Really pleased with how the cards have turned out. We had them printed by 'Pennybatch Gallery' who also packaged them in tissue paper.
Thank you #pennybatchgallery for wonderful, efficient, personalised service.
They will be for sale on our 'Folksy' shop soon. https://folksy.com/shops/thewrenandthewritingdesk
When I am using aged, distressed or salvaged wood, I tend not to ‘mess around’ with it too much; a little light sanding here and there and perhaps use bees wax, linseed or danish oil. Artificially distressing, staining or painting found wood is not something I would naturally do.
I prepped up some wood that will eventaually will be made into book covers. This lovely wood was found on the beach at Budleigh and was probably part of a beach hut.
Although I love the texture and colour of the wood, it was in a sorry state. The decay was very spongy and flaky, so I had to improve its structural integrity. I had a few options; I could have used a wood rot preservative (manufactured especially for this purpose), that penetrates and hardens the wood- but I do question how enviromentally friendly these sorts of products are. I decided not to go down this route and Instead I diluted wood glue 50:50 with water and gradually built up the layers and letting it dry in between each application. (I applied about 5 coats)
I am very happy with the result- the wood now feels very strong.
I cut the covers to size and and as result the exposed edges looked very fresh and new. I think in this instance I wanted the edges to blend in naturally with the rest of the piece.
I had various options-I could;
use artificial stains
use shellac and natural pigments
ebonise the wood by oxidizing the wood
I decided to ebonize the wood. Iron staining, or ebonizing, generally uses a reaction between iron oxide and the natural tannins in wood (or introduced tannins soaked into the wood beforehand such as strong tea, or tannins extracted from crushed acorns or oak bark)-to create a natural-looking black or dark grey that is actually created in the fibres of the wood rather than a stain sitting on top. This is why it is so durable. It is integral, not superficial.
To make the iron acetate you will need to fill half a jam jar with iron nails or screws or other iron hardware. Fill almost to the top with distilled vinegar or other pale vinegar (I have used cider vinegar). I would perhaps avoid malt vinegar as this may be too dark. Leave for at least 3 weeks I would cover the jam jar with cling film and do not tighten the lid too tightly.
When you are ready to ebonize the wood of your choice please use protective gloves as it will stain, also use a mask as iron acetate is not the nicest chemical to smell!
Make a strong brew of one tea bag per 200ml and leave for at least 10 minutes.
With a sponge or brush soak the surface with the strong tea and then pat dry. With a separate brush or sponge, brush on the iron acetate and then watch the magic happen! The stain will darken before your very eyes as the iron acetate reacts with the tannin. You may need to experiment with a scrap piece of wood beforehand to ascertain how dark the end result will be.
Enjoy
I hope you agree with me that the edges of wood fit in quite nicely.
Hello! For your ‘Music to Create to’ this weekend, as it is the big 50th Anniversary of Glastonbury Festival, I thought I would take you on a trip back to 1997. This was my first of many times at Glastonbury Festival, the mud didn’t put me off. I was a student and really into indie music at the time. Bands playing, that were top of my list to go and see were Ocean Colour Scene, Reef and the headliners Radiohead. 40,000 of us walked through the mud to the Pyramid Stage, for the headline set Radiohead. Which leaves me to my choice for today, which was the highlight of my Glastonbury.
Karma Police, from their album OK Computer. Here’s a taste of their set from Glastonbury 1997.
We first heard Mario Biondi about three years ago, again another favourite first heard on ‘Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show’. He has a rich, warm, and soulful voice.
My choice today is ‘This is what you are’ a single from Mario’s first album ‘Handful of Soul’ released in 2006 by Schema Records. The album was an immediate hit earning four platinum records.
I found the enchanting sculptures of Lene Kilde whist browsing Instagram. Kilde completed her Master Degree in Product Design in 2012 and was awarded The Norwegian Arts Council three -year work scholarship for young artists the following year. Her work has now been shown in Norway and around the world.
Kilde is a contemporary Norwegian artist who creates sculptures inspired by children and their emotions. She finds that children’s body language is their purest form of communication. This is visualized by showing very few body parts, usually only hands and feet, which then are placed in proportion to each other with the use of metal mesh, appearing to defy gravity, an optical illusion that transports the viewer to a world of partially invisible children.
Kilde uses concrete to sculpt children’s hands and feet, dressing them in fragments of metal mesh clothing that shape the empty space where the children’s bodies and faces are missing. Her intention is to invite the audience to use their own imagination so that they can complete the sculptures and fill in the lines and volume by themselves.
