Learn something new

I had an email from Shimelle yesterday, alerting me to the fact that her  daily “Learn Something New Every Day” prompts will be dropping into my email box very soon as her class begins again.  I’ve followed this class for a couple of years now and though I remembered the first year very well and could bring the book I made immediately to mind, I couldn’t for the life of me recall the one I made lat year.

That’s because I didn’t finish it.

I remember thinking that I was pushed for time last September and deliberately chose a simple format.  Without too much bother, I soon laid my hands on the half made thing, lurking in a ziploc bag by my desk.

Fortunately, also in the bag were the remaining photographs I’d already printed out ready to include, so I quickly got the glue out, printed the captions and in no time at all I’d completed the book. There it is in the basket of other small books, looking a bit like a carrier bag, because I’d chosen to make the cover from a bunting-design bag I received when I bought slippers last September.  The slipper story is just one of those inside.

But also inside was a completed page, reminding me of the pair of shoes I bought and quickly returned to Russell and Bromley.  Because this time last week I happened to be passing R & B in Oxford Street when it was pouring with rain and like any other sensible (!) person might do, I dived into the shop to see what was what. (I was sheltering form the rain, really, honest!)

What should I find on the stand of reduced price shoes but those very same shoes I’d returned, marked half price and with the anchoring rings for the crystal still in place.  When I looked closely at them, I felt almost certain that these were the very same (slightly worn) pair of shoes I had returned this time last year – though of course, I am only 99% sure…  As one of the assistants came over to ask if they could help me, I pointed out that although these shoes were a very attractive style and colour, there were two curious rings attached to the chain on the front and if I wasn’t mistaken, I had returned an identical pair which had a crystal hanging there which broke.  To give the chap his due, he looked suitably sheepish and said that yes, he seemed to think that was the case and if so, these shoes should be marked as “substandard”.

And second hand?

Saving the memories

I have a thing about keeping the days, of saving the memories in the form of a picture a day and writing this blog.  When we’re travelling, I make a journal – usually one like this but I’ve learned, over the years, that if I don’t keep it going whilst we’re on the road, then it just doesn’t work.

What this means, of course, is that I now have a shelf stacked with fantastic memories of our travels – so much more fun than the old photo albums, I think.  But before every trip, I find myself agonising about how to make the new one different from the rest – I don’t necessarily want to do the same thing each time.

Much depends on the type of trip we’re making.  If it’s a Road Trip, then I can claim the backseat as the portable studio for the Artist in Residence.  I can use the driving time to keep up to date, gathering ephemera and replenishing supplies at every Michaels or Hobby Lobby we pass I make sure we call at.  But for a short trip or a cruise, it’s rather different.

A cruise is low on ephemera.  Tickets are retained by the agent to reclaim the fees, the information and port guides are black and white and not at all interesting from a visual point of view.  In addition, the days which are most worthy of recording – those in port – are the busiest, and the days when there is the most time to mess about with scissors and glue are the least interesting.

As a result, I usually settle for a small Moleskine “cahier”, which I can carry with me and scribble in wherever I am.  Last year, in the Black Sea, I went one step further and stuck in maps and other bits and pieces, making a kind of hybrid notebook/journal which worked pretty well.

For our Japan trip in February, I chose a similar format but developed it in a different way, making the most of the huge quantity of stickers and other ephemera which Japan does so well.

It proved the perfect size to collect the rubber stamp images from stations and best of all, make great use of the washi tape we’ve all come to love.

But for this cruise, I wanted something different and whilst in Tokyo, found the perfect book.  It’s by Midori and is a spiral ring notebook with pockets.  Not only is there a little space for drawing/sticking/writing, each page has a pocket to tuck bits and pieces in.  With exactly the same number of pages as we had days, this was it.

In the meantime, I continued to get inspiration from other travel journallers – Mary Ann Moss creates wonderful free-form records of her travels and I always admire the design and layout skills of Ali Edwards, who launched her Scrapbook on the Road online workshop with perfect timing.  Ultimately, though, I have my own style and though I admire and take inspiration from these people, I know what works for me.

