Wednesday 30 December 2015

Getting organised

'The biggest lie I tell myself is "I don't need to write that down; I'll remember it."'


When I'm in the middle of producing a print and repeating a process time and time again, it seems impossible that I won't always know how to do it. Sometimes I make a few notes on scraps of paper (which then get lost) but more often I don't. And then the same thing always happens - I go back a week or a month later to complete some more in the edition and I can't even remember how I got that ink colour, let alone how I got that texture effect or that blend of tones. I am an idiot.


In 2016 I am resolved to end this idiocy and start keeping a print recipe book. I'm going to use this sketch book from Paperchase. It fits the bill perfectly: it's attractive enough to be an incentive but not so lovely I dare not write in it. (I once gave away a beautiful hand made book because it had sat on my shelf unused for three years; it was so special I couldn't bring myself to make a mark in it).


The first recipe I've written up is for this little 'Robin' drypoint etching that I made for Christmas 2015. It's an edition of 50 and I still have just a few more to make, plus I want to be able to use it for a demo piece during York Open Studios in April. It's going to be really helpful to be reminded of how to do it when the time comes (and I just hope future me is suitably grateful).

'Robin' drypoint etching 6 x 6 cm

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4 comments:

  1. I'm the same with knitting, if I go off-piste from a pattern, I am sure I will remember what I did but then have to decipher the knitting to work it out!
    Must dig out my lovely Leuchtterm knitting notebook.

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    1. Glad it's not just me Mary! My knitting bag is full of detached post-it notes, covered in a cryptic number code. No use to anyone... *sighs*

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  2. Oooh I do like stationary, especially notebooks. I remember spending pocket money on sheets & sheets of coloured writing paper back in the 80's (was that Paperchase?). I think the new notebook looks just the thing. I have one for crochet. Unfortunately it seems to be full of lots of titles & scraps of wool but very few actual instructions or notes. Must try harder in 2016!

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    1. One of the very few downsides of the internet is the reduced opportunity for using/buying lovely stationery!

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