Kilde describes her sculptures of being made of “concrete, wire, and air,”
Kilde draws her inspiration from childhood memories and her own daughter and niece to create her magical sculptures. Each work is unique and perfectly depicts children’s attitudes; from the creative one with a painting bucket and the shy ones holding hands and rolling their toes, to the adventurous on tip toe.
In 2014 Kilde was an artist in residence in Grenada, where she quickly became inspired by Grenada’s underwater sculpture park. On arrival, Kilde totally immersed herself in Grenadian life and culture. She immediately began exploring, experiencing, and researching as much as possible to gain inspiration for a sculpture that would not only be helpful to the reef, but also have a strong connection with Grenada. Kilde’s underwater sculpture is based on the local fable of the Nutmeg Princess, a tale about a beautiful Caribbean princess who once lived in a bottomless lake.
I have a couple of sunny weather tunes for you all today. The first is Ben’s choice, (although I love it too.) Originally by Randy Newman who sums up the city of Baltimore, Maryland on this song from his 1977 album Little Criminals. It is a lesser played song from Nina Simone – Baltimore from 1978 and it became the title track of her Baltimore album.
My choice is Soul Drummers - Ray Barretto. Barretto became better known after releasing the album Acid in 1967 where today’s choice originally appeared. The album combined the sounds of Latin, funk and soul music and included the influential tracks “A Deeper Shade of Soul,” “Teacher of Love” and “El Nuevo Barretto.” Barretto established himself as one of the leading players in Salsa music.
Whilst researching fairy tales I found some beautiful and striking illustrations by Daniel Egnéus, which he did for the ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ book published in 2011. I was very lucky to be treated to a copy of my own.
Born in 1972 in Sweden, Egnéus has spent the last 20 years in Prague, London, Berlin, Bologna, Rome, Milano and has now made Athens, Greece his base. Egnéus has had no formal training and is the inventor of the style “Quotidiano-Straordinario.” A prolific artist, he has had successful collaborations with writers such as Neil Gaiman on his ‘American Gods Quartet’ which included more than 140 illustrations published worldwide.
"I've always wanted to illustrate Neil's stories, so I was very surprised and incredibly happy when Headline approached me. I knew his books very well, everything from Sandman, and American Gods to the short stories."
“I have always felt an affinity with the mystery, the horror and the magic of his visions. I saw this as an opportunity to add my perspective, to give it a visual darkness and attention to detail... a camera in the charnel house."
A quote from Egnéus’ website captures his work perfectly:
“Lucid, dreamy and vibrant illustrations reflect the enticing inner world of highly regarded artist, Daniel Egnéus. With no formal education except for life itself, Daniel sees everyday life and art as one inseparable whole. His work is an expression of his colourful and rich life in Milano and Rome, filled with friends and a wonderful girlfriend, and not least his daydreaming, which finds its way into his work, inspiring us with its beauty and depth.”
Athens
The children’s book The Thing written by Simon Puttock and illustrated by Egnéus was voted by The Guardian as one of the 50 best illustrated books 2016.
A regular collaborator with the National Theatre in Greece Egnéus has produced illustrated theatre programmes for ‘A Man for All Seasons’, ‘Edif Piaf and others.
A prolific artist, he has had successful collaborations with clients such as Haagen-Dasz, BMW, Pepsi Cola Espagna, Playboy, O2 UK, Deutsche Grammophone, Marie Claire, Time Magazine, Penguin Books, Philip Morris, Harper Collins, Quin Hotel NY, Victoria’s Secret, Drambuie Whiskey and Pori Jazz Festival for which he was voted best illustrator in March 2005 by the Association of Illustrators in the UK.
I recently found the band ‘Smoove and Turrell’ when I heard them on ‘The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show’ They are a Funk and Soul band from Newcastle and got together 10 years ago. Their 6th Album ‘Stratos Bleau’ will be released on 05/06/2020. They have a good informative website: https://smooveandturrell.com/
The song I have chosen is from their debut album – Antique Soul (2009)
‘Beggarman’ by Smoove and Turrell
Karen Jerzyk is a self-taught, internationally published photographer from the Greater Boston area. After many years of photographing promotional shoots and stage portraits for bands she decided to shift her focus to people, portraying them in elaborate scenes. Jerzyk discovers abandoned spaces, seeing them as the ideal location for her dark fairy tale images and uses them to produce the intriguing dark fairy tales.
