Block for an upcoming artist book

Pictured top: freshly carved lino block for the title page of Decorated Women, an artist book in the making. 

Directly below is a process view of the work, snapped during the early stages of carving. Whited-out areas indicate alterations made during the course of its development. For example, the original title of the work, Illustrated Women, has been changed to the more multi-layered Decorated Women. Despite my sharp tools, the text was a particular challenge to carve due to the soft and crumbly nature of the lino. 

Depending on whether I’m able to make the deadline, the artist book will be part of Ways of Being, my solo exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne, running from December 4-21.

A visit to Melbourne Athenaeum Library

Yesterday’s day trip to Melbourne included a visit to Melbourne Athenaeum Library to stock up on books. Seeing Leaves of Absence, my unbound artist book, on display brought back a slew of happy memories of my stint there in 2018 as artist-in-residence for Melbourne Rare Book Week. 

The library was the first institution to acquire Leaves of Absence for its permanent collection, of which I’m still extremely proud, and they hosted the launch of the book in 2017. 

Melbourne Athenaeum Library is a refuge in the chaotic centre of a city I hardly recognise anymore. I’ve kept up my membership, but having moved to a regional city, I seldom have time to call in. This is something I’ve vowed to rectify. Until yesterday, I hadn’t realised just how much I’ve missed it.

Apologies for the reflections and distortions from the bevelled glass.

World of the Book 2023

Four pages from Leaves of Absence, our unbound artist book, have been included in the extraordinary new World of the Book exhibition in the Dome Galleries, Level 4, State Library of Victoria. 

World of the Book 2023 opened on 1 April 2023 and is current to 12 May 2024.

Pictured top: Memory 1, 16, 14 and 9 from Leaves of Absence, 2017, unbound artist book. Collection: State Library of Victoria. Click on images to enlarge. 

My new philosophy

 

Detail from The Maiden Flight,  2013. One-of-a-kind vertical artist book, pigmented drawing ink and acrylic paint, 80 x 15 cm (open). Collection: State Library of Victoria. 

Photography: Tim Gresham. 

APW George Collie Exhibition Extended to 15 October

Yesterday I received some terrific news. The APW George Collie Exhibition at Australian Print Workshop Gallery, Melbourne, originally scheduled to end on 1 October, has been extended to 15 October. The exhibition is accompanied by a goodly selection of Moth Woman Press artist books and zines. 

Pictured above: viewed from inside the Australian Print Workshop, MWP zines in the Gertrude Street window, framed by an antique Colombian Press. 

Pictured below: MWP books and zines in the Gertrude Street window of the APW.

To view more, scroll down to our previous post. 

Residency at Geelong Grammar School

From 23 May - 3 June 2022 I was artist-in-residence at the Corio campus of Geelong Grammar School, a richly rewarding experience I’ll long remember. 

During my residency I developed designs for three linocuts that will be included in a forthcoming artist book. My protagonists’ body decorations are based on compositional elements from the works of prolific British Arts and Crafts designer May Morris.

 

The two works below will also be part of The Artist’s Garden, a Goldfield Printmakers exhibition travelling to Bristol, UK in September 2022 for IMPACT 12, a biennial international printmaking conference. The tattoos on these figures are based on motifs in The heavens declare…, a panel designed and embroidered by May Morris in the 1910s (reproduced third from top).

Click on images for a clearer view. For more about the Geelong Grammar School residency, visit my Art Blog HERE, HERE and HERE. 

Reminder: BOOKISH Artist Talk at Melbourne Athenaeum Library

From the Melbourne Athenaeum Library’s latest newsletter, a gentle reminder of the talk Bronwyn Rees and I are presenting in conjunction with the artist book exhibition, BOOKISH:

ARTIST TALK, THIS WEDNESDAY 23 MARCH AT 6PM

To gain a deeper understanding of the art of artist book making, former artist-in-residence Deborah Klein and printmaker Bronwyn Rees will speak about the art form's rich history and their own practice on Wednesday 23rd March from 6pm. 

It's a free event, but RSVPs are required.  Phone the library on 9650 3100 or email library@melbourneathenaeum.org.au to book your seats.

Bronwyn and Deborah's talk, and the Bookish Exhibition are part of the 8th Melbourne Art Book Fair.  Bookish is an exhibition of contemporary artists' book by members of the Print Council of Australia and is being held in the library from 17 - 26 during normal opening hours.

