Pulp Redux- Kims book Update

Wahoo, it's pulp time again! I'm doing things out of order, having completed the first page and then the last page without doing the middle page...which I've started but not finished! The first section was dedicated to the Maori Warriors who fought at the battle of Gate Pa, the second sections belongs to the Brittish Soliders and the last section is a tribute to Archdeacon Brown and his wife Charlotte. On January 4 1838 the Archdeacon and his family returned to Tauranga after a period away establishing another missionary site. He built a library and chapel on land which is now known as "The Elms." His role was that of preacher, counsellor and community advisor. His library housed books that served the needs of not just his parish but the wider community.(Incidently, many of these books are still housed in the mission library which is now a small museum.)

Archdeacon Brown was able to speak both English and Maori and as a result he was able to work with both of the fighting parties. Imagine the torment this must have caused this peace loving man? To see his friends at war with each other?

On the night before the crushing defeat suffered by the Brittish 14 soldiers dined at his table, the next day all but 1 of those men were dead.

Below are 2 passages from the poem kept inside the pocket on this page 

Then, when the meal was ended, tale and joke

died into silence as the kind host spoke.

Lost are his wods today, we only know

that those who listened felt their hearts a-glow

With pentince; and, kneeling side by side

Grim Verteran and the lad in youthful pride,

they took the sacrament of endless life

then rose, strong-hearted for the morrow's strife.

Within this room, when but two nights had fled

was sound of mourning for the gallant dead;

Of all those happy guests who feasted here,

but one was left to tell the story, drear

Of ambush, vain and of its bitter cost

When heroes, Pakeha and Maori, met

in that grim strife that we would fain forget

Poem by Kathleen Hawkins

It's hard to know how illustrate a story like this. Its potentially one of suffering and strife. Luckily there's two sides to the story!  In the christian faith believers go to heaven, far away from warfare and pain, to a place of peace and love.

While it's true that the Archdeacon witnessed many hardships and lost countless friends he was also a source of comfort to the soldiers and warriors. His job was  to give hope and unconditional love in the midst of one of NZ's most significant landwars.

I chose to reflect the love held within his home and his heart. Evident in his actions and appreciated by many.

 

Still in this place today the quiet light

falls on a room scarce changed since that past night;

and in its quietude the questions rise

Was this the vision seen by dying eyes?

Did that glimpse of homely peacefullness

shine through the pain of wounds to heal and bless?

And did the kindess freely given

help some brave soul find his way to heaven?

The house(in the photo) was built after the library and parish. The soliders (in the poem) dined in the great dining room housed in that very building. These days it is open to the public, the room preserved as it was that day. Having been there I can tell you the room has a stillness about it. A quieting effect that causes you to sit, be still and be thankful. The portrait is of the Archdeacon Brown.

The 'trap door' style flap opnes to reveal the poem.

I've used 100% recycled and second hand fabric, lace and beads. You can see glimpse of the red scarf fabric I used on the Maori page. Kim loves copper so I used an old copper wire 'thing' found inside something electronic...my son finds me the best things! The copper wire (see above pic) is delicate and broke easily but I love the way it looks nestled between the coffee dyed cotton and bits of lace and mutton-cloth. 

This page sits on the back of the Maori page which will lift up to reveal the Brittish page and this one. The peacemaker between the two parties, in the middle like he was in life.

 Coming soon: Blog Giveaway!! I've created a fabric collage with a water theme to commemorate International Blog Action Day so watch this space to be in the draw!

Also coming soon...Altered matchboxes for Bad Penny's 12 days of Christmas Matchbox swap! It's been ages since I've altered matchboxes but it's been fun!

 *See you all soon*

Pulpy Love

Yay! A long last it's time for a Pulp Redux post! My son got out of hospital 5 nights ago after a 3 week admission. Time sure goes a lot faster here on the 'outside' lol. I'm not sure how long he'll be home for but every day at home is a day to recharge and I fully intend on doing that! On the first full day home in forever I created...and then for a few hours last night... and a few more today...yay! I am happier already!

