The Lamplighter ~ Old Book Pages

There's something about old books... 

I know I've said it before, but I really can't resist them.

I've never handled a book with pages so deeply browned with age as these. Perhaps it is something to do with the type of paper used, which feels really soft. It's a book called 'The Lamplighter", written by  Miss Maria S Cummins & the publishing date was somewhere between 1880 & 1910. I suspect this edition was one of the earlier editions but there is no date printed inside.... it just feels old.

I read it... a gentle tale of love & loss, hurt & forgiveness... an overall lesson in good old-fashioned christian charity, love, forgiveness & benevolence. Of course, in three instances where the story held a bit of excitement, were where pages were missing. I never did find out how a dastardly deed was done or how the misunderstandings between prospective lovers were resolved.... *sigh* never mind...

pages from 'The Lamplighter' 

are available here

 One thing I've noticed since starting to pick up these old books, is how language has changed over the last 100 years or so. Maybe not drastically, but I find myself reading more slowly due to more complex sentence construction & slightly archaic phrasing. I have been known to mutter about 'text speak' creeping into everyday usage, but really it's no greater change than the way we use language has relaxed over the years anyway.

 Believe in the power of your dreams

These scans show the true page colour better than the photographs... 

isn't it yummy?

 Everything happens for a reason

(this is actually one of the most popular quotations 

I am asked to write on canvas!)

I played around with printing over them, & thought the chocolate browns of these canvasses worked pretty well. For me, it's more about the textures than the legibility, though the smaller text on the prints is legible if you enlarge the photographs.

 Friends are the family we choose for ourselves

I really like the idea of modern, loose artwork, in combination with old, structured pages of text. Quite a contrast in style, but harmonised by the colour.

Lovers do not finally meet,

they knew each other all along

Which reminds me of being taught about using contrasts in calligraphy: that they could be striking with a bold visual impact, or subtle & harmonious. But either way they should look as if you meant it... the viewer shouldn't be left asking the question, 'Did she mean to do that or is it a mistake?'

Just thought I'd share that while I thought about it!

to love and be loved is the greatest happiness

To begin with, I had thought about adding more layers, but the more I looked at these the more I liked them as they are. It's funny, I love the layered collages that other people create, & really admire them, but I struggle to make myself add more!

I have listed them in suziscribbles shop, here

... need to sort out the wonky heart on the last one tho'!!

The reality of your being is within you.

You just need a silent mind...
it will be reflected....
you will know who you are.
~Osho

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe,
deserve your love and affection
~Buddha

A couple more I sneaked in on a random date, to give me (& you of course) a surprise & some inspiration!

Burial Prayer

When I first came across this poem, years ago, it was credited as being an Old Indian Burial Prayer. The words are beautiful, speaking of life continuing in the spirit of nature. I think this may have been one of the first things that nudged me to consciously consider what might happen beyond physical death. The poem is so comforting... uplifting.... it's the one I went to straight away when my Mum died,  along with countless others who have chosen it to be read at funeral services! 

After I wrote it on a canvas recently, I realised that I had a couple of different versions scribbled in my notebooks, so went online to check the wording. That's when I found that the Burial Prayer is a poem written by Mary Elizabeth Frye in 1932, in response to a Jewish friend saying that she couldn't return home to shed a tear at her mother's grave, due to the situation developing in Germany. It's hardly surprising that it's chosen so often for a funeral eulogy.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there; I did not die.

Mary Elizabeth Frye

A request for something bright & uplifting inspired these versions, one on paper & one on canvas. The second one works fine as a print... just need to get a card version done now!

Indian Manuscript Paper

Oooh, the excitement of an early xmas gift to myself...

paper over a 100 years old.... 

19th century accounts records from Rajastan, NW India....

long, narrow sheets of Sunn hemp paper that was burnished by hand 

using a smooth stone...

See those holes at the top? 

Batches of paper were threaded with string & hung up, ready for use...

long columns of entries by various hands will provide a great textural background

for a flurry of ideas zinging around my in brain...

I bought rather a lot & have some some

available here

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

Whether on canvas or to frame, this poem is one I regularly get requests for. Not everyone likes the dark, midnight blue background though.... I reversed the colour scheme a while back, when someone made a request for something lighter...

10 x 14 x 1.75 inches on stretched canvas

 A layer of diamonds are scattered, to echo the idea of stars spread across the heavens 

& dreams being spread underfoot...

a mixture of blues, greys & nearly black form "the blue and the dim and the dark cloths 

Of night and light and the half light"...

 available to purchase here

One idea leads to another... often to be painted over but sometimes they just work...