BOOKISH:  March 17 - 26 in the library

Proudly presented by the Print Council of Australia 

and the Melbourne Athenaeum Incorporated

To illuminate our presentation, Bronwyn and I will bring along some examples of our own book art. In my case, this will include Progeny, 2018, the unique concertina book I made during my residency at the library for Melbourne Rare Book Week 2018 (pictured top).

My artist book, Leaves of Absence, 2017, launched at the library in 2017 and subsequently acquired for its permanent collection, will also be on display. I’m pictured below at the 2017 book launch with Marguerite Brown, Manager, Print Council of Australia, who officially launched the book. (Click on images to enlarge).

The talk will be followed by celebratory drinks. We look forward to seeing you this coming Wednesday evening, 6 - 8 pm. 

For further information about the BOOKISH talk and exhibition, scroll down to Blog Post Friday February 18. 

Foreign Flora - a work in progress

  

Presenting Foreign Flora, 15 x 11.5 cm, a newly carved lino block intended for Illustrated Women, an artist book that’s slowly, but surely, in the making. 

The subject’s floral tattoo is a motif from Australia, circa 1888, an embroidered table cover designed in Britain by the remarkable May Morris (1862 - 1938). In fact, none of the flowers depicted in her textile are native to Australia. The table cover, reproduced (not to scale) in the first developmental  view below, was commissioned by a Scottish-born couple residing in Adelaide, South Australia, which I assume is how it acquired its title. Australia is now held in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Following are four sequential progress views of Foreign Flora.

May Flowers

Pictured top: the competed lino block for May Flowers, another work that will eventually take its place in the forthcoming artist book, Illustrated Women. The block measures 15 x 11.5 cm.

Below are a couple of progress views. Lately I’ve been further prepping my drawn up blocks with a coating of transparent drawing ink in order to see the areas I’ve cut away with greater clarity. It works a treat. As you can see, no pink areas remain in the final image.  

My protagonist’s tattoo is loosely based on a detail from Maids of Honour, a needlework design by May Morris. 

Click on images for considerably enlarged views. 

 

Yuletide Greetings

As demonstrated by the climbing molluscs in the lino block pictured below, this year has certainly had its ups and downs. That’s life, I guess - and even more so than usual over the past couple of years. 

The block, which measures 15 x 11.5 cm, is a work in progress for a forthcoming linocut, Snail Trails. The linocut will be part of an artist book, Illustrated Women, which I’ll be working on during 2022. (See also Blog Post Saturday, December 11, 2021). Click on images for a clearer view.

Enjoy the holidays, everyone, and here’s hoping for a safer, healthier, happier year ahead. 

In development: ILLUSTRATED WOMEN, a new artist book

Currently I’m working on several small blocks that, once completed, will provide the content for Illustrated Women, a forthcoming artist book. 

Illustrated Women will be a book without words, enabling the viewer to make up her or his own stories about the subjects within. Directly below are two lino blocks, Sunflower and Morris Dancer, that are fairly near completion. Each block measures 15 x 11.5cm. 

Further information about Illustrated Women will follow in future posts.

BOOKISH

It’s been a long time coming, but here is the promised update on Cat’s Cradle, the artist book featured in our last post. It has been included in BOOKISH, an online exhibition of 94 artist books celebrating 55 years of the Print Council of Australia. 

Click on individual images for an enlarged view.

Originally, BOOKISH was also intended to be part of the art fair, Sydney Contemporary. However due to extensive rescheduling following the current COVID-19 outbreak, this will no longer be possible. The Print Council of Australia is currently seeking an alternative Melbourne venue in October 2021. I will keep you updated.

Meanwhile, you can visit the online exhibition of BOOKISH HERE.

An Important Message for Followers of MOTH WOMAN PRESS

From July 1, for reasons best known to themselves, Google will remove the ‘Follow by Email’ option on all blogs, so followers of this blog will no longer receive email notifications of my new posts. 

At present, I’m not clear about whether Google intends to substitute an alternative. I can’t see any way around this, except to provide links to future posts via my Instagram and Facebook accounts. These can also be accessed under YOU CAN ALSO FIND ME HERE in the right hand column of this blog.

I’d like to take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to the loyal followers of this blog. Your support means a great deal. I do hope you will still drop by from time to time. 

Pictured top: my one-of-a-kind artist book, Cat’s Cradle. An update on the book will follow shortly. 

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

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.

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.