PROJECTS

My third year project, a major project that encompasses my study efforts for this year (2018). Progress, frustrations and updates will be added as it progresses. The question I have focused on and developed as my research has progressed is: How can I investigate the intangible elements of skill, labour, time and sharing in the horse human relationship through the use of heuristic inquiry and books as a form of expression and medium?

Term One:

Beginning experiments, playing with structures I had not tried before using dummy pages the book felt very empty and purposeless except as a practice piece. My next step was to try something with actual content and link it with it's binding.	Basing my next investigations on ideas around Livre d'Artist and using ink and watercolour, I created the contents of the book. The contents are heuristic based on recent events in my life.	I played with printmaking ideas for the endpapers using a leaf and acrylic paint to make prints.
I had decisions to make in regard to board attachment. I knew I wanted to use leather but have the boards attached to the text block. I decided against tapes or cords and went with french stitching and split boards.	The cover I chose to give an image of sorts instead of a title as the book is very personal. This also deviates from traditional binding.	Split boards attached to the slips made of mull and binding calico attached to the endpapers and front/back signature and sewn through.
Attempting something new to me using dye on leather to create a mottled effect. This taught me that the dye lightens on drying and I need to take this into account.	Dry leather being cut for covering the book.	Set up for paring on a marble slab with English paring knife.
Paring the edges. I used a spoke shave for internal areas of the leather.	Putting in the frame of the window first before attaching the leather to the rest of the cover.	Paste that froze in the studio fridge! Did make it difficult to paste out the leather.
Appropriate sized knitting needles used to set the joint.	Book with finished cover and pasted endpapers waiting to dry.	Completed book
	Work in place in the gallery. The empty chair is to indicate the presence of a person to whom the books are important

Term Two:

Playing with ideas of combining text and the horse.	Playing with the horse and inscribing/pressing words that describe the horse human relationship into the clay. Working with ideas of the clay tablet or primitive book.	Again with the ideas of early book types and text and horse image/shape.
Playing with illustration methods.	Final image for digital collage that could be used as a technique to build a story or narrative on the horse human relationship.	Books from a workshop task on making simple book structures. Showed the value of sharing skills. Photo credit Vy.
Playing with stop animation type ideas and flip books by using photographs of toys.	Colouring pages as a way of sharing the horse human relationship with others	Zentangle style colouring pages again a way of sharing the horse human relationship with others.
As part of theory I started testing various medias and skills through the form of a thistle. Which links to my horse and her love of thistles	Carousal books that look at the horse human relationship. Also has the repetition in reading of the daily care of the horse.	Carousal book from above.
Paper cut silhouettes pages of the carousal books in progress.	The front layer which had watercolour images and paper cut.	Second carousal book that will be in the horse float.
Second exhibition using a horse float as site. Had strong connection to the horse human relationship and contained ways of sharing that relationship and the skill, labour and time that goes into it.	Another view of the float.

Term Three:

The beginnings of a new development in the project. The idea of a book with an object as content opposed to pages.	Book draw closed it looks like a regular book with the exception of no page edges.	The book draw with tests on covering, a combination of book cloth and paint to see what would be more convincing. News print book pages to try and copy the look of a book.
Open the draw to see the thistles. this was an idea for presenting the thistles in a way that would be similar to the Macquarie chest.	Continuing the ideas of books content I have played with other illustration options. Printmaking is also a labour and time intensive practice.	I stuck with ideas around grooming the horse for the theme of the prints. Here wood block is next to lino cut both having different qualities.
The dry point I liked the most as I was able to get greater detail but this also comes down to my current printmaking skills and experience. The collatype was very labour intensive and serendipitous in result.	Sticking with the grooming theme I experimented further with the digital collage. I have decided that though this is an interesting technique it doesn't have the body in labour found in the likes of printmaking.	beginning ideas for a stack of book draws.
Continuing to test the ideas of a chest or container. this dosen't have the horse or book connection I am looking for.	Still testing ideas of a container for a collection. the idea of a horse shaped container became a bit morbid for my liking and didn't feel right for my project.	Before making a large version I made a small one to 1:5 the size. I felt this worked really well and will make a start on the full sized version.
All the book draws opened and the trays inside too. This is based heavily on the Macquarie chest.	Here the bottom two draws are underway with more boards laminated for further down the line.	As part of making the book stack and the skills, labour and time involved I have compared in documentation form the building of the book stack with the building of a relationship with horses.
Continuing the comparison.	For the third exhibition I was present at different times working on the book stack otherwise it sat waiting for the audience to engage with it.	Table at which I worked
Working on the edge material for bottom draws. to save on buckram that would never be seen I covered just the edges of the board. This also gave structural integrity to the box as the buckram is glued over the joins.	At work on the edges	Still working on the edges
Second draw being edged.

Term Four:

These are the times and places I will be with my book stack. Come along and say hello.	First day of testing the marbling size and paints. I have done marbling once or twice before so I spent a little time testing paints.	Here are some examples of the acrylic paint marbling. I also tried water colour and gouache on the carrageen size and oil paint on methyl cellulose bath.
After testing and deciding on the acrylic paint I marbled the paper for the lining of the two smaller book draws. Marbling having traditionally used in fine binding and having a long association with books.	To keep in consistency of the books made earlier in the project and echo the things in this particular draw. I used the same mottling leather technique used earlier.	Leather after the dye was applied.
Bottom draws finished the next two in started. the draw parts sitting on the stack whilst I worked on the box part.	Second lot of book draws ready for the next stage of lining the draws and attaching the spines/draw front.	Marbled paper being used to line the draw.
Draw lining finished and spine attached.	The draw in place, next step to add the leather or buckram and book edging.	The how to draw a thistle and knit a thistle tie in with the thistles from the theory paper and the ideas on sharing skills.
Testing contents in the draws. Here the draw has colouring pages, carousal books and documentation.

