In no particular order, some works...

No news is sometimes just no news

The last year proved to be a bit busy, but unfortunately not with energetic creative endeavours.  I did make a point of sticking to a few staples - BABE 2017 and our annual LENvention letterpress get together - to keep my hand in and maintain contact with all the good people, and submitted information to the Artists Book Yearbook.

I managed to hold to my practice of never going to a book fair without a new book, so in 2017 some new map based books were born:

Navigation

To and Fro

I also finished the year off by attending the Making Books in Bristol research group's book launch by Angie Butler, and the Letterpress Collective wayzgoose, to get me all fired up for making again.

2018 then, as yet unmade, we'll see how it goes.

 

And finally...

After four years, I have come to end of the roll of admissions tickets picked up in Margate.  From them I have produced four collections of my own small admissions at a rate of one volume per year.

They'll be making their debut at the inaugural Frome Small Publishers Fair on 2nd July, do pop in and say hello if you are local.  All copies of the previous editions have now sold out after some were whisked off to America - I wonder if the admissions still rang true over there?


Two slightly bigger admissions that need to be made in relation to the new book:

The chaos of moving house during the year meant a change of venue and lack of routine in making, which has meant that though the tickets are all from the last quarter of the roll I didn't follow the same numbering sequence of tickets and copies in this fourth series - oops.

As I got closer to the very centre of the roll the tickets became more tightly curled, and in the process of encouraging them to straighten out some took advantage of their perforations to detach themselves  from their friends.  Three copies therefore future a 'mend' which I decided to highlight rather than hide.

A Fourth and Final Series of Small Admissions

Rubber stamp printing onto paper tickets with card end covers 

53 x 34mm

edition of 25

£4

Unseen footage

I've just found this post in my drafts, started, updated, but never posted.

Jan 2016:  After the move...

Unpacking not yet complete but after all the new pipework for heating installed I have now got the print room into some sort of order.

Update March 2016: 

Only been in a couple of months and already I'm on the second iteration of the print room.  Still, the press now has it's own usable location, and the first print rack is up on the wall.

      

Present day:  Everything inevitably much more messy in the space now (no photo, too shameful) but the intention is still there.

BABE and other stories

In the usual style, a round up of activities and events from the last couple of months.

The Artist's Bookmarket at the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh was great, we met up with some lovely people, old friends and new.  It was small enough to have a good look around and talk to artists about their work, but with enough readings and events that there was a steady flow of visitors throughout the 2 days.  I think next time I would allow a bit more time for travel and mooching about as the 5am start didn't really start us on the right foot, though a large bowl of porridge each morning definitely helped get us back on track!

After that, in April, it was the big one, BABE at the Arnolfini, Bristol.  It never fails to amaze me that you can fill a 3 storey gallery with artist's book-makers and there will still be people missing, just shows how many of us there are if you look in the right places. Tom made this great timelapse film to capture it all in 2 minutes: https://vimeo.com/124769276

I took the clocking in machine, along with a set of clock-in cards that I letterpress printed with 4 designs, as I wanted an 'action' for people to take part in as part of their book experience.  It raised lots of interest, some surprise that it was operational, and some hard decisions for those who liked their printed cards untouched, but also wanted to take part.

BABE was swiftly followed by World Book Night with the project this year based on Stephen King's The Shining.  I wasn't present for the event and resulting film, only contributing a tiny model to the film available here, but didn't they do a great job?

Coupon book

With only a week to go until the Artists' Bookmarket at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, I've managed to squeeze in another tiny book - an easy one to fit in the hand baggage thankfully.

Coupon book

Pamphlet bound 2 page book with original ticket covers and rubber stamp printing

52 x 30mm

edition of 20

£4

Next leg

First books of 2015 completed, the England leg of the Grand Tour series I've been putting together.  In contrast to the previous France and Germany editions, the tickets used for the covers of these are some London transport ones from the 1960's.  This was because I wanted some that had come to me from someone else's collection, as the others had, rather than collecting any deliberately.  The size and used quality of them works well with the torn paper pages inside.  I really like that each of these books is unique as the text and image combinations vary and cannot be repeated.

So the set so far looks like this, only Italy to add if the chance arises (ie I get any tickets!).

As before, I'll keep one copy and give one to the person who donated the tickets, so that leaves 3 to take to my next book fair, Artists' Bookmarket at the Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh 21-22 February.