All my works originate in these books. I have a number on the go at the same time which span years as I keep adding to them until they are too full to take any more. Two or three are always open on my desk with a large one on the floor as I work. Over time they acquire nicknames, such as The Messy Drawer and Book of Materials. The Messy Drawer was the originator for my Confused Flags series for Artobotic’s Brexit Art Machine, the Book of Materials contains scraps of experiments with different media such as wax, inks, oils, metal leaf, and drawings made with unlikely instruments.
Which one would I save in the event of a fire? Fairisle+Form Ol’ Scruffy, so many beautiful memories and thoughts are bound in the pages of that book. They are all precious repositories; dogs, snow, loving people, wine and golden raindrops, the car breaks down and you meet a hero. I don’t know how I would begin again if they caught fire and I lost them. I would probably have to dig around in the ashes, retrieving anything recognisable and make the ‘Fire Book’ which would be resplendent with singed edges, scorch marks and visible mending with gold leaf, Kintsugi-style “golden joinery”.
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