The turning point for Jerzyk’s dark fairy tales came after her father’s unexpected death.
“They [the photos] displayed stories and purpose and a sense of beautiful dismay, which was a direct mirror of how I felt on the inside. I poured all of my feelings and struggles into my work.”
Her trademark of shooting elaborate scenes in abandoned buildings involves a laborious process of cleaning and restoration, with attention paid to even the smallest of details. The peeling paint, sunken walls, and dusty debris become their own character alongside the humans.
“I strive to produce photos that tell a story that connects with the viewer on a personal level. I like to find locations that were abandoned before any sort of technological age, typically locations with relics left in them from 1980 and earlier (the older, the better), to capture a feeling of "future-past." I ultimately strive to present my photos as ‘readable images.’ There is no right answer to the ultimate meaning of any one of my photos, as each viewer can read the scene differently.”
“She danced and must dance”
(The Red Shoes 2)
Wire - frame, mixed media (paper and plaster), rust oxidisation paint finish.
“On and on she danced, for dance she must, straight out into the gloomy wood.”
The Red Shoes – Hans Christian Andersen
“It is not doing what you like, but in liking what you do that is the secret of happiness.”
J.M Barrie, Peter Pan
I found Susan Cutts’ work about a year ago and think they are beautiful and thought provoking. They look so delicate and striking but are also poignant.
Cutts is a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and a member of the Society of Designer Craftsmen as well as IAPMA and UK based Paperweight. She has been exhibiting nationally and internationally since 1991 in solo, group and touring exhibitions including Sotheby’s New York Gallery (USA) Roche Court Sculpture Park (UK) and the Holland Paper Biennale. Work in various Public Collections as well as private collections.
“I work as a sculptor, handmade paper is my material, and our relationship with clothing, my inspiration.”
'SUR LA POINTE'
2012
Cutts works with her own handmade paper to make her ‘sculptures’. The paper is made from fibres such as abaca, hemp, cotton, which she processes in the traditional way using a hollander beater. The complex structure of the fibres and by using the fine paper sheets while they are wet, enables her to create sculptural pieces without the use of glue, stitching or armatures. She uses the image of ‘dress’ frequently in her work as she says its perception, both historical and contemporary, intrigue her.
“The empty shoe is a familiar image, so I work in multiples to emphasize the dialogue each piece suggests. Our feet shape the shoe – by the way we walk the way we stand – making it as individual as a thumbprint and like a thumbprint it can expose and betray. To make my shoes in paper is an indulgence – these shoes will never be worn they are as fragile as the hopes, dream, secrets and memories they evoke.”
'WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES'
2012
Paper is said to have a memory, the creases, wrinkles and folds hold words unspoken or forgotten. In 'Who knows where the time goes' the absence of the dancer gives the paper the power to evoke physical and emotional memories.
'NURSERY RHYME'
2005
'FAIRY TALE'
2006
“Fairy Tales as we know them are safe, respectable and moral. In the original versions they looked unflinchingly at the darker side of people’s lives, particularly that of women, the poor and the disenfranchised.
If life is a ‘fairy tale’ the paper dresses reflect the fragility of the ‘happy ending’.”
I found the work of Delphine Labedan online whilst looking for Fairy Tale illustrations. Labedan’s work shows an oriental influence and the subtilty and beauty of her drawings lead us into a magical fairy tale world. I particularly like ‘The Wolf and Red Riding Hood.’ where Labedan has created a forest atmosphere that is cold and threatening, but beautiful.
Born in Pau (Aquitaine), Labedan now lives and paints in Empordà. With a mother who studied Fine Arts and a photographer father, it is not so strange that Delphine should turn out to be an artist.
She likes to paint on large surfaces of canvas or wood, and uses different techniques, such as charcoal, pastels, collage, ink, watercolor and painting, with a preference for a mixed-oil technique. Aside from her work as an illustrator, she is presently teaching drawing and painting at the fine arts school in Salt (EMBA).
Todays ‘Music to create to’ is one that Ben has chosen. He says and I agree, it is a good one to dance to. From the album ‘Love Approach’ it was composed by Tom Browne, helped by the vocalist Toni Smith.
So put your paint brushes down and have a dance to..
‘Funkin’ for Jamaica’ Released 1980
I was lucky enough to see some of Su Blackwell’s book sculptures at ‘The Devon Guild of Craftman’ craft centre at Bovey Tracey in 2019.
