Monday 23 June 2014

New beginnings.

The idea for a new mixed media book came to me just before I went on holiday so I was able to sketch out a few ideas while I was away.   I am fascinated by runes which are an early type of alphabet.   At first I thought I would make the book historically correct and very rustic with each character formed from little pieces of driftwood.  Sadly there was nothing suitable on the beach near our holiday bungalow.  I then decided to have fun and place each runic character onto a colourful medieval style background and started to draw them instead.  Should they be on a plain background with decorative border or placed directly onto the patterned background?  Should they all be the same size and shape?

If they are going to have a medieval style background why not give them zoomorphic heads and tails?
The ideas keep coming and things keep changing.

 In the set of runes I am using there are 28 characters and I am working on seven different shapes for the backgrounds, using four of each.   I am enjoying myself choosing colours and designs for them.  The four coloured ones above are completed but those little quarter inch squares seem to get smaller the longer I spend working on them!

These are ready for further embellishment.   I had thought of woven ribbons and hand stitching to make them, but couldn't find the right colours in the widths I wanted, and that could have been very fiddly.

The background shapes will be cut out and may have a gold border - the runic characters will probably be cut out of gold card or gold painted paper and placed on top.   The next question is - should the runes be small enough to fit inside the background or allowed to stray over the edges?   The designs are evolving and decisions are being made as I go along.   I usually like to be able to visualise the finished article before I start work but I couldn't wait for that to happen this time.  

It has been so humid today that I have hibernated - my body seems to want to stop functioning in humid conditions.  Thankfully our house is beautifully cool with doors and windows open and curtains drawn on the sunny side.  The garden is as dry as a bone in spite of having been watered and on Thursday, when heavy showers are forecast for this area, it will sigh a grateful sigh of relief.  I might even go out and play in it myself.

8 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

I feel exactly the same in humid conditions Heather. Unfortunately, with silaging just finished, all the farmers around us are spreading slurry on the fields, so leaving doors and windows open is just not an option!
I really enjoy actually partaking in your thinking behind a project - it makes the whole thing much more interesting if I follow your line of thought. So far I love it.

Carol Q said...

ooh a new project Heather. It's really interesting to see how you're thinking too - decision and indecision lol. Do you think your course has had an effect on the way you plan too??

Ro Bruhn said...

These look beautiful Heather, I love the checked backgrounds. I like the idea of large letters spilling over the edges, that way they really are the dominant feature.

Maggi said...

Interesting to follow your thought processes for this new project.

Gordano Textile Artists said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ferinn said...


I love your new project,those backgrounds are so intricate.I shall enjoy seeing this develop.

sharon young said...

I love your new project, such a great idea, I particularly like the first pic with the rhune spilling over the edge of the background, looking forward to seeing where you go with this.

Linda Vincent said...

Wow...clever stuff Heather; I had to go and look up zoomorphic! See, I've learnt something today ;-)