Chaos from order....
...rather than the other way round?
The deadline for the Hartsheath project approaches, and getting organised is becoming rather important.
I do in fact have almost enough work for the exhibition, but got sidetracked a couple of weeks ago when one of the prints turned effortlessly into a three-dimensional piece. Another batch turned into little books.
The long, thin, format came naturally from the "drawing as you walk" sketchbook, and the idea of replicating a linear journey in print. This in turn reminded me of the work of John Ogilby - the maker of (allegedly) the first usable travellers' atlas of Great Britain. His maps, although beautiful, are strictly utilitarian and limited to things you need to know to get from A to B - a sort of seventeenth century Satnav. Each section of the image is dominated by the road to be taken, running vertically up the page. Landscape features are noted only if they are visible from the road (and useful for getting your bearings). After all, if you're riding from Chester to Holyhead via Mold you don't need to know that there are interesting things to see in Llangollen umpteen miles to the South, or even that Llangollen exists. It's not on your route, so it doesn't need to be on your map.
Not all my walks flow tidily up the page...
I learnt to type on my father's old Royal typewriter, and coming back to it is a bit of an experience after years of using an electronic keyboard. To say that the keystrike is positive is an understatement. I think it needs a bit of a service, as it doesn't wind on straight and the platen jumps if you hit the keys too hard. I tell myself that this adds character to the text. And as I'm typing onto soft Somerset etching paper it doesn't matter that the black ribbon is defunct.
The deadline for the Hartsheath project approaches, and getting organised is becoming rather important.
I do in fact have almost enough work for the exhibition, but got sidetracked a couple of weeks ago when one of the prints turned effortlessly into a three-dimensional piece. Another batch turned into little books.
The long, thin, format came naturally from the "drawing as you walk" sketchbook, and the idea of replicating a linear journey in print. This in turn reminded me of the work of John Ogilby - the maker of (allegedly) the first usable travellers' atlas of Great Britain. His maps, although beautiful, are strictly utilitarian and limited to things you need to know to get from A to B - a sort of seventeenth century Satnav. Each section of the image is dominated by the road to be taken, running vertically up the page. Landscape features are noted only if they are visible from the road (and useful for getting your bearings). After all, if you're riding from Chester to Holyhead via Mold you don't need to know that there are interesting things to see in Llangollen umpteen miles to the South, or even that Llangollen exists. It's not on your route, so it doesn't need to be on your map.
Not all my walks flow tidily up the page...
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