Wednesday, July 9, 2014

research notes, quotable quotes and other things that float my boat...


studying

especially for a research higher degree
 
means you accumulate piles and piles of notes

or at least that's what happened with me....

 these are SOME (not all...) of my wire bound notebooks 
with handwritten research notes for my MFA project

mostly they contain whole swathes of quoted text 
from books/ articles that related in some way to what I was working on
(or things that I found really interesting ... )

there are bits on the history of books and bookmaking, encyclopaedias and libraries
there are lots of references to biblioclasm, the future of books and knowledge
there are the obligatory notes about artists, art theory and art making
then there's john dewey and pragmatic philosophy
and bits on permaculture, bioregionalism, systems design, transition culture...

lots and lots (and lots and LOTS) of careful notes
on things I thought were worth noting!
(with page numbers so I could accurately acknowledge sources)


to keep track of all the sources from my notebooks I had a small index box...

 
with little cards devoted to each and every book read during my research project
(with all the publishers details - again an essential part of accurately acknowledging sources)


yes I knew many of my university mates
were already using software programs like EndNote to keep track of sources
but there was something so comforting about my handwritten notes and index box of cards
they never crashed or failed to load.... and didn't require a device or power source to read...

so comforting 



 It seems I have a habit of accumulating piles and piles of notes

I have boxes of things from my BA and Grad Dip Ed study period
(which I can't seem to find right this minute.... hmmmmm)

and before that...


these are SOME of my folders of notes from my years of calligraphy training

(oh boy! there are soooooo many folders from private study, formal study, workshops,
and of course that Diploma course from a lifetime ago)

oooo what treasures there are inside the covers...

this is a worksheet from the Roehampton Institute calligraphy course
that I undertook (by distance of course) waaaay back in the early 1990s
mmmm mmmm mmm quality notes never lose their value



now peeking into my miles and miles of research notes has me thinking

about sharing bits and pieces

and quotable quotes

like that worksheet gem (and its many partners)

or slices of sublime wisdom

collected in notebook after notebook


yes I think I've just hatched a plan....


...


Friday, July 4, 2014

treasures from the fair...

Rotary book fair

winter edition

and my eyes are tuning in for a different booky treasure

(I'm no longer chasing the sets of encyclopaedias
that formed the base material of my MFA project work
hey ya'll - I still have a shed worth left!)

Now my eye is being drawn toward the less likely looking creatures
and it takes me a while to check through a book stacks

peeling off musty dust jackets to see what's underneath
(sometimes the least promising titles yield the BEST hard covers


check this out

underneath this...


is this...


 and this dust jacket...


 is hiding this sweet printed design...


behind this rather unpromising dust jacket ...

 

is this embossed treasure...

 

(who'dda thunk it!)


My favourite find of today however was this rather unpromising creature...


just check out the printed design on the covers will you!




too cool for school!


soooooooooo - are you thinking what I'm thinking?

that's right

wouldn't every single one of these unwanted tomes

make stunning new covers for 

REMADE journals from RECLAIMED books

(wellllllll - that's the plan - I can't wait to rip into that ratty copy of 'Aussie English'!)

stay tuned for the results


Also at the fair....

retro word games

has anyone heard of TUF-ABET?


inside the box are oodles of coloured letter cubes...


or how about scrabble anagram?



with piles of letter tiles...






mmmm mmmmm mmmmm

I don't know what will become of these
but there was *no way* I could leave them on the table wot!


 all in all I call it a good day out


.....






Wednesday, July 2, 2014

postcards from the edge....

as I started to mention on the shortest day

I've printed a series of postcards...


mostly of works from my MFA project

codex infinitum - the infinite book






there are ten different designs
 
 
 
all printed full colour with a glossy finish (on one side)


they have a small white border around the pic
(so they can be popped into a nice little frame if you like)



 but I've enjoyed hanging them on my old door with mini bulldog clips


now I'm looking to create a nice little online shop space
to share these (and other) small works

I've looked at big cartel, etsy, having a paypal button on my webby site
but I remain unsure which way to go....

(if you have any thoughts on this I'm all eyes and ears!)




in the meantime if you fancy any/all of the little cards

drop me a note and we'll work something out

rhonda.ayliffe[at]gmail[dot]com


the cards retail for AU$2.90 ea or AU$22.00 for the set of ten cards
 
plus postage 


how does that sound?


....