deemed to breach copyright so I started again with some Vegemite on toast, lamingtons and twisties. They in turn led to using photographs of some Melbourne landmarks, The Skipping girl and Luna Park.

Skipping girl

Skipping girl inside

Skipping girl

Luna Park

Lamingtons

Vegemite

These books are currently available at Open Drawer and The Alcove Art Shop, not on Etsy yet.

Earthworks

Papermakers of Victoria has an exhibition coming up at Open Drawer, I delivered my two pieces yesterday and Yabbers worked on putting our piece together for the show, I will post some preliminary pics soon. I am about to head off to the US, my eventual destination being the IAPMA, Friends of Dard Hunter meeting in Cleveland at the Morgan Conservatory but I'll be visiting San Francisco, New York, Boston, Washington, Cleveland, Cincinatti and maybe Chicago and Toledo. It takes a lot of organising but I'm getting there!

Tassie trip including Silver showing and workshop

I'm a bit late posting this having been back from Tassie for nearly three weeks, these are a few pictures I took down by the docks in Hobart, one of my favourite haunts.

I went to Hobart to teach a three day workshop on Sculptural Books and here are some results of the workshop. I am teaching the same class again at the end of January at Open Drawer in Hartwell.

Here are some of my books that I took for inspiration.

And the IAPMA Silver exhibition got another showing to the workshop participants and some visitors. I wasn't able to take it all with me just what fitted into two plastic tubs. The next showing is possibly Sydney and then Bairnsdale in August next year.