Musing over Bonefolder and Art stuff

Thanks to Sharon B (visit her blog by pressing link over her name) I have spent a happy couple of hours browsing The Bonefolder online magazine for Book binders and Book Artists. The link to their site takes you to my favourite article - it is awesome.

Anyway Sharon B started a discussion about Rules or rather No Rules and I just have to add my two penneth! I am a great believer is breaking the rules or following the route of No rules. I would never break serious rules like not wearing a seat belt whilst driving but I would happily break artistic rules. I guess the tutors I have had over the last 16 years or so would agree !!!!! For example when 'the rules' ie C&G rules, say you need to have lots of samples to show how your ideas change - I have always asked WHY - why when in my mind I KNOW what the final piece will be like and my hands, heart and head all say just DO IT. WHY waste time sampling? So I have always just done it!! I appreciate it most when tutors (and I have been really lucky) have allowed me to bend/break these rules.

You see I think it all stems from when I was a child aged 11 - My Art teacher broke the 'rules' of teaching -dictionary definition: the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge by not doing any of those things and telling me I could not draw and should go and do something else. Why should I follow rules???? She didn't - she should have taught me to draw - shared her knowledge and instructed me in the art of holding a pencil or paint brush - my work would have been very different!!!

I'm glad she did what she did though - I still don't work with a pencil - I cannot get my 'head ideas' onto paper but I can work through what is in my head (or at least most of the time - I have had many a creative block over the last couple of years).

No Rules - you can stitch through anything, using any tool to construct whatever is in your head.

Enough I hear you say - What have you been doing artistically recently....... well I am still working on my second HH assessment piece and over this last weekend I think ideas were beginning to form. Also as the weather was so nice I started some more rust dyeing - what more??? Yes more - my HH piece will be made from rust dyed fabrics so watch this space. Anyway here pics of the fabric brewing outside. These were set up on Sunday (bit of an after thought really considering the weather) - I used masking tape to hold a piece of fabric down on our garden table.... Sprinkled with water several times on Sunday and then again today when I got home from work it now looks like. this - difficult to see a change but there is - really I will leave it for a couple more days the other pieces of fabric were wrapped around cans, shears, my scythe and various long nails - I put them in open plastic bags to hold the damp and to help with heat ... and I also wrapped my Moroccan lantern (which has rusted nicely) to see what happens to that too... if my neighbours look into my garden they will think I am mad -but NO - I am a NO RULES person - are there any rules about wrapping garden utensils with fabric soaked in vinegar?? - I think NOT !!