When I go on workshops, I love combining my notes into a book or journal of some sort. Otherwise they just get chucked into a drawer and disappear and may never be seen again.
I went on Susie Leiper's course on Brush Lettering a number of years ago at the Sunderland Symposium.
(I'm talking about it now, because I took the scroll out to show you the batik dyeing and thought you'd like to peek inside) Susie lived in China for a number of years and this has very much informed and inspired her lovely calligraphic art. I am passionate about Japanese aesthetics, have studied and created a kimono series, love fabric and was delighted to be able to attend. I really appreciated Susie's approach, because she doesn't try to emulate Chinese calligraphy (not many Westerners can do this successfully) but to absorb what it has taught her.
Susie gave me a piece of Indigo dyed Japanese fabric which I used for the binding and I stitched this very large book in a traditional Japanese-inspired style, using my batik dyed paper and fabric on the spine. I then rolled the book and added beads and cord.
I loved playing with brush lettering under expert tuition as I have already done quite a lot of brush work, but its always refreshing to adapt one's approach. The most exciting part for me was learning how to laminate work with paper. I had really investigated this as best I could for my kimono series years prior to this and came up with a trial and error solution - but if only I had known... (bear in mind that You-tube had not been invented yet)
"Touch of the wnd" was one of the smaller loose pieces inserted into the roll as a loose piece.
The contents of the scroll are the work we did in class, with the finale (back page) being Chinese-style painting for backgrounds using Susie's wonderful large brushes. I have since bought some brushes of my own as you can see, and was given a jade one as a gift. www.susieleiper.com
The little pewter knife is a decorative prop to hold the pages open. It is a Parmesan Knife designed by Carroll Boyes, a South African designer who creates functional art. www.carrolboyes.co.uk
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