In between larger projects, I like to keep my hands moving. Correction, I must keep my hands moving. It is a way to think and experiment with art ideas when the stakes are low. A couple of hours here or there, a few sheets of paper or cloth or wool, and I have invested only a little time and materials, but I have probably learned something, and I might even have an object to share.
Currently, I am in between large projects. It's not a comfortable feeling: a little restless, a little depressed. A Scots word I learned from the wonderful and thoughtful book Corvus: A Life with Birds by Esther Woolfson is hingy. She wrote that it means listless or unenthusiastic. Further investigation yields: "slightly unwell" "below par" and "out of sorts." Off balance is how it feels to me. I've been hearing sad news recently in addition to the regular front page anxieties.
To help counteract this hingy feeling, in addition to cleaning up, finally (always last on the to-do list) I've been making small linocut prints and creating one-of-a-kind painted journals. I get a small joy out of the designing and choosing the colors for the overall book and for the thread, and completing a project in a day or two. I've made a few in the last week. There may be more.
Here's Rustic Coptic Journal. Looks and feels a bit like wood, but it is painted museum board, begun in 1998! I completed it with Arches Text Wove paper with deckle and torn edges and four colors of waxed linen thread for the binding.
And Painted Rose Coptic Journal. I used strips of painted paper to wrap each signature. Valentine, maybe. It's nearly miniature at 3"h x 3 3/8"w x 1"d. The thick Somerset printmaking paper made the book spring open, so I added a waxed linen thread and bead toggle.
And Blue Wave Coptic Journal. I love the ocean. Size is 5 1/8"w 4 1/8"h x 1/2"d.
Just one of each. They are up on Etsy at nevermindtheart. To help counteract that hingy feeling.
Currently, I am in between large projects. It's not a comfortable feeling: a little restless, a little depressed. A Scots word I learned from the wonderful and thoughtful book Corvus: A Life with Birds by Esther Woolfson is hingy. She wrote that it means listless or unenthusiastic. Further investigation yields: "slightly unwell" "below par" and "out of sorts." Off balance is how it feels to me. I've been hearing sad news recently in addition to the regular front page anxieties.
To help counteract this hingy feeling, in addition to cleaning up, finally (always last on the to-do list) I've been making small linocut prints and creating one-of-a-kind painted journals. I get a small joy out of the designing and choosing the colors for the overall book and for the thread, and completing a project in a day or two. I've made a few in the last week. There may be more.
Here's Rustic Coptic Journal. Looks and feels a bit like wood, but it is painted museum board, begun in 1998! I completed it with Arches Text Wove paper with deckle and torn edges and four colors of waxed linen thread for the binding.
And Painted Rose Coptic Journal. I used strips of painted paper to wrap each signature. Valentine, maybe. It's nearly miniature at 3"h x 3 3/8"w x 1"d. The thick Somerset printmaking paper made the book spring open, so I added a waxed linen thread and bead toggle.
And Blue Wave Coptic Journal. I love the ocean. Size is 5 1/8"w 4 1/8"h x 1/2"d.
Just one of each. They are up on Etsy at nevermindtheart. To help counteract that hingy feeling.
Comments
Best wishes,
Susan
Sincerely,
Saundra Warren
Thank you so much for reading, for writing, and for your appreciation and support. It means a lot!
-Alisa