Seasonal Book Arts

How is it going?

Welcome to my wee corner of Substack. I am a seasonal artist living on the Isle of Arran, off the west coast of Scotland. I am the custodian of approximately two acres of land that includes a woodland, a meadow and my wee garden. I offer a seasonal book arts project for paid subscribers if you are interested and you can read more about that HERE. Grab a cuppa and lets delve into our relationship with the shifting seasons….

I struggle to believe that it is six months ago when I launched my wee seasonal book arts project here on Substack. However, it is a good time to pause and review and I thought I would share the main headlines. First a wee bit of context…..

I had this idea to create seasonal book art projects back in the early summer. It was one of those ideas that ‘just arrives’ and you think ‘that might be a good idea?’ I tested the water with a wee post and the feedback suggested that it was a good idea. Staying grounded in the seasons is not always easy but my experience as a seasonal artist has been invaluable in that quest. I have run a seasonal creativity Patreon community for over two years so I knew that interest in seasonal creativity was alive and kicking. However, a book arts project is relatively specific but, it turns out, quite popular.

The idea was actually very simple. We would engage in a book art project each season using a range of techniques and media. From the off, I decided this would not be to another creative community. That space is firmly inhabited by my Patreon group. More than that though, I believe book arts is a deeply personal creative journey that, in my experience, should remain that way. I occasionally sell my artist books but more often than not they are just a space to explore my creativity without the need to concern myself with outcome. The creative process is the ‘win’ every time. With this in mind, I resisted turning on chat as I feel there is already enough ‘chat’ out there and I wanted this to be a quiet space where we could all create in our own time and at a pace that suits us. This is really the cornerstone of the project so how is it going?

I feel I want to say it is going well but it is difficult for me to make that judgement as the project is so entrenched in personal journeys. If my numbers are to give me a clue I can say it is going well as most folk are still with me and new members pop in on a regular basis. But I am not a numbers person so I am going to have to judge this on feedback from messages and comments and how ‘I’ have experienced the project. Below are the highlights of the seasonal book arts project so far…..

We began in July with the oldest form of book - the humble scroll. During the remainder of the summer we made a scroll influenced by how we were experiencing summer. It might be worth pointing out that I have some members from the southern hemisphere but they seem to have managed to flip each project into their own season with ease.

I think this was a really gentle and accessible place to start and it did make me wonder why there are not more scrolls in the world. It is a beautiful way to store information. I introduced members to some of my ways of working to include the following -

• Working with recycled papers

• Dyeing paper with coffee and tea

• Collage

• Creating repetition

• Creating highlight

• The language of flowers

On a personal level I felt that my scroll paid homage to the summer of creativity that was inspired by a beautiful tumbling rose in my garden. The scroll sat nicely with my other summer work.

Autumn witnessed a shift in process and outcome as we went on a creative journey to connect moodboards to art journal pages to a stitched concertina book.

In this project I introduced members to -

• The basic of all books - signatures

• Basic book binding

• The role of moodboards as creative signals

• The role of art journaling as creative expression

• Printing using a gel press

• The language of trees

• Composition

I have used this book making pattern many times although I alter it slightly each time I use it. There is a secret section at the back that I believe spoke well to this project. I think we all need creative secrets that only we know about and understand. I see these as the nuggets to our success in sharing our creativity with the world. My old art teacher used to say ‘don’t share it all, keep some expression to your ‘self’. I came to agree with her especially in a world that is, arguably, cluttered with ‘over-sharing’. This autumn project focused on printing as a way of telling our stories and gave some members a chance to see if gel press printing was something they might enjoy.

We began our winter project at the start of December so we are part way through. This season we are further embracing a strong focus on recycling by making our own paper from scraps that would, otherwise, end up in the recycling bin. Of course, I am sure not all members have given it a go (yet) but all the posts are on their own page in my Substack so members can easily find it again and bookmark it.

Making paper is joyful and really quite easy once the basics have been learnt. Through the winter months I will be making a number of batches as each batch will tell their own story. The first batch focused on the basics as well as how to add in dried and pressed flowers and foliage. Those that know my work well will know that that element was going to pop up early on in the process. Having made our paper we are now focused on making a wee library of small books perfect for as the year turns and we create time to write out intentions or affirmations or just reflect on the year gone by. I adore small books as they allow us to record without the need for the story to be long. Simple words and phrases fill the pages with ease. Each of my small books serves a different purpose and I am using this season to introduce members to some of them. For me, winter is a time to incubate and small books serve this season particularly well.

I sell handmade books for a living and I recently worked out that I have sold over 312 through my Etsy store alone. Most of these are small in order to make them affordable. This is important, I think.

During our winter so far I have introduced members to -

• Paper making

• Paper making with botanicals

• Book making using handmade paper

• Twig book binding method

We have more ground to cover as the season continues to unfold. For me this seasonal book arts project during the winter is allowing us to delve deeper into how the seasons affect our creativity. It goes far beyond simply representing what we notice into our art work. It is about winter makes us feel and that is important in the creative dynamic. I hope members are enjoying this journey.

So, in six short months we have travelled a good distance. I deliver my content through a combination of vlogs and blogs and this balance allows me to unpack things as I need to. I keep slightly ahead of members but not so far that I exit a season too early. One project/book per season feels about right as folk can access the content as suits them.

A common finding for me is just how much more I enjoy the projects than I thought I would. I have been a community artist all my adult life and I am still surprised just how much I, personally, enjoy the projects. This book arts project already occupies a special place in my creative heart. It has given me permission to focus on my first creative love - making books. I hope others feel similar……Regardless, it has given us all the chance to play and that, in itself, is a huge win. I am really proud of the project so far and resist all temptations to plan too far ahead as I really want one project to lead onto the next. Unlike some others on Substack, I am happy with charging for this project as I believe it to be good value at £6 per month. I would join a similar project for that price without hesitation. Being proud of what we do here and elsewhere in the creative world is really important. So, I will continue creating seasonal book art projects for some time to come and hope that others would like to wander along with me.

New year blessings to you all,

Fiona x

You might like to read the launch post HERE.