Counter Plymouth Book Fair

A interesting and successful day at Counter Plymouth Book Fair on 24th October 2015.

My books were displayed amongst other artist's books, zines and paper ephemera. It was great to meet, chat and make new friends with a shared interest in hand made artist books.

A lady who bought a copy of 'This Grey Wind', suggested that the rhythm in the poems made them feel like lyrics and wondered about setting them to music. An interesting idea!

Six from Ireland

A book of six poems inspired by a visit to Southern Ireland.

The beauty of the south west of Ireland was hugely inspirational and the poems came quite quickly. Creating a painting for the cover was a new part of the book making process and one that was influenced by a visit to Red Fox Press on Achill Island.

Cover Six from Ireland, 2015

148 X 148mm

Inkjet printed on 120g Colorplan paper in sandstone.

Inkjet printed original painting by artist.

Inside page.

Inkjet printed on 120g Colorset paper in natural.

Blackbird

A two page A6 book about the blackbird.

I have been thinking about birds a lot and think that their inspiration is probably unlimited!

The poems is a sombre reflection on my desire to reconnect with my mother who died 12 years ago.

Front cover 'Blackbird' 2015. 

Card, paper, inkjet printing

Inside page 'Blackbird' 2015. 

Card, paper, inkjet printing

Women in Art

A fan book featuring negative quotes about women artists and their work.

This book came about after digging through some old sketchbooks and finding the list of quotes, which were part of another, unresolved project.

It fired up my inner feminist and I do feel that more ideas could come from this book.

'Women in Art' 2015

100mm x 40mm

Inkjet printed on 160gsm white card

A sample of text from the book:

'her family were against her becoming a painter'

'reserved only for her male colleagues'

Journeys #2

The second of a series of books about journeys.

A handwritten list of company names seen on lorries during a coach journey between Exeter and London.

I mainly produced this book to be suitable as a series of multiples, which are popular at book fairs. However, on reflection, I feel that  a much longer list or series of lists, bound together into a larger book, would have greater appeal to me, if not to visitors to book fairs. Having said that, people did buy a few!

I particularly like the methodical, even meditative process of hand writing lists of words/objects, or in this case company names. Aside from the process, the visual quality of handwritten text in capitals appeals to me, and, I think works very well.

Journeys #2 2015

148 x 105mm

Hand written on newsprint.

Inkjet printed on 160gsm card in bright blue.

Journeys #1

A handwritten list of number plates from cars overtaken on a journey between Plymouth and Cardiff.

Journeys #1 2015

148 x 105mm

Cover: 120g card in canary yellow

Inside: Handwritten in black ink on squared paper.

In this Grey Wind

'In this Grey Wind' is a handmade book using extracted text from 'Birds of the Grey Wind' by Edward A. Armstrong.

This has been one of my favourite outcomes of extracting text! 

I didn't begin with a theme, but just simply started by picking out key words and phrases. The bird watching book by Armstrong was written with such passion and absorbing description, that I found myself drawn to the bird's courtships and habitats, resulting in poetry that suggests love, relationship and loss.

It was the first extraction process from a book (the others being from newspapers) and it took quite a long time to compile, but one that I will definitely repeat!   

'In this Grey Wind', 2015

130 x 210mm

Inkjet printed on 120gsm White goatskin paper. 

Cover: Judd Street paper 'Diana Wilbraham, blue'

Sample from page one:

The

birds they came to meet me

in a tangle of jessamine and

honeysuckle

blackbirds

singing

exultant

melodies

of

ardour

and

love