Su Blackwell, an RCA graduate and artist who works primarily in paper, makes delicate book sculptures and installations from the pages of second-hand books.
The Tooth Fairy
Blackwell says of her work, “I often work within the realm of fairy-tales and folk-lore. I began making a series of book-sculpture, cutting-out images from old books to create three-dimensional diorama’s, and displaying them inside wooden boxes”.
Blackwell has exhibited her exquisite sculptures around the World. Her illustrated book of fairy tales ‘The Fairytale Princess’, published by Thames & Hudson was re-released in 2015.
Red Riding Hood 2010
The Girl in the Wood 2008
“For the cut-out illustrations, I tend to lean towards young-girl characters, placing them in haunting, fragile settings, expressing the vulnerability of childhood, while also conveying a sense of childhood anxiety and wonder. There is a quiet melancholy in the work, depicted in the material used, and choice of subtle colour.”
Princess and the Pea 2011
I just think her work is magical and love the way she includes lighting to emphasise the fairy tale world she has created.
Alice A Mad Tea Party 2007
The House in the Oak Tree 2015
Blackwell is turning her hand to stage design for the first time by creating the sets for The Snow Queen at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. "It starts off with an industrial, Victorian, brick town in Denmark, which is quite bleak and then as Girder travels through the seasons, it becomes a magical, fantasy world," says Blackwell. "My favourite scene is Mrs D's garden, which is quite surreal and topsy-turvy. I had fun playing with the scale of props for that and planning explosions of colour for the stage."
The Snow Queen
Day 3..
I hope you liked my choices.
I love the rhythm and rawness of Latin music, this is one of my favourites I chose this today because it is sunny, and you can have a dance and imagine you are in Havana.
Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club - Released in 1997
Hello! Day 2 of ‘Music to create to’.
My next choice is a single by Bobby Womack, from the album and film of the same name that starred Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto. It was later the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's film Jackie Brown starring Pam Grier.
This is a song that we both love and will never get bored with.
"Across 110th Street"
I can’t do my art in silence; it makes me feel uncomfortable and brings back childhood memories of waiting rooms. Waiting, for what seemed like hours, for my piano and other exams.
I always have music playing whilst I’m doing my artwork, it helps me relax. I thought I would share some of the music I enjoy doing my artwork (and sometimes have a cheeky dance break) to. I hope you enjoy it.
Also, for a bit of variation, Ben may share some of his favourites.
My first choice of song is Prince’s ‘Sometimes it snows in April’ from his album ‘Parade’. I chose this today as it’s the anniversary of his death and I think it’s a beautiful song and from my favourite Prince album.
I discovered a few years ago that the big old house in Selsey, West Sussex, that was my home from the age of 2 to 16 during the 70’s and 80’s, used to be rented from Edward Heron Allen by Violet Hunt, who lived there with Ford Madox Ford in the early 1900’s for about 10 years, during holidays. The discovery happened, purely by chance, when I looked up the house where I lived and found the following photograph taken in the back garden.
Ford Madox Ford, Violet Hunt and three unidentified children in the back garden of Knapp Cottage ca. 1912
When I initially found the image, I thought it was just a family photo, until I looked up who the two adults in the photograph were, which just kept leading to more intriguing information. Hunt, as well as being an author, was a socialite and within their circle of writers and artists that visited them at the house was: Wyndham Lewis; Ezra Pound; Dame Rebecca West; Richard Aldington; Bridgit Patmore and HG Wells, of whom there is a photograph of, seated with Ford and Hunt in the front garden.
“We all have our time machines, don’t we. Those that take us back are memories…And those that carry us forward, are dreams.” – H.G. Wells
Ezra Pound
“What matters most is not the idea, but the capacity to believe in it completely.” – Ezra Pound
Ford dictated, what is said to be his best book ‘The Good Soldier’ to firstly Brigit Patmore then HD (wife of Richard Aldington) whilst staying at the house. Brigit inspired Ford in the writing of ‘The Good Soldier’ but his relationship with Violet produced the state of mind.
“So I shall just imagine myself for a fortnight or so at one side of the fireplace of a country cottage, with a sympathetic soul opposite me. And I shall go on talking, in a low voice while the sea sounds in the distance and overhead the great black flood of wind polishes the bright stars.”
