for a change - "fings"

I have been trying to tidy my life a little of late so have to make use of a lot of bits of wood and things I have been saving or else throw them away. But after saving something for many years how can you just tip it out? So I've had a little detour from my artist book and drawing activities to make some little sculptures for my grandchildren. 
This little "teacup of exploding bean juice" is Hannah's description of one she has chosen as her own. What a gorgeous word picture! It's made from a piece of Macadamia branch from a tree in my garden which I've been saving for 15 years in case I needed it . The beautiful Madagascar beans are from last years crop in my garden and the bright coloured plastic cord from my whipper-snipper. I've added a small piece of dull grey lead flashing to contrast with the bright colours and striking grain of the timber.
 
This next one was for my other granddaughter but she hasn't had a chance to name or describe it yet.

My grandson Thomas chose this one. A happy little spiral shell head with a belt holding in a split split tummy. He also needs to give me his ideas of what name/description or personality his little sculpture suggests.

The smaller ones are only 7-8cms tall and the tallest (a piano key) about 20cms. The other tall ones are also parts of an old piano I found years ago. The lead and felt provide a great contrast with the other materials and add to the whimsical character of these tiny maquettes.

"to germs"

detail of a surface on "to germs"

The new year has brought me a burst of post Christmas energy (not quite sure how, but I think a beautiful book Robyn Foster lent me might have helped). "Art made from Books" includes many inspirational book artists including Pamela Paulsrud. Some of her work has a very painterly approach to her book sculptures and this was all the excuse for an exploration into the altered book side of the book arts I needed.

An old discarded book from our local library "to germs" formed the basis for the book. I had originally picked up the book because of references to some bacteria that were of particular interest to me but also because it reminded me of my first career as a trainee bacteriologist many years ago. So there is a bit of history there to inform some of the marks and text and added pieces I brought to the sculpture.

My previous work was with milk and cream and the bugs that make it go off, both good and bad. Woodford Dairy Co-op was one of my first excursions in the field out of the lab, testing milk and cream as it came in from the farms. The samples that were off were sent to the lab for testing and the bacteria grown on petri dishes and test tubes for identification. The marks show the colonies of bacteria that grew in the media. The use of wax and china graph pencils was perfect to capture those early memories.

the reverse side of the cover

The added bits of hardware keep this highly contagious  sculpture safe and secure.

flat side with test tube

top spine showing title

test tube with fake bacteria culture

No it was not these bacteria directly above that interested me but the heliobacter pylori in the previous detail.

the other flat side

mixed media 

from above

 I've enjoyed this area of exploration and while there's a lot of room for improvement, I'll keep working in this area for a bit. The altered book probably could have been  more substantially changed and three-dimensional and I'm not too sure about the knock-kneed stick standing in for the laboratory retort stand, but I'm quite happy with the surfaces and the paint .