Sunday 26 January 2020

I See Myself

The short piece of text for 'I See Myself' came about after a very restless nights sleep, with ideas and thoughts running around in my head, leaving me tired & wired at the same time! When the alarm went off at 6am, the first line of the text popped into my head, quickly followed by the second and third. I quickly started to write them down, knowing how easily they can slip from the mind.

I later tweeted the verse, then decided, again without much deliberation, on the style of book and the papers I would use.

It really is wonderful when book making ideas happen in such a straightforward way, especially as some, by contrast, take an age to formulate! Happy day!

'I See Myself' measures 10.5 x 6cm and is inkjet printed on newsprint. The card is 175gsm Artcard with a tracing paper insert and a cover of Abaca paper.


Front cover: I See Myself 2020
10.5 x 6cm 


Inside text

Saturday 11 January 2020

Solomon Browne

The Solomon Browne was a Penlee lifeboat with crew from the Cornish village of Mousehole. In December 1981, a crew of eight answered a call from a cargo ship called the Union Star. In heavy seas and hurricane force winds the Solomon Browne and her crew battled to save lives aboard the stricken ship.

However, despite their courage, all eight crew members from the Solomon Browne lost their lives that night, as well as those aboard the Union Star.

This disaster was the last time the RNLI lost an entire crew in action. Every year on 19th December, the Christmas lights in Mousehole are dimmed in memory of the 16 people who lost their lives.

My A6 handmade book  was inspired by a song about the Solomon Browne by folk group Silvington.

I researched articles online and extracted text from the RNLI page about the incident. The resulting prose, I hope, conveys the unfolding tragedy and the disbelief and grief from such a sad event.

I hand painted the artwork on a large sheet of cartridge paper using ink and water. I scanned images from the the artwork for the inside and then cut the artwork up to make the covers for the books.

Solomon Browne is an edition of six.


Solomon Browne
Front cover
A6



Solomon Browne
Example of inside page


Solomon Browne
Example of inside page