Here's how you last saw my "Battle of Gate Pa" page in Kim's book.

And how it looks now... 

 I love the addition of red to the page. I cut up an old silk scarf I found in the second handshop and also added a string to close the fabric door. It dosn't make a lot of difference visually but atleast the papers can't fall out now!  I'm really happy with the way this page has turned out.

Open the door...

The Maori warrior was a magnificent, brave and fierce fighter. Their strong spiritual ties to the land led them to fight with passion and vigour.

This is the story my pages are based on, The Battle of Gate Pa.

The Battle of "Gate Pa" is probably the battle which made the greatest impact in the history of the New Zealand Wars.

In an effort to cut off reinforcements and food supplies which where filtering through to the Maori rebels in the Waikato area, the British sent their troops to Tauranga, in order to attack the fortress. The word Pa means ‘fortified settlement.’

Around 200 warriors from the Ngai-te-Rangi tribe were in place one side of the Pa, and around 35 warriors, mainly from the Ngati Koheriki tribe, reinforced the other side.
On 29th April 1864, the 43rd British regiment attacked the Pa. 1700 soldiers armed with a strong artillery train : 8 mortars, 2 howitzers, 2 naval canon and 5 Armstrong guns. The soldiers opened fire on Gate Pa, and during a short time bombarded it heavily. The following day the troops bombarded again, for a longer period, and this time succeeding in breaking opening a large point of entry to the pa.  An elite Brittish assault force was sent to penetrate the breach opened up during the bombardment.

The British had thought their previous heavy bombardment had taken effect, owing to the fact that there had been little response fire from within the Pa. However, on entering via the breach, the British troops found themselves being fired on at very close range from Maori in hiding.

A reinforcement group of soldiers was sent to relieve the trapped assault force in the Pa. However, the reinforcements found themselves caught up in the retreat from the pa by the first assault force. From two separate areas of the pa, the Maori were firing on the two groups of troops, who were by this time caught up in the deadly crossfire....

Depsite being signficantly outnumbered and under-armed the Maori won the battle and caused the Brittish troops to rethink the battle plans for other parts of NZ. Never again was the threat of a fortified pa under-estimated.

The above close up is a sneak peak of the page I have planned for the Brittish soldiers.

The story has pretty much been told on the 'Maori' page in the pile of papers found bundled behind the door but the Brittish soliders left a lasting impact on Tauranga and that story is still to be told.

The 3rd part of this story is that of the missionary's who befriended both the Maori and Brittish troops. I've almost completed this page which is dedicated to Archdeacon Brown and his wife. It's not ready for it's reveal yet but here's a quick preview...

If your not all 'pulped out' yet then make sure you check out the Pulp Redux blog and see the utterly amazing work done by Kim on Lisa J's book (Roots- beneath the layers.)  My book ' Labyrinth' is currently in the very capable hands of Alicia Caudle and she posted a pic on her blog a side profile pic of my book on her blog. You can see it here- look how FAT it is! Bulging (litterly) with layers of lovely texture and fibre! Wahoo!

Now, my turn to surf! Can't wait to pop in on ya'll over the next few days!

 *See you soon.*

Fragments, Vestiges and Remains- Kim's book

Isn't it wonderful when the art drought finally ends? I've been having a great time working on my pieces for Kim's book. I am the 4th person to work in Kim's book. Kim, started it off with touchhing and thought provoking ANZAC themed piece, Alicia was next with a spread on the misfortune of those who found themselves underground in the Portland tunnels. Lisa J was the 3rd person and she created a stunning piece about immigrants coming to Baltimore seeking a better life but instead finding drought and hardship. So far we've each completed a piece about a historical event that took place in our own areas so my piece is about the Battle of Gate Pa. This is one of the most signifcant land battles to have taken place on NZ soil and Gate Pa is about 4 km from where I live. Here's what I've done so far....

