The pieces follow the series entitled 'Nature's Books'
The journey began with an idea. There are an infinite number of unread words sitting on bookshelves across the planet, poetry never read, advice never taken, wisdom and knowledge from countless generations. Some of it would now be outdated, proven wrong or simply just old fashioned thinking
I began to wonder what would nature have written in a book of advice on how to protect her and the planet we inhabit. As humans we are nature
I started to experiment by collaging or making marks on large sheets of paper and then making them into zines, stitching along the spines and opening them up. Lighter weight papers worked the best, heavy papers created too much bulk.
The inclusion of words within the pages have a vital part in of the making and meaning of the books. Each book contains a few words that may or may not be something I think nature would say. The catch is the books are semi hidden within the collage papers and again within the frame of the work, its the choice of the viewer who reads the words or not.
I wanted to incorporate the books into the printed collage pieces I was making for Cadaques Mini Print International (see 'And the Winner Is......' for more info)
I use various weights of paper which I dye with watercolour or inks then, when dry I print onto the papers with either simple collagraph plates, poppy seed heads, wine corks bottle or jar lids, old credit cards; in fact anything that will make a mark. In turn these are made to tiny books and placed into collages which are then run through my press to be melded into the 300gsm background paper. Each page of the book opens and refers to other marks in the collage. The words are found by going through endless small pieces of text that join the conversation between the paper, books and myself. The words almost find me rather than me finding them. I am now working on developing larger works which relate to these 10 x 10 cm pieces.
I am in the process of developing book sculptures that open up to reveal a journey through a woodland or beach.