Gold and silver powder dropped into wet acrylic gives some random sparkliness

providing the "gold and silver light". The paint acts as a binder 

& fixes the powder to the canvas, but I also add varnish later.

I'm quite happy to add a short message when people ask, sometimes just names & a date,

sometimes something a little more personal!

Bright, Fun Hearts on Canvas

I'm enjoying having a little photo set ready & waiting to use whenever I want. There's a large unused building on the site that I've virtually taken over! We will only be here for a couple of months at most, but i'm going to take advantage!

 I love you,  I love you,  I love you,  I love you....

12" x 10" / 30 x 25 cm

 My heart sings because of You

12" x 10" / 30 x 25 cm

I can do these in any colours or size.... with any words you choose....  

Or with a name on.... great for a child's or teenager's room

white hearts on lilac

5" x 5" / 15 x15 cm

These hearts are a little wild.... fun & expressive.... great to show you care. They're great fun to do, if a little unpredictable... I'm never quite sure how they will turn out, they seem to have a life of their own & they all seem to have their own unique character!

Some Etsy Sweetness...

I see so many beautiful treasures on Etsy as I wander around there far too much! Danielle, from Joey Design, has just been featured on the Etsy Paper Team Blog... I love her Unicorn Stickers, they're so cute!

Unicorn Stickers

JoeyDesign

She has stickers galore... I think it's the rainbows I'm in love with today....

Peace sign stickers

JoeyDesign

Chrystal from Craft Studio Paper has this handmade paper in Rainbow shades...

Rainbow Pack of Handmade Paper

Craftstudiopaper

... how gorgeous is that?

Breath

I found this while flicking through quotes, so have scheduled it ahead to surprise myself later!

from a Japanese master, 

- Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together. When the myriad variations in the universal breath can be sensed, the individual techniques of the Art of Peace are born. Consider the ebb and flow of the tide. When waves come to strike the shore, they crest and fall, creating a sound. your breath should follow the same pattern, absorbing the entire universe in your belly with each inhalation.

~ Morihei Ueshiba.

Red & Black Canvasses... & photography dramas

It started out with a request to add a few words to a print... here. The words "If love is a labor, I'll slave 'til the end" are from a song called 'Swing Life Away' by Rise Against

I suggested a small canvas instead, that could be done in colours to suit the song & the couple. Where price is an issue, any extra cost is offset by having no need to purchase a frame. N very helpfully told me some details about the young couple soon to wed.... including that they both have a lot of body art in black & red plus their wedding list expressed a penchant for reds. She agreed that a canvas would more likely suit a young, modern couple. When she received the canvas, N couldn't wait for the wedding & sent it off straight away!

I did a few others in the same colours while I was working, but wasn't at all happy with any of the photographs... i tried inside, outside, natural light... they either appeared washed out or too orange-y & didn't show the dark, old-school tattoo style red to good effect at all.

vive l'amor

9.5" x 7" / 24 x 18 cm

I just had another go at photographing them. I know that digital cameras tend to 'average-out' the colours that they see, but adjusting the white balance didn't help. Neither did adjusting the colour sliders when editing (I only have quite basic photo processing tools & skills!)

long live love

8" x 8" / 20 x 20 cm

Thinking about colour 'averaging'... a light background was much better, then I thought about colour theory & went for the opposite colour on the colour wheel to red.... green, the complimentary colour... 

red & black heart

11.5" x 11.5" / 29 x 29 cm

Much better! Also, adjusting the proportions of white, black & grey in the setting made a big difference

Although I love outdoor photography, I've never particularly enjoyed photographing my work. Once I started thinking about mixing colours in the viewfinder, much like on a paint palette, I started having more fun & more success. Having temporary access to a big wall with plenty of light from both sides certainly helps too... I'm going to dig out some more canvasses to re-photograph now!

Some Quotes from Einstein...

I was just flicking through some quotations & came across these from Albert Einstein. They've just gone on my "to do" list!

'Pure logical thinking cannot yield us any knowledge of the empirical world. 

All knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it'.

‘To know what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull facilities can comprehend only in the most primitive forms, this knowledge, this ‘Feeling’, is at the centre of true religiousness in this sense and in this sense only I belong to the ranks of the devoutly religious men’ 

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift 

and the rational mind is a faithful servant. 

We have created a society that honors the servant 

and has forgotten the gift." 

~Albert Einstein~