Mini Microscope - Beginnings

 

Feels like forever since I sat down to work on a book.  

Did a gallery talk yesterday about a couple of books I have in a local exhibition.  

Lots of questions and enthusiasm from the audience. 

Heartening to know people are genuinely interested and intrigued by what I'm doing.

Have been busy with life and haven't had the opportunity to get on with things creative but

discovered this mini microscope in a second hand store yesterday in between dashing from one thing to the next and decided it would be a perfect start for my next project.

Fold, Fold, Fold

Folding the Opera House

 

Reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House, me thinks.

CurlyQueue - Complete

CurlyQueue - In Progress

 

Rounded rolls of pages and fine wire. 

Sequential pages rolled into Hokusai like waves.

Now to do something with the cover.

Open Book - Complete

 

Added fine threads to the page egdges to give this little book extra softness.  

Can't decide if all those little tacs remind me more of braille or a tiny little forest.  

There is something faintly reminiscent of a map in there too with the sploshes of amber shellac.

Elixir Vitae all finished

  

Angled the niche slightly so the bottle stands proud of the cover a little. Added extra gilt to the book cover and a tab to the Dexsal bottle with the original label instructions.

Open Book - Work in Progress

 

Trying something a little less controlled.  So far have used upholstery tacs (I enjoy the randomness of each tac head, which gives them a rough hand made quality), shellac and silver leaf.  Am now adding delicate threads to the edges of the pages to lend the book a slightly ethereal feel. 

Elixir Vitae - Dexsal - Work in Progress

Lovely old amber "Dexsal" bottle. 
In the progress of making a niche for it in a nice red book on economics.
Playing with gold leaf (as gold is money).
According to a label found on another old Dexsal bottle the contents were: "An effervescent preparation of medicinal glucose for the relief of nausea and sick headache and the treatment of all conditions involving acidosis.  Particularly effective in cases of billiousness and vomiting especially in children." 
Thought the play of antacid relief and the subject of economy might be relative at this present time.

New Photos - Old Books

 

Have been retaking photographs of books that I have made previously.  

Playing around with shadows and having fun trying to make them float in the space.

Wattle

 

Spring is in the air.  The wattles are flowering.  Mornings and evenings are still cool but the days between are warming up and full of sunshine.

Completed Samurai

 

Finally done! 

Took me longer than I thought to cut away at these pages.  Am pleasantly surprised with how well the cover has stayed curved up and the nice shape it provides.

Cloudburst

 

With this little book sculpture I have used nails to suspend the pages, which have been cut and removed from the book then glued in sequential order, so as to imitate a cloud floating above a landscape (or bookscape in this case).

Magnolia

My Magnificent Magnolia tree is still flowering away in the front yard providing beauty to a dry winter landscape.

Front Yard Visitors

 

 

Some regular afternoon visitors to the front yard.

Folded Blue Book

 

A bit of cutting and folding going on with this little tome.

Am enjoying the results I am getting.  

I keep thinking of a Japanese Samurai Helmet as I am working away.

Winter Leaf Litter

 Mini winter landscapes of leaf litter on the ground at Venman Bush Reserve.