inside/out

book cover

inside /out

you are

everywhere/anywhere

inside/outside

clearly/softly/vaguely

confused

within/without

happy to stay

in/out

something/somewhere

a promise/a wish

to take/make

this

inside/out

Most of my drawings and little illustrated books are pretty abstract but the ones in this book are more figurative with a focus on expressive mark-making. 

"Inside/out" is a series of drawings and a little poem about being locked in. 

"fuzzy head inside"

"Coming out! Ready or not!"

"softly locked inside"

Sometimes the "bars" are not visible.

"angry inside"

"confused inside"

"inside hidden angst"

"wonkey"

Even though these are not pretty pictures, I hope you can enjoy them.

madagascar beans

Madagascar beans

I've just harvested a large jar full of the most beautiful beans I have ever seen. In my younger days as a try hard hippy, I would have made some jewellery with them. Perhaps a bracelet or chunky necklace. I seem to remember using pumpkin seeds and lima beans(died in muted colour with onion skins), as well as many large seed pods from our rain forest like the black bean - but I ran out of girlfriends to give them to. Most preferred diamonds!

They're almost too lovely to eat and I'm not sure at this stage if they will appear in some form in my art work. But I've got my photos to use as memory joggers for when I finally need them. 

In the mean time, I was wondering if anyone has any yummy recipes that would do justice to these magnificent seeds. I don't want ot use them only in soups and stews although they do lose their bright colour when cooked. 

Suddenly my art blog has transformed into a cooking site - please send me some recipes and I will send you some beans so you too can grow these magic beans. 
Better still, if you have used these beauties in your artwork somehow or have any ideas, I would also love to hear from you.

more "smudges" in Thin Red Line

A few more drawings in this tiny book to show how they develop and change in the process. I tend to get a bit carried away and they sometimes lose their directness and become a bit busy. I'm only about half way through and can't help wondering what the last drawings will be like. (I'm trying to use more or less the same materials in each drawing)

I've started to open up the pages with holes and folds but it's a bit hard to see so I'll take some photos instead of scanning to show the spaces better.

The three-dimensional changes as the pages open offer a new and exciting visual experience.

smudges in a new book - "thin red line"

Recently, a very good friend gave me a beautiful tiny book with thin paper and a red elastic tie that keeps it closed. It was blank. She has an identical book and will also work in it when she gets a chance. When we are finished we will share the results.
At the moment, I try to draw in this book every day till I hit a snag. The other day I took a few very simple little directions that completely changed my drawings in an exciting way and thought I'd share them with you while they're still hot on the page.....

We all have different strategies we use while we procrastinate with a difficult problem. I find it useful to give my mind time to think about different possible solutions but don't like doing "nothing" in the mean time. 

So one of my strategies is to draw in many little books at the same time and keep drawing till I encounter another problem and stop. I have these books all going together and don't finish any all in one attempt. I keep returning to each book and often find the problems solved in one book unlock some in another and I can keep going forward. (I often don't "finish" some books and find them years later and continue working in them, but not always) 

Exploring the properties of various media and trying new ones, also helps me find new areas to investigate. In these drawings I was interested in having some transparent/translucent areas and was using stand oil(any oil would do but some take a long time to dry or are smelly, which could be good?) to create this. 

This works well in the collage area with text on both sides as the text from both sides is visible at the one time. To enable me to draw on the oily paper, I used china graph pencils. Being waxy, they are easy to smudge and I started to do this deliberately with a paper stub as another way of mark making.

Instead of oil, I have just started to use Shellac which also make the paper a little transparent but id darker and easier to draw into. All of these materials have been used in these little drawings for different visual marks. I hope you find them interesting and will  explore them yourselves in your drawings.

Who would think that a scrap of paper torn from the page of an old book of poetry found in a garage in Tasmania, could be the starting point of a series of drawings that break new ground for an artist.

a pencil in every knapsack

cover

I have just completed another little book of travel drawings and  hope you  enjoy some of the new media (linseed oil, chinagraph pencil and other mixed media) and abstract compositions.

