Plot, Plotting, Plotted

A prearranged weekend away offered a series of sustained time periods to discuss the logistics of making. 

Beginning with clarification around the content and aesthetic we examined a range of vintage gardening books to find appropriate text matter. Drawn to the tone of writing within one edition, Taking the ache out of gardening by Stuart Dudley we found extracts related to the four themes already selected. With a nod to the design style of the original book jacket we decided to make use of the colour palette within our artwork. Sharing the individual shapes plotted in response to abundant, rewarding, useful and valuable we explored their visual appearance within the book structure. This offered a new way of working and we determined to print the negative shape to offer an overlapping of colour and pattern. 

Time was afforded to discussion about a forth element – a visual interpretation of each theme which would offer a different approach to recent data driven book works. We considered a range of different methods critically reflecting on the ability of these to be realised successfully within the timescale and in collaboration with the other three elements. 

Aware of the six week deadline until BABE, we worked backwards to determine a production schedule. This took into account the challenge of imposition and the order of making. (NB – we thought through the order of making and the aesthetic a lot more than in plot 1 – being together to make decisions – we challenged our ideas – focussed on time restraints).

Having prepared papers to work with, production began with tracing objects of significance within each of our individual plots.

Criss-crossing and Plotting

Pattern Pairings: This proposal is to produce a series of postcards by combining pairs of patterns – the starting point is our individual collections of pressed glass.

Having photographed and paired cake stands and dishes, the images were examined to find potential shapes for development into repeat patterns. After initial research T suggested the idea of criss-cross as a format for applying each pattern, with one person working with the vertical application, the other the horizontal. Discussions took place around media – linocut, rubber stamp, collograph and printing from found objects were identified, but we recognised that the selected shapes would have to remain simple for this form of production.

Plot #2: Having determined to produce a new version of Plot, work began with the discovery of a phrase by T on the RHS website ‘A productive plot is easier than you think’ – using productive as a starting point, enabled four words to be identified: reward, useful, valuable, abundant. We discussed how these words could be applied to our individual gardens and each drew up a list based on the following: reward = what we grow to eat, useful = functional structures or objects, valuable = where we sit/dine/relax, abundant = favourite multiple planting. 

During our regular Facetime discussions a series of decisions were formed. Using the original Plot format as inspiration, a new mock-up was produced with a page structure that would enable T to work within a portrait format and P a landscape format – thus reflecting the layouts of our individual gardens. In terms of content each of the four themes would be positioned on a double page spread. 

Taking four as a model, we determined to work with groups of four items from each of our lists. The four items would be plotted onto the page grid to reflect their position within our gardens, the four points would be joined to form a contained shape. The text on each pair of pages would relate to the specific subject matter and the proposal was to use phrases from vintage gardening books. At this stage we realised that each page would contain 2 shapes and a phrase, a fourth element would be required to meet our imposed system of four.

X marks the spot

P: On receipt of T’s pages, I was conscious of how minimal and controlled they looked compared to my own solutions; I was mindful of not wanting to spoil them when adding the next set of elements – it was proposed that we used the folds of the one-sheet book structure as a grid, and select one section (of a possible eight) with which to work, rather than the entire page. At our regular FaceTime meeting we developed a system of allocating a grid number to each page, whereby removing any decision making. Through discussion we arrived at a title for the book – X – to mark a spot.

I started to consider how the format of the page matched the layout of my garden plot, influenced by T’s approach to working with only blue elements, I listed the blue items within the garden – the list was limited, bluebells, forget-me-nots, two large pots and two plates – I mapped the garden location of these items to the corresponding 8 sections of the grid. The next stage was to allocate a different process to each of the four items – hole punching would represent how the forget-me-nots have taken over large sections of the flower beds, bluebells by a rubber stamp which suggested their symmetry, a large sticker for the pots and a smaller sticker for the plates. This presented a formulaic solution to apply to each designated section and would hopefully complement T’s work. On completion the work looked a little underwhelming, however it did not detract from the patterns applied previously by T, and once the sheets were folded and cut to form the final book structure, the small scale helped enhance the individual squares.

T: Drawn to the idea of locating the next element within a specific section of the page only, I took a more literal approach than P and began first reading around treasure hunts and finding gold! I considered the use of self-adhesive stickers, print, or stitched elements to mark the page in some way, and began to think about how to make multiple lines to as a reference to the ‘X’ as a symbol for multiplication and the Roman numeral. Working with materials I explored how these ideas might complement existing elements. In this way colour and scale became important, and I determined to use a round gold self-adhesive label marked with a blue cross. Working with multiple lines of sewing thread I amended scale in response to location and stitched a small cross for sections 1-4 and a larger cross for sections 5-8. The scale of label offered an opportunity to enhance existing elements although it looks a little lost in consideration of the whole page. The stitched element has created an unintended raised section to the page which hopefully will not hinder folding into the final book structure.

Pairing Patterns: Part 1

Eight (2) Examining and Extending

P: work began by examining the seven individual double page spreads and initially identifying numeric values within each with which to work; in addition, shapes and letterforms were considered as potential starting points. Having trialled a series of typewriter patterns, work began on each pair of pages – working randomly the patterns were applied, however the process was unstructured, and the results lacked coherence. Work was halted and the pages reviewed again to allow a simpler approach to be acquired. The existing elements on each page would be either framed (using the +++ symbol) or deleted using repeated xxx marks. 

