Selecting the Poems

I have decided, looking at the prices of metal etc etc, that I will do 6 plates- 3 poems and 3 illustrations to accompany them.
I really want to use the O'Hara excerpt my grandmother has picked out and the 2 poems which i remember vividly from my own childhood are: The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear and Changing Guards by A.A.Milne.
These poems all hold a lot of memories for me, and for my mother and I really want to do them justice!

Bryan K. Holden

Some of this guy's stuff is a bit out there but he has some metal and glass books I thought I'd share

Jud Turner

Turner is a metal sculptor and some of his stuff is incredible

Metals Available

Went into the metal workshop today where finally someone was in!
Malcolm had apparently already gone on his Christmas break so talked to Liz instead who was lovely and went through the metals I could possibly use for my book.

Copper
Brass
Aluminium
Steel- much heavier

She said that I would be able to etch into all of these metals as well as:
-solder
-stretch
-pierce
-photoetch
-stamp
-print

Apparently they sell the photo etching paper down at Vernon Street so might pop in there tomorrow if I have time as there is a drop-in session in Jewelery in the afternoon.
Liz also mentioned Copper Paper which is about the same thickness of tinfoil. She warned that if I were to overwork it then it would disintergrate but I really like the sound of this for maybe using on my postcard.

Liz said that she would e-mail me the prices of all the metals as well as some of the processes I could use for each metal.

Rationale

My research so far has not been much as on the first tutorial with David I knew what I wanted to do: recreate my Grandmother's poetry book into metal.
I have worked a little with metal before but I will still need to do lots of research into techniques and processes, as well as asking the metal technicians for advice.
I need the metal to be symbolic of the Address Book- perhaps giving it an old fashioned look or recreating some of the writing in there.
I will also read through the poems in the book and pick out a few I remember the most and then illustrate them.
The only issue I can see with this project is that once I buy the metal to work with, I cannot change my ideas so every plate will have to be heavily planned out.
My research from now will be looking at these plates and deciding which techniques and processes will be appropriate.

Address Book

 

This was my grandmothers address book which my mum now has. It's completely fallen apart by my mum has kept it for sentimental reasons as my grandmother had written her favourite poetry in there along with the addresses of people she once knew from her childhood.

It's so sad that this treasured book is now just falling apart and no one can touch it because it is now so delicate.

 

 
The excerpt from the Frank O'Hara poem (above) is perhaps my favourite poem from the book. It is a really beautiful poem and this page especially holds a lot of meaning- the number at the top is done in my mother's handwriting and the number is my grandmother's.

Collections

While I was home for the Christmas holiday I found my Mother's 'Christmas Book' where she'd noted down all her card lists and presents she'd bought each year since 1971.

Visual Language

For this project we have to create and bind our own book with the theme of 'collections'.
I really want to do my project on an existing collection- the poetry book my grandmother gave my mother.
This was an address book my grandmother wrote down her favourite poems, quotes, and addresses in and it meant a great deal to my mother. When I was little I was read this book and so it is a part of my history too. A couple of years ago the book fell apart completely and although my mother tried to tie it together it was thought to be a lost cause.
Although she still keeps the book in a box, it is a shame that something which meant so much is almost lost.
I want, for this project, to recreate some of the poetry in that address book in something which will not wear away- metal.