Today I started to paint some parchment in preparation for book covers for my current binding. The two main colours of my design are red and black. I’ve always liked the way ink settles on parchment and this time the black sumi-e ink reacted rather nicely with the red calligraphic ink. So much so that I started to look closer and examine the lines and shapes. Then it occurred to me – it looked exactly like hot molten lava exploding from a volcano. Was this a coincidence… my current obsession with rocks and stones brought a piece of lava stone to me just last weekend. I love the way subconscious works. (Oct09)