I am now ‘officially’ taking a break from bookbinding and client commissions. Most likely I won’t be returning to sculptural artist’s books in the near future either, as I will be dedicating my time to other creative endeavours. Although I believe that whatever I do, it will always have a certain bookishness to it. Just sometimes one has to clear the mind for a clean break so as not to disperse one’s energy too far and wide.

This also means I won’t be making further updates to this website. From the communications I receive via email, the visual archives of my work here may provide a good resource for many, so I will keep the galleries online for reference.

However, I will be still teaching two more previously arranged book arts courses. The upcoming UK workshop  will be on the 9th of June 2012 in Cambridge, and you can register on it here.

Consequently also, I’m selling some equipment and tools such as my large cast iron nipping press. It has served me well, and the amount of use has only added to its antique charm. It has travelled back and forth between continents, a friendly black beast. So, if you are in need of a big cast iron vertical press, let me know, you can buy mine. You can also ask for a list of other available tools & equipment.

And there we are. After some further creative flux, cocooning and morphing, I will be emerging elsewhere… On to new adventures!

You can see more, as well as purchase the above on: SpiritCarrier’s Etsy Store

The concept of various people around the globe dipping their individual white cloths into a myriad of rivers, and those cloths to be eventually joined as one large river curtain, is vastly symbolic. It resonates with me as an act of caring for our Gaia and creating unity amongst its people. I wanted to respond to that symbolism in some way with my contribution. Each of the contributed cloths will have their own personal story, some have been large community projects, some more private, but all flowing in from their various origins to unite together as one harmonious stream.

I chose a piece of white raw silk. It is in fact, the only white fabric I have in my art studio, but it fitted perfectly for my purpose. It is white raw silk that I bought a lot of while living in Dubai. I now use it often for book projects, especially wedding related ones. I adore this particular white raw silk. My own wedding dress was made of the same fabric. It’s wonderfully versatile too, works even as rather stylish living room curtains! And because I found it so difficult to adjust back to the British weather after the Middle Eastern sunshine, it seemed perfect to introduce the wintery British river to this sunny white cloth that came with me from Dubai. Since me and our daughter have been missing the sand dunes most, I thought it would be lovely to take her along to dip the white cloth with me. I also wanted to wait for one specific day for this special ritual… our one year ‘anniversary’ of leaving the desert sun behind. Maybe it is time to finally accept the grey, dreary chill of the north.

The most natural spot for the dipping was where we cross the River Cam every day. The day was suitably grey, with no sun in sight, but it also was incredibly windy which made everything somewhat more problematic. It was necessary to tie a long string to the corner of the cloth so we could keep hold of it. The white cloth did not want to co-operate in the strong gusts, and the drop from the river bank to the surface of the water was a couple of feet. Maybe the silk didn’t want to swim in the chilly dark river either, certainly looked like it. I never managed to get the cloth to spread open on the river’s surface, instead it curled and folded in protest, didn’t want to fly nor float. Rather it seemed to want to escape.

In the end, the piece of white raw silk from Dubai took two plunges in the chilly River Cam. First time around it curled into what I thought looked like a shape of a boat, maybe hoping for  a chance to sail away… And on the second swim, it had seemingly settled into its folded-in-the-wind fate, shivering amongst the swans who had rushed over from the other side of the river hoping there would be some food involved.

And as I write this, the piece of white raw silk is on its way to Lee Tracy, taking its sunny and chilly stories along, to be whispered amongst the group of all the other white cloths that will be flowing together as one very soon.

As the waters of the world continue to suffer, it is crucial to have those, like Lee Tracy, who work to raise awareness of these environmental issues that impact so many around the globe. I’m honoured to have been part of this worthwhile project.

One particularly delightful discovery for me on Etsy has been the “Treasuries”. They’re collections of 16 images on any theme one decides to curate on, pulling together various makers on Etsy to present a coherent, inspiring visual mood board. It’s an interesting exercise to curate such collections. Whether they are colour-coordinated shopping guides or something else… Myself, I’m particularly fascinated by expressing a thematic tale with a collection of images. Each artist’s work contributes to the whole and layers of meaning can be read from the combination of selected imagery. There’s something very similar in that process as in creating an artist book… The beauty of course being that you’re also connecting with and promoting some top notch creative makers in the process. I can see this type of curating exercise would be excellent for art students too – as compiling an image collection like this brings together many different skills in visual literacy.

There is a long list of continuously changing treasuries you can browse on Etsy. Some of them appeal to my personal visual sensibilities more than others, and some curators seem to consistently find magical content for their treasuries which have kept me in awe and inspired for days!

To share my recent discoveries of what Etsy has on offer, I’ll show you here some of the Treasuries I’ve curated so far. I recommend you click through to the site and explore all these artists’ creations more closely.

I’ve also opened an Etsy shop for the talismanic crystal jewellery that I make nowadays, so feel free to have a peek of this link too:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpiritCarrier

I have shed many “shoulds” and “should nots” from my making, which is incredibly liberating. In many ways I have also returned to the beginning, to re-discover  why I used to like making books in the first place. Yet it’s an ongoing spiral upwards, now combined with some purposeful research and development. I’m currently playing with macrame bindings, where the knotting is integral to the book’s structure, as well as carrying on with more jewellery work. I’m fascinated by this direction. I sense this time is full of transitions and new beginnings, and I’m quite excited to see where it all ends up.

Therefore it was a great opportunity to soak up the serenity here this summer, revel in the glorious rays of August sunsets, and to be once again grounded by these homely rocks. Between such visits these photographs serve as memory triggers, but every once in a while it’s wonderful to step into them, live it for real, mosquitoes and all.

An angel came into this world
Trying for a while to hang onto his wings
But eventually having to let them go
So he could settle more fully into this world

Once again I was also reminded how certain limitations in materials and techniques open up new unexplored creative doorways which, if you agree to proceed through, will reward you with surprising discoveries. And these four certainly did, creating with focus and a sense of purpose, in my opinion, gallery ready work.

Imagination and creative vision certainly are wonderful tools, but what elevated yesterday’s results to another level, had to do with execution. Meticulous concentration and following through with in inner sense of integrity about the quality of one’s work. This group paid attention to the minutest detail of what they were making and carefully balanced those details in relation to the whole. And when I see that combination in someone’s work, especially in a workshop I’m facilitating, it makes me very excited indeed, to the same extent that shoddy workmanship annoys me.

I had compiled yesterday’s workshop as an experimental and experiential book art course, something that would deal with the whole process of creating an artist book. It wasn’t just about the materials and how to put them together, but rather a journey that started with various exercises in guided doodling and creative visualisation, initiating a connection to one’s inner resources. Even the results of the very first exercise amazed me. The group instilled their work with deep personal symbolism and turned a bare-bone exercise into a fully fledged artistic project.

I am utterly grateful for having had the chance to work with these people for a day, hoping to see what creative directions they will explore next. What a successful, memorable day!

Artist book scrolls in progress by Anne, David, Catherine and Diana: