New Year wishes and a new bookplate

The last Moth Woman Press project for 2020 continues our current focus on bookplates.

Intended for the Australian Bookplate Design Award 2020, it was a pleasure to work on from start to finish. Our cat Alice, a delightful companion during this year’s lockdowns, was my model for the feline figure. She’s pictured below closely examining the newly carved lino block. After printing, the block was hand-coloured with watercolour (see final photo). Measurements are 15 x 12.5 cm (image) on A4 sized paper.

For more about this bookplate, including additional progress views, visit my art blog HERE.

Due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19, the Award has been postponed until 2021, although I’ve posted my entry ahead of time. 

Revised dates for the Australian Bookplate Design Award are still TBA. Meanwhile, warmest wishes to you all for a bright, happy, healthy and creative New Year. 

Oscar Wilde bookplate

Whilst my current bookplate designs are under development, here is an example of one I made several years ago. Based on a poem by Oscar Wilde and reproduced from one of my linocuts, the bookplate comes in packets of 20. 

From this week, a limited number of Oscar Wilde bookplates will available through Playing in the Attic, 119a Sturt Street, Ballarat, Vic 3350. Phone: 0428 580 309. The shop also stocks a selection of Moth Woman Press books and zines and is open from Wednesday - Saturday.

The Facebook page of Playing in the Attic, which includes updates on opening hours during COVID-19, is HERE.

More bookplates

Lately I’ve been working on a linocut bookplate (not pictured) that I plan to enter into the upcoming Australian Bookplate Design Award. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for several years, but each time the biennial award comes around it seems to coincide with a particularly busy period and I’ve never quite been able to find the time. With the October deadline fast approaching, it’s not surprising that bookplates have been very much on my mind (see also last post). 

A recent post on my Art Blog, prompted by Mark Cousin’s remarkable 14-hour documentary, Women Make Film that was recently screened at the 2020 Melbourne International Film Festival, focuses on a suite of linocuts I made back in the 1990s that draw their inspiration from Film Noir and the genre known as the woman’s film.

As I developed my linocut, it seemed to me that the Film Noir/woman’s film images could also be reimagined as bookplates and I set about making a series of experiments on my iPad. All up, there are nine of them. They are still works in progress and haven’t yet been proofed. A small selection are reproduced here and the remaining designs will feature in a future post.

Bookplates in progress

While we’re on the subject of bookplates (see my last post) here are the first of several I’m currently developing. These examples incorporate three small paintings I made in the early stages of lockdown.

I’ve always had a fascination for bookplates, and am about to begin one using the more traditional medium of linocut.

These digitally produced bookplates are essentially limbering-up exercises. They are still in the experimental stages, but I’m finding them quite soothing to work on, a welcome contrast to far more laborious, time-consuming projects, including the painting I’m currently working on, a triptych that’s likely to take a considerable time to resolve.

A checklist for times of COVID

INVENTORY 

Four be the things I am wiser to know:

Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe.

Four be the things I’d been better without:

Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.

Three be the things I shall never attain:

Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.

Three be the things I shall have till I die:

Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.

- Dorothy Parker

Pictured top: a bookplate made in 1987. Collections: State Library of Victoria, private collections. 

In terms of a physical inventory, the Art Deco clock (presented to my late grandfather, Lee Rogers, by the Port Augusta Swimming Club) and vase (purchased at Portobello Road Market, London in the 1970s) sit on the mantelpiece in the dining room of the Art Deco house we moved into late last year. The cocktail glasses, a gift from the old friend this bookplate was originally made for, are stored in an adjoining glass cabinet.  

Cat’s Cradle - Finalist in 2020 Libris Awards

Above and below: Cat’s Cradle, 2019, acrylic on wood and pigmented
drawing ink on paper, 16.5 x 15.5 x 1.5 cm (closed)

In recent news, our artist book, Cat’s Cradle, has been shortlisted for the 2020 Libris Awards: The Australian Artists Book Prize at Artspace Mackay.

Judges for the 2020 Awards are Robert Heather, Director of Advancement, Communications and Events at University of New England and Des Cowley, Principal Librarian, History of the Book and Arts at State Library of Victoria. The exhibition catalogue, including a full list of of finalists, is here:

https://www.artspacemackay.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/251731/2020LibrisAwardsCatalogueofFinalists01-05-20_4-13pm.pdf

Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, exhibition dates and the announcement of award winners have yet to be confirmed. Currently Artspace Mackay anticipates announcing the the prize winning entries and confirmation of exhibition dates by late June 2020. Please visit the Artspace Mackay website for updates:

http://www.artspacemackay.com.au/whats_on/libris_awards

New zines at Playing in the Attic

We’re delighted to announce that the four MWP zines recently launched at the 2020 Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair (pictured top) are now available at Playing in the Attic in Ballarat. The shop has also stocked up on new copies of two old favourites, our books There was once...The collected fairy tales and Fallen Women.