The Midori book proved excellent and I had no trouble keeping it up to date without too much effort.  The less than pretty but valuable souvenirs like Indian Customs forms could be tucked into the pocket, whilst the page proved to be the perfect size for Pogo printouts and weather forecasts.

For the first time, I took along a tiny bottle of Modpodge and enjoyed being able to decoupage cuttings and add a bit of strength to the thinnish paper pocket where needed.

Best of all, there’s a spiral binding on which to hang the journal bling!

But I still carried my (pink)  Moleskine  cahier, now adorned with an Indian Goddess and a few red fingerprints from that printing block I bought in Cochin.  Sometimes, my sketches were, well, sketchy (!), other times, I was able to add more detail by drawing our guide for the day and scribbling down other information.

I could also add a few Pogo prints, which make it a little more interesting to look at.

The thing is, I don’t feel I’m done with this trip and I’ve still got another journal in me which I want to create as a bit of a test run.  Quite how it will turn out, who knows? 

Watch this space!

Aide Memoire

My memory needs all the help it can get and though I scribble down all kinds of things in my take-everywhere-notebook, this morning I find myself thinking that I need to make a list of things to research further once a reliable internet connection is available.

From Bangkok:

• Fingerprint patterns on terracotta pots
• Clay rollers from Ban Chiang, used for printing patterns
• What really happened to Jim Thompson?

From Kuala Lumpur:

• The different shapes and folds of the various Sultans’ headgear

Update on Monday, April 25, 2011 at 5:05AM by Gill Thomas

From the lectures on board:

• www.5thpillar.org and the zero rupee note
• ipaidabribe.com

Books recommended by friends

• The Space Between Us
• Those who saved us
• The Weight of Water
• The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

From India

• different ways to fold a saree
• the "Song of the Lunghi"
• the Mahabharata
• Noor Jehan
• Kolam rice paint designs

From Sri Lanka

• the Giant Squirrel (!)
• moonstones
• temple entrances
• more about Polonnaruwa
• "Vatadge"
• pottery shapes and symbols pressed into coins
• Sinhalese script
• Mrs DE Chitty, whose house we so admired

About the little books

Jordi was asking about the little books, featured on my photo blog last week but not really mentioned much here, in case any of the recipients stopped by.
 

Since they were for my six colleagues who formed the Textile Treasures team at the recent exhibitions, I tried to keep to a textile-y theme and chose to use Basic Grey's Stella Ruby paper throughout. I stitched many of the photos into the book with my sewing machine and attached the odd button here and there.

Though I have now got a Bind it All machine, I didn't actually use it for these but instead, used the last seven 7 Gypsies Mini books from my stash.

I had a lot of photographs to include, so used different means of fitting as many in as I could. These books are small and have just ten pages.

In addition, I tagged them with small samples of the bits and pieces we made during our tour. We'd done a few beading classes and an embellisher workshop.

Finally, in case anyone was in doubt, a reminder of why we agreed to give up seven weeks of our life!

Though of course, no reminder was really needed - and it was terrific fun!

And now, for those who didn't manage to get to see the exhibition, you can have a quick tour with a YouTube video, narrated by Susan, Textile Treasure extraordinaire.

Not Art

I've mentioned before how I like to make small books after a special day out and often give them to friends and family after the event. Last Friday, we took Bettine (Mark's mum) to the V&A, to the Couture Exhibition and then went on to have lunch at Bibendum with Edward to celebrate his 23rd birthday.

This afternoon, with my Mum very much on my mind, I needed a distraction so set to and made two small books, quickly, without too much fuss or faff.

I used cutouts from the exhibition leaflet and photographs I'd taken whilst there. I printed out "typewritten" captions and stuck them in higgledy-piggledy. The end result was fine and the rubber stamp I used on the back cover particularly apt on this occasion.

Of course, there was considerable "fall out" by the time I'd finished.

But now I'm getting used to working in my new studio, in just five minutes, look!

I think that's a record.