T: Thinking about the what and where of adding new pattern began by looking at each of the seven sheets in turn. Pairs were collated and repeated elements considered as a first starting point. Having already determined to work in blue, and unsure of how to continue, I returned to looking and noticed elements of blue which could offer ideas to inform my additions. In this way typewritten shapes and letters were selected to echo those already on each sheet to extend existing ideas.

What’s not to like

This prearranged meeting was to be an opportunity to work together on a series of current projects, to enable completion in time for the inaugural book and zine fair at Winchester on 15/16 March.

Project 1. Plot/Eight. Prior to the making day, discussions had taken place about a book completed in 2008 called Plot, the book had failed to sell, and the decision had been taken to reappropriate the book into a new edition. The day started by discussing the intended process, a critique as to why the book had been unsuccessful – suggested poor paper quality and a disparate colour palette. In addition to Plot was the recent discovery of a series of dry-point etchings by T (produced for Recovered/Recorded), which had been printed in reverse by mistake and therefore rejected. 

Connections were made by reviewing old blog posts in relation to both these works and a series of key words emerged: rotate-alternate-fragment-eight. This offered a starting point for reworking the book.

The etchings would form the new front cover; working with a singular ink colour (fluorescent orange) to offer consistency and tie the work together, we used a process undertaken for Recollections, whereby a series of different sized circles were inked and then randomly paired and over-printed onto the etchings, thereby representing an abstract form of a figure 8.
The Plot pages were disassembled and a series of four processes applied – two printed orange circles to imitate the covers, an X shaped letterpress block, typed pattern labels of four different shapes and colours, and four tones of blue ‘polo’ stickers offered variation and transformation. Finally working together, the a title page was letterpress printed onto a newly formed concertina structure.

Project 2. Tuesday@5pm. This was an opportunity to see both books together as they had previously been exchanged to enable individual elements to be added. The books were completed by the final addition of T’s printed knitwear stickers, and the collation and binding of the drinks book. The books were paired and the process concluded by the production of a bellyband made from the original endpapers of the book owned by T.

Project 3. Memento. Limited time on day two meant that decisions were made quickly in relation to the paper stock and typeface for the cover. Working together, type was set, ink mixed and printing completed. Further decisions were made in relation to page 12 and an alphabetical list of objects was edited and collated. The overprinting by T (see previous post) has enabled half the pages to be completed; it just remains for P to add type to the newly received image-based pages; when analysing this process of working, it was evident that working with letterpress, and setting up the press with type for each page twice, is time consuming, and future projects should take this into consideration.

Keepsakes: Tracing around and printing with

T: Having received the pages from P, I began by returning to the given list of holiday keepsakes to select which to represent. Noting multiple and single items began to suggest a visual approach and I determined to trace around objects collected in multiples and make a single print with individually found objects. With a nod to the colour palette from round trip, I tested a range of colours and objects exploring alternative placements in response to the printed pages received from P.  I looked for connections and spaces to inform the final positioning, enjoying the opportunity to work with the text and extend given stories with the suggestion of other objects.

Having added the second layer of images to the text sheets, I added similar traced lines and printed shapes to the blank pages to share with P for the final printing. Having enjoyed working in response to the text, to connect, overlap and embellish each page, I found this section much more challenging and as a result was more cautious with the use of the page. 

Type and Titling

P: Working with printed pages received from T, the process of overprinting text began by selecting a range of short phrases from the gathered stories; the initial proposal was to ignore the book’s imposition to enable the type to appear at random places throughout the pages (as with Recollections), after further consideration it became clear that the narrative would become lost, therefore the idea was reconsidered to allow the stories to be read in a more logical manner. Tests were carried out using a range of typefaces, however the relatively small scale of the book meant that choice was limited, and the decision was made to work with two fonts, using a single colour from the pre-determined colour palette. Once printing began, decisions were made swiftly, often using WhatsApp messages to discuss and confirm details. There were some reservations about the type dominating specific pages, however, like the process for Kitchenalia, this can be adjusted when in receipt of the image-based sections from T. The final part of the process was to discuss and confirm the title and sub-title of the book to enable all pages to be completed before returning to T to add the image-based element.

Shells, Shells, Shells

T: Taking inspiration from the outline and colour palette of found shells, I cut shapes and printed these onto the front and back of the large sheets of paper to complete the first image-based task. Placement is purposefully irregular to offer varying compositions throughout the final edition of books.

With a return to the working methodology of Kitchenalia, half the pages were posted to P to add the text-based task and return to me to add the final image task, and the other half were retained for the final image task to be completed before sharing with P to add text. This sequential working process may require some amendments with scale, colour and placement offering alternative approaches to the same data.

An Ending and a Beginning

To conclude Tuesday@5pm a series of discussions took place in relation to book title, sub-title, front cover and key. Ideas were trialled and images sent back and forth via WhatsApp, until agreeing and finalising at a weekly online meeting.

Having gathered limited data at Small Publishers Fair for a book proposal based on Souvenirs, further stories were gathered via email and conversations with family and friends. This information was plotted onto a spreadsheet to enable potential connections to be highlighted; the form and format was led by two factors: a donation of a bundle of 5 x 4” glassine envelopes and a desire to return to a process of working adopted for Recollections, whereby work is undertaken on large sheets then cut-up to form the imposed pages. Dummies were made and reviewed enabling decisions around content, form and methodology. The process will be formed of three tasks, two image-based (TM) and one text-based (PW) – a return to previous practice, with printed pages developed and exchanged at different stages to inform a range of unique pieces.