The Queen's movement vs. The Kings movement. Maori intelligance vs British artillery. This is the Battle of Gate Pa.

My spread is not yet attached to Kims book but the work so far is largely secured to the backing cloth. As you can see I am working on the Maori part of my book and this will be followed by the British story and lastly by the story of Archdeacon Brown and his wife who befriended both sides.

The blue face is a Maori design from a silk scarf. It's non-traditional in colour but I loved the fabric so much I had to use it. The blue face has been stitched around in black thread. I didn't intend on doing so much stitchwork when I first decided on the silk but I took it with me to the hospital and had plenty of time on my hands! I am quite pleased with the results as I was trying to reflect the tribal war and wanted rustic looking detais for the page. The face piece doubles as a book cover which you can see open above.

    I was incredibly pleased to find the leather offcut with wonky eyelets in the scraps basket at a second hand shop. It was meant to be here! It was a pale (ugly) grey so a bit of black shoe nugget was dispatched to give it an older mottled look.

The Maori design at the bottom was black and white originally so I gave it the coffee treatment to stop it from being so bright. I was at the 2nd hand shop looking for appropriate Brittish piece when I came across a tatty tourist tea towel. Perfect! I really wanted to incorporate traditional Maori art on my page but it is perfect in design, symmetrical and lovely even lines. Not my strength at all. Thank goodness for tatty tea towels!

The photo to the left shows the fabric flaps lifted up to reveal  the area where I envision the factual information will go. As you can see from the pic I've already made a start on the inside of the book cover.
 It wouldn't be my blog post without the close up photos...

Thank you again for all the well wishes recieved.I've just started visiting a few blogs again and hope to visit more tonight and tomorrow. I miss seening what everyone's been up too! My son is still unwell but well enough to be home. I'm learning to balance my time better and channel some of my energy into my artwork. It's certainly proven to be a sanity saver for me this past week...and surprisingly productive too!

Pulp Redux Chapter #3 Alicia's book

Here it is! My promised Pulp Redux Update! Last posting was my freshly completed "Charlotte" page. Charlotte is the secret daughter of Hester. You can read more here if you missed it. The AB follows a storyline and it's be a lot of fun creating the story and setting the scene.

The Imperfect Patch.

When Hester was pregnant with Charlotte she created a patchwork quilt, loving crafted from scraps of fabric and an old cotton dress. One of the patches was imperfect and Hester decided that her unborn child would only have the very best and the patch was put aside. As fate would have it this impefect patch was to play a very important roll as it was to become one of the few momento's Hester would have of her daughter. Hester lived a life of self imposed seclusion, she rarely saw anyone which was why she was able to keep her daughter a secret. When Charlotte was one year old she realised that a life of seclusion was no way for a child to live and she made the heart breaking descion to send her beloved daughter to live with her sister. They made a pact that Charlotte would never know that Hettie was her mother, instead she grew up thinking her Aunt was her Mother and totally unaware that Aunt Hettie was actually her mother. After Hester's passing the old ladies secrets were revealed and this was just one of many...

Charlotte's Pocket.

Keeping safe in this pocket is the imperfect patch, a key to Hesters secrets box and some of Charlotte's diary pages. The pocket is attached to the blue page with Charlotte's photo on the other side and is made from coffee dyed fabric, op shop fabric's and op shop lace. I didn't embroider the rose, I cut it from an old cotten napkin also gotten from the op shop! The top embellishment is a heart I sewed from fabric scraps.

The next page in Alicia's book is Hester's Diary...

I colour photocopied a Thrush nest watercolour from a delightful old book called "A country diary of an Edwardian Lady" and the book is a month by month account of Edith Holden's life in 1906. Fabulous book! I sewed over the nest with coffee dyed thread (the nest is a loooong piece of thread stitched on top of the painted nest.) It took me forever but I think it was worth it!