Sam Chandler - Willow Tree Crafts

Projects

Term One:

Beginning experiments, playing with structures I had not tried before using dummy pages the book felt very empty and purposeless except as a practice piece. My next step was to try something with actual content and link it with it's binding.

Basing my next investigations on ideas around Livre d'Artist and using ink and watercolour, I created the contents of the book. The contents are heuristic based on recent events in my life.

I played with printmaking ideas for the endpapers using a leaf and acrylic paint to make prints.

I had decisions to make in regard to board attachment. I knew I wanted to use leather but have the boards attached to the text block. I decided against tapes or cords and went with french stitching and split boards.

The cover I chose to give an image of sorts instead of a title as the book is very personal. This also deviates from traditional binding.

Split boards attached to the slips made of mull and binding calico attached to the endpapers and front/back signature and sewn through.

Attempting something new to me using dye on leather to create a mottled effect. This taught me that the dye lightens on drying and I need to take this into account.

Dry leather being cut for covering the book.

Set up for paring on a marble slab with English paring knife.

Paring the edges. I used a spoke shave for internal areas of the leather.

Putting in the frame of the window first before attaching the leather to the rest of the cover.

Paste that froze in the studio fridge! Did make it difficult to paste out the leather.

Appropriate sized knitting needles used to set the joint.

Book with finished cover and pasted endpapers waiting to dry.

Completed book

Work in place in the gallery. The empty chair is to indicate the presence of a person to whom the books are important

Term Two:

Playing with ideas of combining text and the horse.

Playing with the horse and inscribing/pressing words that describe the horse human relationship into the clay. Working with ideas of the clay tablet or primitive book.

Again with the ideas of early book types and text and horse image/shape.

Playing with illustration methods.

Final image for digital collage that could be used as a technique to build a story or narrative on the horse human relationship.

Books from a workshop task on making simple book structures. Showed the value of sharing skills. Photo credit Vy.

Playing with stop animation type ideas and flip books by using photographs of toys.

Colouring pages as a way of sharing the horse human relationship with others

Zentangle style colouring pages again a way of sharing the horse human relationship with others.

As part of theory I started testing various medias and skills through the form of a thistle. Which links to my horse and her love of thistles

Carousal books that look at the horse human relationship. Also has the repetition in reading of the daily care of the horse.

Carousal book from above.

Paper cut silhouettes pages of the carousal books in progress.

The front layer which had watercolour images and paper cut.

Second carousal book that will be in the horse float.

Second exhibition using a horse float as site. Had strong connection to the horse human relationship and contained ways of sharing that relationship and the skill, labour and time that goes into it.

Another view of the float.

Term Three:

The beginnings of a new development in the project. The idea of a book with an object as content opposed to pages.

Book draw closed it looks like a regular book with the exception of no page edges.

The book draw with tests on covering, a combination of book cloth and paint to see what would be more convincing. News print book pages to try and copy the look of a book.

Open the draw to see the thistles. this was an idea for presenting the thistles in a way that would be similar to the Macquarie chest.

Continuing the ideas of books content I have played with other illustration options. Printmaking is also a labour and time intensive practice.

I stuck with ideas around grooming the horse for the theme of the prints. Here wood block is next to lino cut both having different qualities.

The dry point I liked the most as I was able to get greater detail but this also comes down to my current printmaking skills and experience. The collatype was very labour intensive and serendipitous in result.

Sticking with the grooming theme I experimented further with the digital collage. I have decided that though this is an interesting technique it doesn't have the body in labour found in the likes of printmaking.

beginning ideas for a stack of book draws.

Continuing to test the ideas of a chest or container. this dosen't have the horse or book connection I am looking for.

Still testing ideas of a container for a collection. the idea of a horse shaped container became a bit morbid for my liking and didn't feel right for my project.

Before making a large version I made a small one to 1:5 the size. I felt this worked really well and will make a start on the full sized version.

All the book draws opened and the trays inside too. This is based heavily on the Macquarie chest.

Here the bottom two draws are underway with more boards laminated for further down the line.

As part of making the book stack and the skills, labour and time involved I have compared in documentation form the building of the book stack with the building of a relationship with horses.

Continuing the comparison.

For the third exhibition I was present at different times working on the book stack otherwise it sat waiting for the audience to engage with it.

Table at which I worked

Working on the edge material for bottom draws. to save on buckram that would never be seen I covered just the edges of the board. This also gave structural integrity to the box as the buckram is glued over the joins.

At work on the edges

Still working on the edges

Second draw being edged.

Term Four:

These are the times and places I will be with my book stack. Come along and say hello.

First day of testing the marbling size and paints. I have done marbling once or twice before so I spent a little time testing paints.

Here are some examples of the acrylic paint marbling. I also tried water colour and gouache on the carrageen size and oil paint on methyl cellulose bath.

After testing and deciding on the acrylic paint I marbled the paper for the lining of the two smaller book draws. Marbling having traditionally used in fine binding and having a long association with books.

To keep in consistency of the books made earlier in the project and echo the things in this particular draw. I used the same mottling leather technique used earlier.

Leather after the dye was applied.

Bottom draws finished the next two in started. the draw parts sitting on the stack whilst I worked on the box part.

Second lot of book draws ready for the next stage of lining the draws and attaching the spines/draw front.

Marbled paper being used to line the draw.

Draw lining finished and spine attached.

The draw in place, next step to add the leather or buckram and book edging.

The how to draw a thistle and knit a thistle tie in with the thistles from the theory paper and the ideas on sharing skills.

Testing contents in the draws. Here the draw has colouring pages, carousal books and documentation.