"notes - an anonymous discourse"

cover of "notes- an anonymous discourse"

It always feels good to add another little book of drawings in your own handmade little book to the collection and share a few of the pages with you.

slim chance

"slim chance "by Helen Malone and Jack Oudyn

After the success of our earlier collaborative book "Chance" , Helen and I decided to do another similar book on the theme of chance. We have just finished our book "Slim Chance" using a similar process as before but focussing this time on the chance of success our recent much maligned refugees are having. It is an area we have both been thinking about for a while and it has also resulted in a few recent zines. 

We each responded by email to a series of 10 phrases relating to our refugee situation and made images using mixed media on kraft paper. We bound each of our books together in a dos a dos format the same size and format as our first chance book. It will be great if we can keep this little series going by adding to it each year to remind us of the two wonderful German ladies Uta Schneider and Ulrike Stoltz whose work continues to inspire us.

"go back to where you came from "Helen Malone

"go back to where you came from " Jack Oudyn

"looking for a safe haven" Helen Malone

"looking for a safe haven" Jack Oudyn

The other images in the book can be seen on micropress. 

Artists' Book Fair

a couple of pages inside the zine

The Siganto sponsored week-end run by the SLQ was a great success. I can't believe I forgot my camera and don't have any photos to post. There was plenty to photograph but sorry I can't show you a thing so I've put in a shot of the inside of the zine I made specially for the day. Have a close look at the stamps I managed to find to help me make a point. (You may have to click and enlarge the image to see properly). Luckily Doug Spowat, who would never be without his camera, has covered both the seminar and Fair in detail.

On the Saturday, the seminar was very inspiring and I'm so glad I went along. Initially, I thought it might be a bit academic and formal but was pleasantly surprised. The State Library of Qld and Siganto Foundation need to be congratulated for running a great week-end.

On the Sunday, the Artists' Book Fair was also very enjoyable and quite productive for us. Helen Malone and I shared a table and met lots of very interesting and committed artist's book enthusiasts and collectors. 

However, there was not a lot of passing traffic and our clientelle were mainly people who had also attended the seminar the day before. Although the number of artists who had tables was quite small, and there was only one zinester, the quality of most of the work was very high. There really were not a lot of books for people to purchase, particularly at the less expensive end of the range. Still, I think that with more promotion, this event could become a regular annual event so that Brisbane can offer more in this area like some of our other capital cities. I am so glad we have a State Library and the Siganto Foundation that supports and promotes this area of the Arts.

"NOT A FAIR GO"

"Not a Fair Go"  - Zine

Next week-end should be a very interesting one for book artists in Brisbane. "The Siganto Artists' Book Seminar 2015" at the State Library of Queensland on the Saturday 20th June and an Artist Book Fair on the Sunday 21st June are being held. I will be there with some of the little books I've blogged about in the past and will also bring along some of my zines. 

I had made this little zine "Not a fair go" specially for the day not knowing that our infamous "sovereign border policies" would again be foremost in our news. Helen Malone, my collaborative partner and I are currently working on a book around the same topic which we hoped we would have ready for the fair but that wasn't possible this time. Looks like I might have to revisit this topic again , it makes me so ashamed to be an Australian.

Helen Malone  will also be there on the week-end  and we will have some of our joint books there as well our own works. I'm sure it will be a very enjoyable day and look forward to catching up with lots of fellow artists.

"whispers"

For quite a while I have been drawing or making some work almost every day, trying hard to be more of a maker or contributor than consumer. It has become so much of a lifestyle habit that this also applies when I go on holidays somewhere. These works are always coloured by the places we visit and I usually make a little book to accomodate them as well as a diary. It makes them easier to manage in the limited space that travelling usually demands. Here are a few from a recent most enjoyable trip to Adelaide and environs. The soft wine soaked "whisper" bubbles were the result.

Hard to Swallow

Cover of   Hard to Swallow

It's been a little while since I sent some mail art to some of my numerous friends all over the place. One of my regular artists (one of the few Aussies), Vizma has recently replied and this gave me the push to do a bit more in this area.I have been spending more time on artist books and let this more casual genre fall behind. "Hard to Swallow" is a little mini artist book I have sent her recently.

She has relied with another of her great little book "Hidden Treasures" ,(she must have enjoyed the Cockles Pills)

Even though these little treasures are not as time consuming and cerebral as artist books, they are huge fun and help me fill in the odd spare moment. I'm now working on a reply booklet to keep the cycle going. Who knows perhaps a collaboration or larger work may develop from these more spontaneous pieces.