The cover of Hester's diary. The pages are yet to be written though! The cover is made from velvet (from the opshop ofcourse and bargain of the year!) apricot lace and green stuff that I can't remember the name of! The beads that embellish the lace frame are from an old necklace gottem from...the op shop! This page is made from 99% recycled materials. You probably  guessed that by now!  The ribbon roses I made today, they don't show very well here. I havn't made ribbon roses in years but they were kinda fun to do!The only bummer for me here is the strap which will attach the book to the book. I wish I had spent more time on it and finished it a little better. Never mind! Live and learn (and keep on sewing!)

Coming soon...Take it and Run Update and a new collage series called "Four Weeks in Autumn."

Roots-Beneath the layers

Page 1. This page is joined to the back of the last page Lisa did. You can see all of Lisa's fantastic work in this book here. You really don't want to miss it! Her cover has the word 'Roots' and the next page said ' beneath the layers' so I made them part of a sentence by adding ' I see beauty.' Lisa's words are ofcourse the books theme. My first page is a collage of 2nd hand beads, my handmade beads, mutton cloth (thicker than cheese cloth) bits of cut up doily and threads. I still don't know what the red disc thing is! I hope what ever it was from still works without it!

Page 2. One of Lisa's pages features a vintage photo of her Grandmother. This page reflects the era I imagine she came from. A time when things were re-used and re-purposed and no-one thought anything of it because it was the way of life at the time.  Lisa also said her Grandmother didn't get to travel, now we can say she's been to New Zealand! I really love this page, it appeals to the romantic in me!

Page 3. This is stitched to the back of page 2. The white book (formerly the scroll) is able to be full removed from the page and then opened to reveal...a 2 and a half page fabric book! All the shades of brown have been made by dying the fabric with coffee, tea or onions skins. The string around the nest was dyed with real nest dye (sorry, it's a little hard to see that here.)

Page 4 reveals another removable book and that seriously cool rusted bottle cap. A nice little piece of Kiwiana! I have 4 caps sitting in cups on my window sill as I type and I am doing an intentional rust experiment using eco-friendly source. Watch this space if you want to know how that goes!

The book is removed to reveal a pocket and a quote and then opened to reveal another page. This page (as you may remember) was created in collaboration with a bird! I used the non-organic parts of a nest that the kids and I found. The nest was beautiful but when its layers were revealed the true makings of this nest were actually a sad reflection on the environment it was made in. It revealed that although we see rubbish a bird sees as good nest making materials...and I eventually came to see it as good collage making material!

I worked on quite a literal interpretation of Lisa's theme and now my part is done. Soon another artist will be having their turn and the journey will continue. Thanks for being part of chapter 2 with me!

A sneak peek... (or is it a tease?)

It's with a sigh of both satisfaction and relief that I can finally say...I'm FINISHED!!Chapter 2 of my part in the Pulp Redux Collaboration is done. I've been sewing, sewing and sewing these last few days. Every time I thought I was finished something else would show itself, something that had to be there, something that belonged. They say that ignorance is bliss, I often told myself the same thing over the last few months that I have spent on these pages. Usually when I'd decided to do 'just one more thing' and then quickly realised that 'one more thing' was leading to just one more...but that is the way it is with creativity. With flow. With ambition. I really wanted to push myself with these pages. Working in fabric, bead making, dying with onion skins and making dye from a nest. All new things to me. I was so in awe of Lisa J's work that I wanted to honour her art and her theme by giving it my all and despite the sore fingers I've loved doing it! As it so often happens when you push yourself you find that there is a little more there, a lesson learnt and a new self discovery to be made. The rewards are big!
So without further ado...and before it starts to sound like I am accepting an Emmy,lol, here's a sneaky peek at how the finished pages look.

End view of the closed (not litteraly!) book. The book is made from a vintage photo album. The top half of the photo shows Lisa's work. I love how they mingle as one.

The side views. Delicious layers of fibre and thread! The wooden part on the top is Lisa's work, she used parts of a cuckoo clock. How clever is that??

Please click Lisa's blog link and the Pulp Redux link in my side bar to see what else has been going on in the Pulp Universe!

