Love Paris

I started working on a few wee books for my first Christmas Craft Fair, and have stamped some with my new hand-carved stamp. I had it made yesterday in Chinatown by a brilliant artist. The stamp, also called 'chop' is small and this guy doesn't use a magnifying glass...and, he works without glasses. He carves directly into the stone! The chinese character ideagram means 'return' which I chose specifically because of the meaning as it relates to the cycles of a year. We return to the same place but see it differently, with new eyes. Snowflakes are discovered anew each year, for example. Nature returns. We return. All return.

The red cinnabar paste takes a bit of time to dry. So while I'm waiting on it, I started to make pages for a new little stack of books (small stack as I work so darned slow.) I started gathering the supplies and materials together and came upon a colour picture of the Eiffel Tower and that stopped me in my tracks. I knew I had to make a wee book in honour of Paris and that led to hours and hours of finding supplies, garnering ideas in my head and hands on cutting, stamping, sewing, pasting, embellishing; I'm still at it so who knows what else will transpire. I work with an idea in my head, but my hands as they work on the item, always do their own thing. Which is always a surprise to me, and always comes from my 'muse.'

So instead of making a small batch of books I'll be making one book about Paris. So it goes.

I glanced up at one point and realized my work desk was a sight to behold. A flurry of activity. I bet most of you work like this. Here's a few photographs:

The cinnabar paste is drying.

 Pages are folded and awaiting selection.

 So busy these days no time to replace dead flowers in vase on my work desk.

And no time to pack away Halloween decorations.

Here's a few reference books on my work table.

Well it is time to get back at it! Hope you are all well and enjoying yourselves. Talk soon, I hope, sending love to all, Norma