Mother Time

"Every twenty-eight days the moon moves through all twelve signs of the zodiac to return to the same place in relation to the stars. Due to this lunar cycle, twenty-eight day months have divided the year in many cultures and still do in various Hindu, Islamic, and Hebrew traditions. Women’s menstrual cycles average twenty-eight days and have been symbolically related to the moon’s cycle throughout history. Interestingly, human gestation, the time it takes for a fetus to develop in the womb, averages 280 days. No wonder that the moon is often feminized and in many native cultures is called 'Mother' or 'Grandmother.'"

This is an excerpt from my new book edition project called Mother Time. I am working on 3 projects at once, all towards various deadlines. All the holidays are working ones for me! Billy has been a big help, cutting stencils and some linoleum for me, and cleaning the press in between as usual. I don't know what I would do without him. Shweta was also in the studio with me this weekend, helping me with excellent color suggestions and making multiple serious offers to organize and clean my studio. I could use some of that!

We were all pretty tired after having a lot of grandkids playing and climbing all over us, cooking, dish washing, and eating lots of pie. (It was all good.) We all had such a very good time. (The pies were 4: apple, cherry, pumpkin, and coconut cream. The grandchildren were 4, adult children were 4, Grandparents were 2, and the dirty dishes were endless.) There was even a snowball fight!

But we were tired the next day and Bill still worked so hard on a stencil for me to use for the print up top. Unfortunately, he cut a 42 pointed star instead of a 28, and we had to start all over again! I know I'll use it eventually, so it's nice to have it in the back file.

By the way, this printing style is done with stencils. The printing technique I learned from Kathy Kuehn, but designing and cutting stencils to make them I figured out on my own. I love it!

By the Skin of My Teeth

Well, I did it. It wasn't easy, but yesterday I got Erotica Botanica delivered to the gallery with one day to spare. I am not sure I had one day to spare, as I am exhausted.

This is the wrapper with the book inside. I should say the deluxe book, although the trade edition will also have a wrapper.

There are two blue flaps inside that hold the book in at the top and bottom.

I only printed a few butterflies (they pop-up) and a few blue flaps. My press started making a new noise, and I couldn't oil it away. It doesn't sound good. So I just wanted to print the minimum I needed to until I could stop and get Bill's help to work on the press. Actually, Bill suggested I leave out the butterfly so I could stop printing, he thought the book was beautiful enough. But I couldn't leave it out now. I was in do or die mode.

My favorite of the poems:
"Bandy-legged bumble bee
your furry belted belly
tickles me"

A week before the deadline I printed the poems on one half of the book and realized the next morning I had mis-registered them. I had to begin printing that half of the book over. This happened the day before my mother-in-law arrived. So I emailed the gallery and they were able to give me a few extra days. Phew! I thought I could still print and socialize and get the book done with plenty of time to spare.

I began printing on the second half of the book and printed the colophon on the wrong page. So now I also had to re-print the second half of the book as well as the first. I gave up on the idea of printing with my company in the house. My attention was too diverted. I was getting sloppy. The good news was that I could change a few things that were bothering me.

All the imagery for the book was printed from stencils I designed and cut. Except this flower which Billy made. I think this is the only stencil that was cut once. All the other stencils for the book were cut at least twice, and some (including the leaf pages) three times! There are four different flowers and they pop-up from the folds.

I have a huge pile of models from designing the book, a pile of used and unused stencils, and many proofs of the stencils in multiple colors. What to do with all this leafy color!

For now, I will focus on binding, finishing printing the trade edition and getting that out, and getting back into a routine that includes exercise, nature, and friends.

Come see the show!
23 Sandy Gallery, Portland Oregon
September 22 - October 30, 2010
Pop-Up Now! A Juried Exhibition of Movable Books

Erotica Botanica

Enter the sensual Erotica Botanica through an unfolding caress of its leaf shaped pages. Delicate flowers with enticing organs float up from the folds above a bed of leaves and seed pods. Erotic verse, written by flowers and pollinators, inspires the viewer to contemplate the sexual desire of plants.

Well, here it is. The current version of Sex In The Garden renamed as Erotica Botanica. I am so tired. I have been working night and day. And this is just a first proof copy, there is still so much more to do. This version with the pop-ups will be the deluxe. The trade version will not have the colorful flowers and the poems will be inside the folds.

Billy has helped me with the poetry, which has been really fun. He surprised both of us.

I am so glad I took a week of retreat and had so much time in nature. It really helped me to deepen into this project and some great ideas came out of that time to be incorporated; some of it poetry, and some of it visual design.

I think I have cut the large leafy image (folded into four pages) at least four times already. I had to cut at least five different flowers, maybe more, to get just one that I like. There are four flowers total. The book has gone through so many different designs. There have been four totally different concept designs, some taken almost to print. And since starting with this leafy cut out design there have been about 6 different directions I have gone with it. I have never worked and reworked a book so much. I have a tall stack of models and reject prints.

My apologies for being absent so long, and for not posting more of the process. I have not stopped for hardly a thing since my retreat. Bill's eldest son visited with his family of four this last weekend (soon to be five) and that was my only respite. Though a house full of grandchildren is hardly a rest!

Today I sent the images in for a show, hoping I'll be selected. Today was the deadline, but I made it in time! It has been a delight to feel so inspired by this book. I struggled for a while, searching for the right expression in book form, but once I settled into this one, I enjoyed all the explorations of design.

Thanks to my friends who have been so encouraging and supportive while I mostly ignored them until I needed their advice!