Playing in the Attic
119a Sturt Street
Ballarat (VIC) 3350

Phone: 0428 580 309
Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 10 am - 4 pm

FOTP 2020 highlights

Pictured above and below are a handful of highlights from yesterday’s fabulous 2020 Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair. (Click on images for a clearer view). 

For the first time in its illustrious history, the Festival of the Photocopier was held at the historic Meat Market in North Melbourne. I couldn’t have wished for finer zine stall neighbours than Andrew Pilkington, with whom I shared a table, and Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, who shared the table to our right. Thank you to Sticky and the Meat Market for having us, to Shane Jones for your inestimable assistance and to all who stopped by the Moth Woman Press stand to say hello and help us raise funds for Wildlife Victoria's Victorian Bushfire Appeal. I had a ball and can’t wait to do it again next year.

Now Voyager

Pictured above: Now Voyager, a mini-zine made especially for the 2020 STICKY INSTITUTE FESTIVAL OF THE PHOTOCOPIER ZINE FAIR at the Meat Market, 3 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne, 3051. 

The zine takes its title from The Untold Want, a poem by Walt Whitman: 

‘The untold want by life and land ne'er granted
Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find.’

I’ll be at FOTP 2020 today, Sunday 9 February, from 12 – 5 pm. The proceeds of all our sales will be donated to Wildlife Victoria’s Victorian Bushfire Appeal: https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/ 

Life at the Top of the Art World - a survival guide by Alice

So you’ve reached the top of the Art World. Well, it sure doesn’t end there. In eight not-easy steps, Alice demonstrates how to sidestep the painful slide down that most slippery of slopes - and how to avoid getting splinters if you do. An essential instruction manual, Life at the Top of the Art World - a survival guide by Alice, (2020), is presented from the singular perspective of one who was catapulted into mega-stardom while still a kitten. Click on images to enlarge.

Initially Alice assumed a supervisory role in the production of her latest mini-zine, but before long, her contribution became more paws-on. 

Life at the Top of the Art World will be launched at the 2020 STICKY INSTITUTE FESTIVAL OF THE PHOTOCOPIER ZINE FAIR, Meat Market, 3 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne, 3051, on Sunday 9 February, 12 – 5 pm. 

This and all Moth Woman Press limited-edition mini-zines will offered at the special FOTP 2020 price of $4.00, with all proceeds donated to a cause that’s close to Alice’s heart:  Wildlife Victoria’s Victorian Bushfire Appeal:  https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/ 

Alice at FOTP 2020

Alice has starred in no less than three Moth Woman Press mini-zines, including the eponymous Alice, (2019), a suite of eight pastoral scenes set to a poem, also titled Alice, by Christina Rossetti. The poem was penned way back in the nineteenth century, but the prophetic Rossetti clearly had our Alice in mind. 

Shameless self-promoter Alice wants it known that all three Alice-themed zines will be featured in the upcoming 2020 STICKY INSTITUTE FESTIVAL OF THE PHOTOCOPIER ZINE FAIR at the Meat Market, 3 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne, 3051, Sunday 9 February, 12 – 5 pm. 

Moth Woman Press limited-edition mini-zines will be offered at the special FOTP 2020 price of $4.00, with all proceeds donated to Wildlife Victoria’s Victorian Bushfire Appeal: https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/

Ghost Gums

Currently on the work table: Ghost Gums, a Moth Woman Press mini-zine in the process of creation for the 2020 STICKY INSTITUTE FESTIVAL OF THE PHOTOCOPIER ZINE FAIR, Meat Market, 3 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne, 3051. You’ll find me and my zines there on Sunday 9 February from 12 – 5 pm. 

As mentioned in our recent posts, all proceeds from Moth Woman Press sales at FOTP 2020 will be donated to Wildlife Victoria’s Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

Backstories zine

Pictured above: the cover art for Backstories, another mini-zine-in-the making for the upcoming Sticky Institute 2020 Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair at the Meat Market, 3 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne, 3051. 

We'll be donating all proceeds of Moth Woman Press sales at FOTP 2020 to Wildlife Victoria’s Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

Pictured below: the FOTP 2020 poster, designed by Tim Sta-Ana.

I'll be there on Sunday 9th February from 12–5pm and hope you’ll drop by and say hello. 

For further information, scroll down to our previous post.

