⦁ Benjamin's Book ⦁

Rebecca wanted a book for her new born son...Benjamin. A photo album that she could arrange pictures, notes and writings in. I used watercolours and my hand carved rubber stamps to make the cover, I also created something similar for the back cover without his name, I just forgot to photograph it. The name was created with my 'circus' rubber stamp alphabet that I drew freehand and had made into rubber stamps in India. 

The spine is lovely French book cloth in teal. The pages are all hand sewn with linen thread and each page has a 'shim' which is a very very short 'page' to allow for content to be added to the pages without bulging the book out of shape when full. It's easier to show you an image!

Rebecca was very happy and it's a really nice keepsake that is fully functional. I hardly remember to take snaps of my work as it comes and goes too quickly but this was on my desk for a while as I was snowed under. And now we literally are..
Hope you are all enjoying the snow in the UK? It just makes me incredibly hungry.

♒℉ishy business♒

Don't take to the smelling salts just because I am back within the week. I meant it you know. I'm a woman of my word. Which works against me sometimes but that's another looooooonnngggggg story.
It's been a productive week, lots of coming and going, toing and froing, huffing and puffing.
A quick peek-a-boo at some of my moments...

I gathered all my rubber stamps together and made this as a promotional piece. It's all the rubber stamps I have carved recently for various projects. Using my quite ridiculously large collection of inks. (it's one of my cheaper habits)
When I was a porous, diligent art student at The London College of Printing or the LCC as it is known by these days and I extended my printmaking skills, I felt as though I had come home. The thoughtful, meditative quality that comes with printmaking was a great soother to me in those (when I look back on it) quite troubled times. But printmaking is a process requiring equipment and it means making a mess and although I can quite easily manage both of those; the simplicity and ease with which I can quickly carve a stamp is increasingly seductive.
A block of rubber, my trusty lino cutting tools and a selection of ink pads and almost instant results. I teach the basic techniques of this at The Make Lounge.  Everybody can do it once they know how. A few points in the right direction from an experienced maker saves so much time and wasted materials ;-) And we achieve quietness and concentration in class there. Printmaking weaves a spell of contemplation. A yogic focus. If I had a bit more time on my hands I would take a few of the other classes there myself. They all look amazing. 


Here's a few cards I made earlier with some offcuts from book projects, painted watercolour circles and fish and seaweed stamps. I haven't got around to folding them yet, will come back and pop them in the press later when they are dry. It's coming up to lots of birthdays and I love sending cards, HATE buying them.

And in my quieter moments I wander field and woods trying to walk off excess rhubarb cake and keeping the dog happy. It's Spring you know!