Rest in Peace Dad
Not a day goes by without you being in my thoughts
On the 12th May 2023 we took Dad home. Wairehu Werahiko Hikaka 03 April 1937 - 07 May 2023
Rest in Peace Dad Not a day goes by without you being in my thoughts I've been pottering around with making book structures for a few years courtesy of Creativebug & their resident book artists & friends - if you don't know who I mean & you have even the teeniest desire to do some bookish stuff, go & check them out In November 2021 I did a 5 day challenge through Vintage Page Designs which was amazing & the book I made was gorgeous, which decided me to join her subscription based Handmade Book Club. Since December 2021 I've made at least 1 book per month. Not always the book of the month as some of them just don't appeal to me & sometimes I've made 2 or 3 of the same binding as I find them so practical or adaptable. I've got to the stage now where I'm happy enough with my technical skills that I can pretty much try to make anything I want. Must admit tho that I doubt that I will ever be anything other than less messy with glue & I'm still a bit challenged on the 'drawing a straight line with a ruler' thing I make do with what I have. There are many things we can't get easily here in NZ, especially the papers. My god the day I get to see & touch some of the papers which are mentioned I know I will likely have died & gone to paper heaven hahahahaha. I've learnt what I can substitute with & what doesn't work so well too. I love making blank journals. Some I give away, some I use as journals myself, some I just sit around in places I can see them so I can touch them as I go past. One of the structures we made has become my daily diary type journal. In fact I've made that structure 3 times as i love to so much. I stick or stitch things in some, I write in some, I stash things in pockets I create in some & one of my favourites I made specifically as a home for my embroideries. The covers & the binding are the things for me. I love the stitched bindings - of course. I wax linen threads that were gifted to me from a friend's mum, who has passed away. Images of home, images of here, abstract mark making on brown paper, stencils I've made of gecko footprints - it's all here. And just for fun; soap boxes & paper bags from art stores in Australia, stashed away of years. All of them vessels. Vessels to hold magic. I'm still a member of the book club because apart from the monthly book we make, the 'value add' of the bookclub is enormous; guest artists who teach Celtic knots, asemic writing, botanical themed stitched books, slow stitching (lol) gah too many to mention but all of whom take me down rabbit holes of creative exploration that I love.
perhaps not THE great lakes
perhaps not even great but definitely lakes albeit pigment lakes it’s nice to be able to make our own pigments from the left over dyebaths so far this year we have yellow brown, brown brown & poo brown … keep reminding myself it’s about the process not the outcome 😆 |
Hi, I'm Sally
I'm a fibre artist who loves botanicals - especially NZ native plants |