Festival of the Photocopier 2020

Now Voyager, 2020 mini-zine (cover art)

Moth Woman Press has hit the ground running in 2020. On Sunday 9 February we are participating in the legendary Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair, which this year will be held at Melbourne Meat Market. We are making four new zines especially for the event, including Now Voyager, the front cover of which is previewed above. A limited number of back-issues of Moth Woman Press publications will also be available. 

In the light of the ongoing bushfire crisis, all proceeds from MWP zine sales will be donated to Wildlife Victoria’s Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

Festival of the Photocopier 2020 is a two-day event. Moth Woman Press will be there on the second day, Sunday 9 February from 12 – 5 pm and we hope you will too.

Meat Market 

T (03) 9329 9966

3 Blackwood Street, North Melbourne, 3051.

For the best public transport options, go HERE. Please note that the surrounding area has limited permit, metered and timed on-street parking.

Season's Greetings for 2019

 A snapshot of my old studio. (Photo credit: Shane Jones).

2019 has been an uncharacteristically slow year at Moth Woman Press, due to a series of back-to-back house moves. Over the past seven months, my partner, Shane Jones, and I sold our respective homes in Melbourne and Ballarat and have bought a house together in Ballarat East. Our new home is still a work in progress, but we're gradually getting there.

I look forward to sharing further news from the new centre of operations of Moth Woman Press, Ballarat, in the coming weeks.

Until then, Merry Chistmoth, everyone.

SELF-MADE at Latrobe Regional Gallery

The Moth Woman Vigilantes, 2011, zine, edition of 80. Collection:
State Library of Victoria. Photo credit: Paul Compton.

Pictured above: our limited edition zine, The Moth Woman Vigilantes, spotted by Paul Compton at Latrobe Regional Gallery in SELF-MADE: ZINES AND ARTIST BOOKS, a touring exhibition from the State Library of Victoria.

The exhibition is ‘... presented by State Library Victoria in partnership with Sticky Institute, and supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria and the Visions regional touring program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to cultural material for all Australians’. 
- From the Latrobe Regional Gallery website.

SELF MADE opened on 10 August and runs to 10 November 2019
https://latroberegionalgallery.com/project/7223/

Last days of BETWEEN THE SHEETS

Progeny, 2018, one-of-a-kind artist book; pigmented drawing ink,
gouache and hand stitching with cloth binding, 16.5 x 91 cm (open)

If you happen to be in Perth, WA, you have until next Saturday, 21 September, to see BETWEEN THE SHEETS 2019 before it ends its run. In this exhibition, 70 works by 59 artists from 7 countries challenge notions of the traditional book. Makers include printmakers, photographers, architects, wordsmiths, textile artists, painters, sculptors, digital artists, and a glass artist.

Two of my artist books are included in the show, both of them one-of-a-kind: Progeny, 2018 (pictured top) and Firebrand, 2017.

In this extract from the catalogue essay, Paul Uhlmann, Senior Lecturer at Edith Cowan University describes ‘... the endless list of classifications; altered books; the book as unopenable object; livre de peintre (the beautiful painter’s book); the book as performance; the book as skin and body; the book as memory object; the book as archive; the book as concept and many more. Since my initial encounter, artists’ books have grown exponentially and become an international phenomenon; many attempts have been made to define the characteristics of an artist’s book; to tame it, to give it shape but an artist’s book – a book made by an artist – will defy classification, just as all artists strive to develop their own unique voice.’

To view individual works, accompanied by statements from the artists, go HERE.

BETWEEN THE SHEETS: ARTISTS BOOKS EXHIBITION 2019
Gallery Central,
12 Aberdeen Street,
Perth WA
Hours: 10 am - 4.45 pm weekdays
11 am- 4 pm Saturday
The exhibition runs until Saturday 21 September 2019

Moth Migration Project

Moth Woman Press publications at Moth Migration Project, Oak Hill
Gallery, Mornington

The well-travelled Moth Migration Project alights on Oak Hill Gallery this coming Sunday. In celebration of this and all things Moth, a selection of Moth Woman Press publications will be available for the duration of the show. Among them is There was once... the collected fairy tales, our illustrated anthology that includes The Story of the Moth Masks (also in zine form) The Moth Queen and the Wasp, The Moth and the Butterflies and Moth Eaten.

Oak Hill Gallery

100 Mornington-Tyabb Rd

Mornington Vic 3931

Open daily 11 am - 4 pm

Phone:(03) 5973 4299

E-mail: art@oakhillgallery.com.au

Moth Migration Project opens on Sunday 1st September from 2 - 4 pm and continues until 30th September.

Firebrand in BETWEEN THE SHEETS 2019

Firebrand, 2017, one-of-a-kind artist book, pigmented drawing ink

and gouache with cloth binding, 16.5 x 91 cm (open)

Photo credit: Tim Gresham

Firebrand, 2017, is one of two of my artist books to be selected for BETWEEN THE SHEETS – ARTISTS’ BOOK EXHIBITION 2019. (The other is Progeny, 2018). 

