Portfolio and Multiples

 I am just back from the Geelong Fibre Forum. It has been a few years since I attended this event, however, as a veteran of these events it felt a bit like ‘coming home’. The class was Portfolio and Multiples, expertly tutored by Avril Makula.  The week long class was devoted to the construction of a portfolio box and the creation of artwork to go inside the box. The idea was that participants would create a A5 box and a multiple of  A5 artworks and then we would all swap so that our portfolio would then contain a collection.

Over the week I managed to make three portfolio boxes of different sizes and two very sturdy lidded boxes.

This was a class that required very accurate measuring and cutting.

The first box with a two ribbon fastening and collage piece on top.

The box opens out and contains multiple flaps to contain or enclose and protect the contents.

The exchange of multiple, one piece from each participant.

Another portfolio box, this one larger and with an inlay on the lid.

Flight Path, my exchange,  I made a multiple of eight, each piece very similar but not identical. The original background collage was A3 which I then tore into eight pieces. A line of red machine stitching was used to indicate the flight path of the bee. 

 For the instructor, a card made with selvedges of book cloth and machine stitch.

No visit to this event is complete for me without checking out the grounds. This event is held at Geelong Grammar and started in the year 2000. I have watched the growth of the Clivea beds around the beautiful old red brick buildings and  they are always in full bloom at this time of the year.

Avril has produced a book with fabulous imagery 

Good advice!  As an avid baker it resonated with me

Avril is also a book binder and had many lovely books and journals on display

Homage to Christine Robinson

Some small pieces of collage / mixed media that I made in response to the challenge to create some artworks inspired by… I used Christine Robinson  and gained her permission to use her works as a source of inspiration. She also agreed to me showing the images of my completed works. 

Each of these pieces is 15cm square and now form the pages in a small handmade book. I used a mixture of my own printed/dyed papers, commercial papers, old calendars and wrappers.

I have been lucky enough to collect a few pieces of Christine Robinson’s work. It is delightfully quirky and colourful and often includes cats and birds, my favourite subjects.

These are some of her works that are in my collection.  You can see more of her work here

Collage Capers

A Flutter of Feathers, a concertina folded book inserted into an old book cover. Inspired by my morning walk around Lake Wendouree, Ballarat.

A week or so ago I headed to Ballarat for my first retreat in two years due to the cancellations and restrictions imposed by Covid. It has been my habit to go to a class or week long retreat with Fibre Arts Australia, a fabulous opportunity to do an extended and intensive course but just as importantly to bond ‘with my tribe’  This time  I opted for a collage class. My original class selection was cancelled due to family and health issues with the tutor and replaced with a splendid class, Collage Capers taken by Peta Lloyd. 

There were lots of warm up, quick and structured exercises such as this simple postcard. Based on using papers that you swapped we were required to use at least one of the papers plus anything in our stash. The blue printed paper and feather were from my stash.

Another fun  activity was this postcard icebreaker or get to know you activity. PETA had a collection of postcards with quotes, each participant was asked to select a postcard that appealed to them. It could be either the card, the quote or both and then introduce themselves and explain why they had chosen the card. I think my coffee habit dictated my choice and the quote sort of mirrored my own philosophy of just do something.

Lots of altered papers and mark making to create our own papers

A layered paper technique that created an interesting surface by peeling through the layers, I really enjoyed this activity.

A couple of pages of Momigami, a Japanese technique of altering paper by repeated scrunching with lightly oiled hands.

Working in a series. 

The same piece of mixed media fabric cut into panels and made into a concertina inserted into an old book cover.

A book in a box. Jupiter and it’s many moons. A large matchbox covered with wallpaper, painted and a concertina book made from the layered paper for Jupiter and scraps of printed papers from the stash for the moons.

Another concertina book of collages

I thought this book, Bird Life in Cornwall was perfect for my altered old book.

Old cover, lined with some of printed papers

Fitting the concertina with the individual collage panels

Collage coaster on a paper cup stand, a group activity to decorate the ‘top table’

I made this small collage to go into a small concertina book that the class was presenting to Peta. Made from a selection of fabrics and papers that I had printed and combined with stitch and ricrac braid.

A medical emergency prompted an unexpected visit from my grandson who embraced the collage concept

And at night after I had returned to my room. I am a night owl and always have a little project to work on when my fellow boarders are sleeping. A series of small collages using only a small bag of scraps gathered from my table and the end of each day. These are for another project and another post. 

Are You Book Enough Challenge August 2021 - Winding

This month I took inspiration from the Beatles song … The Long and Winding Road 

The lyrics continue … that leads to your door. Eco dyed fabrics stitched as a long and winding road to a symbolic door.

The road also winds around vintage Japanese spools

Are You Book Enough Challenge July 2021 - Velvet

This book came about as a by product of a little workshop that I was teaching on embossing into velvet.

A smaller piece of embossed velvet mounted onto a larger piece to make the cover

The back cover made with the same green velvet, and elastic retaining band to hold it closed.