A Creative Sketchbook Collective
SEVEN has had busy year and is showing at the Leigh Art Trail for the third consecutive year at Venue 52: Planet Leasing. We’ll be open late on Thursday 13 June for drinks and nibbles and we’d like to invite you to join us and take a look through our books. This year we have been making our own books and taking inspiration from an artist or art movement.
We look forward to seeing you!
So SEVEN collective made our second trip to Turn the Page to peruse the artists’ books and to see some local-to-us artists – from the Leigh-on-sea / Southend areas – who’d travelled up to Norwich to showcase their creations:
“The aim of turn the page artists’ book fair is simply to provide an exhibiting and selling platform for the book arts and to raise public awareness of this intriguing art form.”
And, this time, seeing as we were attempting to make our own art books from scratch, we were really taking note…
Our bookbinding tutor Chris Ruston was at the fair showing her beautiful artist books, many of which explore her interest in climate change:
“Earth’s story is a constant thread through her work. She invites us to think about how the past, present and future come together.”
The Ark, which has been included in the Agri-Culture / Seeds Links exhibition in association with the Svalbard Global Seed Bank, featured:
“[P]ages [which] act as ‘seeds of thought’ – touchstones to inspire us as we face increasing social, economic and biophysical challenges.”
While:
“Loose leaf pages are held between lunaria annua (otherwise known as honesty seeds). They are a reminder of the hard truths facing us in dealing with these challenges – as well as a symbol of hope and renewal.”
And Chris wasn’t alone in using creative formats to explore some serious themes…
Gwen was at Turn the Page to present her Collective Threads community textile project, which was created in response to the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh, back in 2013.
The large-scale hanging – like a huge patchwork curtain – is created from 1,130 rectangular pieces each representing the number of people who died in the tragedy.
Each section has been contributed by members of the public – including SEVEN’s Kim, Juliet and Jo – and features everything from seed-stitched furnishing fabric to hand stamped lettering, smocking, and hot press printing on silk.
Gwen has said of Collective Threads:
“Alongside acknowledgement of this incident, the project generated discussions about our ‘throw away culture’… [And it] has encouraged individuals to come together in a united spirit of community, and to reconnect to their own creativity.”
Turn the Page is a fantastic opportunity to discover unusual bookbinding techniques and flick through some fascinating pages. Intrigued? Discover more about the 2019 Turn the Page exhibitors.
Every journey has its Bog of Eternal Stench moment. Remember the film Labyrinth? Yes, the one with David Bowie and the tights. Well, if Sarah had given up on saving her baby brother when she got stuck at the Bog of Eternal Stench, he would’ve been lost to the Goblin King and Sarah would never have realised GK’s magic had no power over her.
The point is, we all get stuck or lost, or downright cheesed off. And, the creative process is no different. You might start off with good intentions and big ideas, but the middle can be sticky. Stenchy even.
And, with the Leigh Art Trail deadline looming it’s turned out some of SEVEN are making super slow progress with their art books. Some of us might even be a teensy bit stuck. Eeek!
So what help is there for the frustrated creative stuck on their creative project?
Well, Danielle Krysa, aka The Jealous Curator, is the brains behind Creative Block: Advice and Projects from 50 Successful Artists. This book features the thoughts and practices of a variety of artists on dealing with inner and out critics, blank page block, and more.
In her post on the book Maria Popova of Brain Pickings shares some of the books most thoughtful snippets, including this “Creative Unblock Project” used by artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon:
“Choose one thing you love to draw or paint (and feel comfortable drawing or painting) already: an animal, object, a person, whatever. For thirty days, draw or paint that thing thirty different ways, a different way every day. You can use different mediums, expressions, positions, colors, whatever. Each day, push yourself to do something much different than the day before, but keep the subject the same. See how keeping one element constant (in this case, the “thing” you love to draw or paint) can allow you to break out creatively in other ways.”
Will SEVEN get unstuck? Will Amanda’s origami birds be strung in her Turkish map fold? Will Juliet get her concertina stitched in time? And, will all our art books make it to LAT 2019? It’s a cliffhanger alright!
Last year SEVEN took a day trip to Turn the Page – the Norwich-based artists’ book event. No sooner had we stepped into The Forum than we were signing ourselves up for a project, The Library of Reclaimed Books. And, March 2019 was the deadline for submitting our entry:
“The Library of Reclaimed Books is a collection of altered ex-library books that started as a personal endeavour to give new lease of life to books that have lost their original use value. The library has now evolved into a social art project, involving different libraries and the public.”
Below you can read the words which accompanied our collaborative entry, an altered book called Découpage, which you can see on The Library of Reclaimed Books website.
And, if you’re thinking “what the heck is an altered book?” check out this post.
“This altered book is the collective reimagining of SEVEN, a small group of artists who come together to experiment with creative techniques and idea-generating prompts in sketchbooks and art books. Exploration is our destination. And reclaiming unwanted books is our favourite.
While some might view this as a sticky end for a lovely little ex-library book, we like to think we’ve breathed new life into its neglected pages, using the photographs, diagrams and words within, plus the work of our fellow SEVEN members, as creative catalysts.
We picked this book on decoupage because its theme spoke to us. Turns out cutting and sticking pictures onto things – usually furniture – was enjoyed by everyone from Marie-Antoinette to mad, bad and dangerous with a pair of scissors Lord Byron. While those arty types Picasso and Matisse dabbled too. Who knew!?
Never ones to be deterred by big shoes, and suitably armed with paint, glue, cutting tools, and a clutch of everyday materials – think sweet wrappers and nail varnish – we set to work, taking turns to add to the book. A year later and this ex-library book has been transformed into something unplanned, unexpected and unique.
Enjoy!”
Intrigued by the idea of altered books? Starting couldn’t be easier. Charity shops are a great source of unwanted books. Our SEVEN tips:
And you’re away!
Wondering how you get started art journalling or making a creative sketchbook? This year, so were SEVEN. But by February our books are starting to take shape. The one thing they have in common? We all started differently.
Kim, whose chosen artist is Robert Rauschenberg, has really taken to bookbinding – like a duck to water. So she chose to create her – ultra neat – book first, then work into it.
Jo, who is also a graphic designer, mocked up a teeny tiny version of her book idea, before starting on the pages she planned to make into the full-size version.
Amanda had fallen for the Turkish map fold, discovered in our book-making class with Chris Ruston of Art Book Art. So she has been playing with some special paper and soaking it in paint to get the effects on which to place her planned Matisse-inspired collages.
Helen’s Surrealist project would start with a wardrobe. And maybe a mermaid. So, she planned to make a wardrobe-style book which would open up to pages going forwards and backwards. Simple. No?
Juliet’s pacific-inspired designs were starting to flow. Across. Pages. And so, once she got started Juliet had come to the conclusion that the good old concertina format would actually be perfect for her creative explorations.
Inspired to create your own creative journal? Then we’d suggest checking out some of the weird and wonderful book creations on Pinterest. SEVEN collective got quite addicted to scrolling the many Pinterest posts and boards dedicated to bookbinding, but we warn you, the interwebs can be a real rabbit hole. Our top tips:
Good luck!