Pictured below: detailed views of Firebrand, followed by silhouetted back views of both books in the studio of photographer, Tim Gresham.

BETWEEN THE SHEETS 2019 

Gallery Central

Aberdeen Street

Perth WA 6000

The show runs from 29 August - 21 September.

For further information, go HERE.

Tall Poppies in Canberra

Tall Poppies (2013, unique artist book. Pigmented drawing ink
on Khadi paper with cloth binding, 80 x 15 cm, open). 
Collection: National Library of Australia

Pictured top: installation view of Tall Poppies (2013) our vertical concertina book, snapped yesterday at the National Library of Australia along with reflected library visitors. Click on images for a clearer view.

Many thanks to Dr. Carole Wilson for the photos.

BETWEEN THE SHEETS 2019

Progeny, 2018, one-of-a-kind artist book, pigmented drawing ink,
gouache and hand stitching with cloth binding, 16.5 x 91 cm (open)
Photo credit: Tim Gresham

I'm delighted to announce that for the third time running, my work will be part of the biennial artist book exhibition, BETWEEN THE SHEETS. This time round, Progeny (pictured top) and Firebrand, two of my one-of-a-kind artist books, have been selected.

BETWEEN THE SHEETS - Artists' Books Exhibition 2019 is presented by Gallery East in conjunction with Gallery Central (North Metropolitan TAFE) in Perth, Western Australia. 

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Australia

New South Wales: 

Lee Bethel; Caelli Jo Brooker; Lisa Giles; Avril Makula; Jane Simon; Yvette Sullivan; Marama Warren

Queensland: 

Dr. Rhi Johnson; Lorraine Lamothe; Sue Poggioli

South Australia:

Beth Evans

Victoria: 

Lyn Ashby; Alex Hamilton; Petr Herel; Debbie Hill; Deborah Klein; Lesley O'Gorman: Peter Ward

Western Australia: 

Gabriela Antonini; Susanna Castleden; Christopher Crouch;  Claire Davenhall; Martin Dickie; Robyn Foster; Shanti Gelmi; Louise Grimshaw; Chloe Henderson; Penny Hudson; Shana James;  Pam Langdon; Lesley Le Grove; Monica Lukowska; Elisa Markes-Young; Cherish Marrington; Jacky McFarlane; Clyde McGill; Shona McGregor; Melanie McKee; Dragicia Milunovic; Jánis Nedéla; Annette Nykiel; Marcella Polain; Layli Rakhsha; Sherry Paddon; Judy Rogers; Anne Shilo; Catherine Shultz;  Annette Seeman; Lydia Trethewey; Paul Uhlmann; Vanessa Wallace; Gera Woltjer

Brazil: 

Grupo Gralha Azul

Germany: 

Dorothea Fleiss

Italy: 

Virginia Milici

Latvia: 

Anda Munkevica

Lithunania: 

Kęstutis Vasiliūnas

United States of America: 

Cristina de Almeida

BETWEEN THE SHEETS – Artists' Books Exhibition 2019 

Gallery Central

Aberdeen Street

Perth WA 6000

The exhibition runs from 29 August – 21 September. 

Further details (including the possibility of touring to a second venue) will be provided nearer the time.

FRANKENSTEIN'S WOMEN - a progress report

Lino blocks for Frankenstein's Women, 20 x 15 cm (each block)

The blocks for Frankenstein's Women, my forthcoming artist book, are almost ready for the next stage, namely, printing.

For those who have been following the development of this project since it began life at Melbourne Athenaeum Library during a residency for Melbourne Rare Book Week 2018, here is an overview of the work to date. (Click on images to enlarge).

As noted in my last post, the block for the title page of Frankenstein's Women (pictured third from top) was new and hadn't begun to harden. As a result, the surface was very brittle. In what turned out to be an ill-starred combination, my linocut tool, a Speedball with an interchangeable No. 1 cutter, was also new, but far from sharp, causing areas of the lino to crumble away during carving. For many   years, I've found this particular cutter indispensable for producing very fine lines. Sadly, however, the current Speedball cutters are poorly made; they are blunt, rusty and frankly, shouldn't even be on the market.

There is hope for the future, however, thanks to my friend Paul Compton, who recently presented me with a most thoughtful and generous gift - the elegant linocut tool pictured directly below. I've never seen one like it before. According to the accompanying label, it's a 'TRAD SANKKAKUTO Vee Gouge'. Some of the blocks could use some minor tweaking; this tool cuts through them like butter.