Join me at The Minnesota Center for Book Arts this Friday, the 14th of August 2015, for the opening of Parts of a Whole III.
This exhibition celebrates the book arts community and really shows off a huge variety of work created by over 70 different artists. There’s a lot to see from pencil drawings to handmade paper clothing and almost everything in between! Yes, I have a piece in the show so come along and join the fun!
I look forward to seeing you there!
Here it is!
And as you can see I am rather chuffed with the result!
Here’s a glimpse of the inside showing a lovely little bird designed by Viviane Berty alongside the very traditional pigeon.
For those of you in the UK, you’ll be able to get your own copy on August 14th 2015 (only 18 days from now!). However those in the US will have to wait until the 5th of January.
A video tutorial is in the pipeline as is a giveaway and even a book launch! So much to look forward to!
Art a Whirl is the largest art crawl in America with over 30,000 visitors and it’s only around the corner. Come and join the fun on May 15th-17th in the NE Arts District of Minneapolis,MN.
My studio will be open and I’m planning to show off some of my new work including letterpress prints and a large paper installation. More on that soon.
You can find me in studio 315 in the Casket Arts Building.
I hope to see you there!
Since the beginning of January 2014 I’ve been working on my second origami book: Origami Garden: Amazing Flowers, Birds, Bugs and Other Critters alongside a lovely team from Quarto Publishing.
It has been a very interesting experience collaborating with editors, graphic designers, art directors and of course many origami artists and creators who have contributed their works to this project.
I have never had so many rapid-fire deadlines in my entire life, and I’m proud to say I met each one right on time! :)
We are still in the last stages of getting everything ready for printing. I am eagerly awaiting the final colour proofs which should be with me soon. Maria Sinaskaya has kindly checked through all the diagrams looking for errors and I have gone over the contents quite a few times.
The release date for the book is tentatively September 12th in the UK and September 28th in the US. You can already pre-order a copy if you are as excited and impatient as me!
Check back soon for more information. I may even share one or two of the models with you before September.
I’ve just completed my latest project – sign painting on a bird house! However this is not any old bird house, it’s an exact replica of a family barn built in 1928.
Constructed out of miniature planks of wood created from the original barn siding, as well as hand-made mini cedar shingles, this beautifully crafted edifice designed by architect John Yust and built by carpenter Bill Peterson houses seven individual ‘rooms’. It’s like a block of flats for birds!
The natural patina from the 87-year-old planks of wood is so authentic and brings a lot of charm to this piece. It did make the painting rather challenging, but that’s part of the fun.
My usual method of transferring the text with a cartoon didn’t work due to the rough textured surface; so I prepped carefully and painted directly on to the surface with oil paints. With this surface and the paints involved, it was a one-time opportunity only – no going back once the paint was on.
The main sign on the front of the barn measures 20cm x 6cm so that you can get an idea of scale.
I look forward to seeing the bird house installed in the owner’s garden and I hope it will be used by many lucky birds!
I am incredibly honoured to be a recipient of the Jerome Foundation Mentorship Program. 2015 is the year where I get to learn about many of the different traditional skills that revolve around The Book. I will be introduced to the wonderful techniques of letterpress printing and bookbinding which, together with my paper making skills, will culminate in a glorious artwork.
I’m yet to see what that artwork will be, but it’s early days into the program so, no worries for the moment.
My mentorship will take place at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, a place that I already use and love dearly.
So, here are some photos of my first introduction to letterpress printing with CB Sherlock, a friend and a very talented printer.
Together with four other recipients of the program, the aim of the game was to find a five letter word, choose a letter, create a definition and then learn how to put all of that together and print a broadside.
After much discussion our word was Light. I chose the L and came up with a very creative L is for Love.
To celebrate the start of the new season, here are some images of my latest artwork entitled ‘l’hiver’ (French for winter).
This artwork consists of over 80 hand-made pieces of paper. Made from cotton and abaca, each piece was individually created and later dyed resulting in a harmonious ensemble. Just like snowflakes falling from the sky on a cold winter’s day; each element is unique.
The creative process took place at the MCBA (Minnesota Center for Book Arts) in Minneapolis, where I am a member of the artist cooperative. I thoroughly enjoy working in the large, clean paper studios and, as you can see, I have a tendency to spread.
L’hiver was part of a group exhibition earlier this year at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI. As usual I fell behind on my internet duties and forgot to inform you ahead of time. Better late than never.
I was so happy to be in the right place at the right time when my friend Sipho Mabona had an ambitious idea to fold a life size elephant out of a single sheet of paper. His sculpture called for a piece of paper 15m x 15m (50ft x 50ft) large; the papermakers able to help him were Amanda Degener and Bridget O’Malley from Cave Paper in Minneapolis along with a handful of helpers, including myself.
Making handmade paper the size of a small house is a rather rare occurence. It involves a huge space to work, a lot of fibre and of course heaps of stamina. Using their connections, Amanda and Bridget managed to recruit enthusiastic helpers and took over The Grain Belt Brewery Complex, a former brewery which has been turned into artist studios. I had so much fun being a part of the team and participating in Sipho’s gorgeous elephant that I’ve decided to share the process with you.
18 sheets of paper measuring 5m(17ft) x 2.5m(8.5ft) were individually made and assembled into 6 strips. The strips were then sent to Switzerland where Sipho joined them in-situ into one very large square measuring 15m(50ft)x15m.
To make each 5m x 2.5m piece of paper, a nylon mesh was laid out directly on the floor. Flax paper pulp was then poured on to the mesh. This is enough to create paper, but Sipho needed a thick, uniform sheet so we applied sheets of handmade paper 50cm x 70cm onto the wet pulp and poured another layer of pulp over the top. That’s right, we created a very large, soggy, paper sandwich using around 115kg (250lbs) of paper!
Here are some images:
For those of you who are interested in the actual creation of the life-size elephant, Shiso Productions have made an excellent 6 part documentary series.
I had experience faux painting on wood, on plaster, on canvas and on paper, but never on the side of a book. That was until New York artist Tauba Auerbach asked me to assist her on a very interesting project. doing just that.
Using watercolours for the first time I meticulously matched the sides of the book with the images on the full pages. The challenge of devising my own technique to acheive the trompe l’oeil effect was great and really brought out the perfectionist inside me. I usually work with oil paints, creating thin glazes and building up layer upon layer with different brushes to create multiple veins and colour variations. I learnt almost immediately that this was not possible with watercolour, especially as I had to keep the amount of liquid to a minimum not to damage the pages of the book. Therefore each and every wood pore and marble vein was painted by hand — one by one. I thoroughly enjoyed myself on this project and am happy with the results. More importantly, Tauba was pleased too!