― Ford Madox Ford, The Good Soldier
Ford Madox Ford
The history of the house and its creative occupants just kept unfolding, book after book was leading to more intriguing stories of “The pre-Raphaelite repiques in a trunk in a walled-up cellar” a ring containing poison, a poison bottle, secrets left down the well, hauntings, and important manuscript found by Wyndham Lewis in the chest of drawers in the spare room.
Wyndham Lewis
“But ‘art’ is not anything serious or exclusive: it is the smell of oil paint, Henri Murger’s vie de bohem, corduroy trousers, the operatic Italian model: but the poetry, above all, of linseed oil and turpentine.” – Wyndham Lewis
‘The approach of Christmas 1913, HG Wells and Rebecca West were separated for a fortnight, most of which Rebecca spent with Violet Hunt at Knapp Cottage in Selsey.’ Ford and Violet met in April 1902 when both wrote for ephemeral art and literature magazine, ‘The Venture’. Ford was working on ‘The Good Soldier’ in January 1914 and Brigit joined Violet at Knapp Cottage to take dictation for ‘The Good Soldier. Ford was still infatuated with Brigit and Violet was jealous. Brigit inspired Ford in the writing of ‘The Good Soldier’ but his relationship with Violet produced the state of mind for this emotional story of modern love.
Violet Hunt
‘Our little lonely tree-embosomed cottage by the sea was easily the uneasiest place in an uneasy village, a long, narrow but important carriage drive led by concealed turning to the furtive little abode where Joseph Leopold and I retired to write. Two tall trees grew at one side of the cottage, their lower boughs caressing its roof, making the parlour dark at noonday while, at night, they painstakingly ground away at the chimneystack like cows or cats rubbing at a post. And when the wind got up-and when does not the wind get up at the sea?-the noises were like the wailing of a ewe deprived of her lamb or a cow of her calf. Apart from its modern uneasiness the house was naturally haunted in the good old way. It had been a village school and nothing would persuade the woman who “did” for us that my portrait of William Morris did not represent the schoolmaster whose engaging habit it was suddenly to put his hand down the chimney o’nights. Another anomaly-there was an orchard at the back of this cottage by the sea and one was roused in autumn nights by the dull thud of the great “cookers” dropping on the long grass that could only be cut by a tethered goat, since the apple-trees, low and gnarled, like those in the wood of Merlin, grew so close, except for the Well of the World in the middle, that one must take care not to fall into. . ‘
–Violet Hunt
Childhood memories also influence the art of Permindar Kaur, as well as haunt. For the last eight years Kaur has been creating ‘a repository of constructed objects which have their overt sources of iconographic reference in the worlds of domesticity and childhood.’ Kaur looks at the insecurities in a child’s mind. As in the work of Annette Messager the objects Kaur produces usually resemble toys, which are notable for their vulnerability. The toys have a foreboding rather than playful, inviting feel about them.
Kaur’s work ‘Innocence’, looks at the extreme danger in which the most vulnerable are sometimes placed. ‘Playing on our feelings of vulnerability, and effectively questions our attitudes toward power. She obliges us to reconsider our notions of childhood and adulthood, of the protector and the protected; what is safety, where are we safe, what demons or calamities might overwhelm us? What protects us and what might overwhelm us? What protects us and what might harm us?’
‘Innocence’ Permindar Kaur, 1993
In the last moments of a fairy tale, the awakening or ‘coming home’ signals the ‘reinstatement of calm’ and stability proclaims a ‘rite of passage.’ ‘Home’ is offered as the prize, at which the curtain is drawn on the ‘happily ever – after.’ This ‘home’ is logical. It provides a ‘discrete identity and location’ fulfilling the need for both physical and psychological comfort. It is this illusion of home, fabricated in the fairy tale, that signifies the familiar and therefore, the safe. In a Thriller for example, against the idyll of ‘home’ which is ‘furnished’ with the ‘illusory objects of the homely’ is set the horror of the ‘un – homely’, the domestic, grotesque or ‘uncanny.’ The uncanny appears in Kaur’s work through the distortion or ‘manipulation’ of domestic objects. At first the works seem deceptively familiar in their appearance caused by the comforting association of the bedroom or nursery-intimacy, play and childhood. As well as reducing us to the vulnerable state of children, Kaur’s work resembles the fairy tale grotesque, this is specifically so in the work Tall Beds, which containing three steel beds constructed to stand high above the viewer, which to me depicts the fairy tale ‘The princess and the pea’.
Tall Beds, 1996, Permindar Kaur