Pretty much everything you see here was either found, gifted to me or bought in a second hand shop.

I'm not even sure what the red disc below is...I found it on the floor while vacumning!

I love how the lace below used to be someone elses net curtains...they look like they were made for this book!

Found roofing nail caps and 'pearls' from Spain. A beautiful partnership! I recieved a broken pearl necklace from the artist that I did my first ever AB swap with. They're here to represent Lisa's Grandmother ( I will explain that later!) The thick string is the only new ingrediant I bought in this whole spread. Gotta love recycling!

That adorable heart was sent to me by Danit (from NZ mail art) I only recieved it yesterday...who knew I needed that? Love it when it works out like that! She gave me a whole bunch of other cool things too and one of her own collages. Thanks Danit!

And just one more.....

Would you believe that's not even all of the photos I took?

Watch this space for the next post, I will reveal all soon!

Pulp Redux Update

I've been busy in my little corner of the globe with Lisa J's book. Mostly it's been 'fine tuning' things that I have already done, tidying a scruffy corner and adding an extra detail here and there. Stuff that can't really be seen but makes the whole thing better. Small is big.

I found a Tui beer bottle cap on the footpath in Opunake. Originally the caps are bright red but this one was wonderfully squashed and rusted. I knew as soon as I found it that it was perfect for Lisa's book!

The biggest change I made was to the layout. My scroll is no longer a scroll, I opened it flat, made a fabric cover for it and turned it into a book that can be removed. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the cover(!) of it but you can see the opened book below. The brown book sits on top and is removed to reveal a 2nd removable book. The scroll is now the page. I did this to make my final page less bulky but I think it looks better too. The white fabric it all sits on is now stitched to the red fabric and the cover.

Since I took these pics I've also made most of the back cover/page and started stitching it all down. The spread is now 2 double sided pages joined in the middle with a fabric spine. I've never used fabric before but now I can't imagine not using it! We're all aiming for Feb 22nd to have our books ready to post and then the next round can begin. The next time I post my book pages here they'll be finished so watch this space!
To keep updated with Pulpy Happenings please visit the Pulp Redux blog.

Shades of Brown

Mclaren's falls. The islands are a haven for all sorts of ducks, especially paradise ducks and a family of black swans.

It's the time of year for all of us in the Southern Hemisphere when things are turning various shades of brown. The grass on my lawn is most definately brown and only the strongest pieces of green remain.It's a pitiful sight and the hills and fields around as are all various shades of brown too. Quite a difference from the many of you who are seeing most things in various shades of white! Tomorrow is the official start of a fire ban in our area, the land is just to dry and with no decent rain forecast it looks as if it will be that way for a while! Lucky for me, I like brown!

Drying thistles. I thought of Debi in Texas when I took these shots!

Grass seeds of some sort and Dock (the red plant bucking the brown trend.) Dock is poisionus but pretty. I contemplated cooking some up to make dye but decided that I probably shouldn't play with the poisionus ones! The spiders don't seem to mind though.

 Just for the record, these photos arn't the hardy bits of green from my lawn!

I think this plant is commonly known as biddy-bids. The little seed heads attach themselves to anything that brushes them, making them unpopular with most people and that probably contributes to their weed status. All of the plants I photographed are weeds, no surprises there!

Last but not least, here are the initial results of the nature experiements I've been doing.

Left to Right: Nest paper #1 which had nesty bits sprinkled into the pulp

Nest paper #2 had the nesty bits mixed into the pulp(by putting it through the blender)

Handmade paper dyed with onion skin dye and a very strong tea brew.

Top Right to Bottom Right corner:

Onion dye on watercolour card, Nest dye on w/c card and a wash made from dried Autumn leaves on w/c card. The colour change is very subtle with the last two!

Fabric dyed with coffee, tea (middle sample) and onion skins.

As you can see I've been having a play around and I have learnt quite a lot in the process. I hope to be doing something useful with my new found knowledge soon!