year long project - 3rd year

 I booked onto a main workshop induction for the 3D workshop, in order to be able to construct a deckle for a much better size/shape of paper and then got a refresher in letter press this morning as well! Nothing special, just briefly used each machine to know how they work and how to use them safely. Rather terrifying but not overly complicated. Playing around with type layout on the small surface area, using wooden type due to the heavily textured paper. I went with 'eco world' in the end - quite fitting and used a good amount of the space. The imprint left on the paper after pressing it was really interesting as well, rather nice as a physical element. The colours I used were a bit bright but there was certainly no issue with the ink taking to the paper, at all which is really exciting! It is definitely a printing method that could work for the text element and with this paper being the thickest one I used here, it is a positive sign. I printed on a thinner piece of paper he...

 https://smartasset.com/insights/the-pros-and-cons-of-recycling https://www.swansonsnursery.com/blog/health-benefits-of-houseplants#:~:text=Multiple%20studies%20have%20proven%20that,Lowering%20stress%20and%20anxiety https://www.teachstarter.com/gb/blog/5-benefits-of-plants-in-the-classroom-2/ This is a really nice little poster idea, it acts as a reminder and looks really fresh and vibrant! As well as something to keep on the walls in everyday life as a connector to the book! https://www.oddbox.co.uk/blog/how-to-make-homemade-compost-from-your-food-waste#:~:text=At%20some%20point%2C%20you'll,to%20making%20compost%20at%20home. A way of fertilising the soil for the plants grown in the school setting - maybe even collecting anything disregarded from the kitchen (if they have one).  https://vegepod.co.uk/blogs/news/5-reasons-to-grow-your-own-food https://www.hiveenergy.co.uk/2023/01/25/why-we-should-be-reusing-and-recycling/#:~:text=By%20reusing%20items%2C%20like%20water,energy%20...

So, a week after beginning the plant experiment, there isn't much news but it's an interesting start... Photos from every other day; Second watering ^ ink water plant didn't instantly die so that's good! Third watering ^ Ink plant isn't dead but the clean water plant started to bloom, much earlier. I now need to change them around and see what the reverse does but I won't be watering them until tomorrow so I'll document that in another post. However, it would appear that the ink water isn't killing the plant but if it stunts growth then that's not great either.    

 Having pretty much ran out of pulp, I made some more to make a second batch as the first definitely needed some adjustments. I did the exact same thing, just with less of a variety of paper types; Seemed to work better than the first attempt, I have no idea how, maybe just practise but yanooo, it still had to dry... I just forgot to take photos of the paper after they had dried but before I pressed them; It's still pretty wonky but it's a LOT better than it was before! This seems like a rather difficult process to go through, especially to develop and make a book but it might be easier with a better deckle and a better pressing system but if not, I'm not too sure it will work. Still a way to go, that's for sure.  

  The idea is definitely starting to come together in my head now - really focusing in on the idea of nature protesting and the effect that would have and how we can help save nature/get it back on our side! Looking at everyday things that can be done and really getting the reader thinking about it. The starting point is education and that is just what this will do. I really want to include pop-up elements and pull-tabs and all things interactive, to really engage the reader, alongside imaginative illustration and character specific responsibilities. I think this project could be really interesting and effective, if I can pull it together in time.    

 I had two 1-2-1 tutorials this week, to really try and fine point my project and what it is going to be. As always, it was really useful to get two different view points on my project thus far and where it could go and what it could look like. I made a few notes during both, to fully remember what was suggested/mentioned; Initially I quite liked the idea of it being a one-off artist book that I would take into schools as a workshop, for the kids to remake themselves but as this is meant to be a starting point, it kind of needs to be something that they can keep and re-use for further inspiration. For that reason, I need to think about how I would mass produce the book, in a way that is eco friendly - my current thinking is to create the book for submission with hand made recycled paper, to make a point about reusing what you already have and then showing how it would be edited to be printed with an eco friendly print service. It may still take more of an artist book structure than...

Given that my research was pretty inconclusive, I thought it would be a good idea to set up a little science experiment to check the safety of the water used to make the paper. I got two identical little plants to test this; I will water one with clean water and the other with the water I have been using to make the paper every other day for a week and then swap them round (according to google these flowers are meant to be watered every other day) and see if the paper/ink infused water has any effect on them. If not then it should be okay for the readers of the book to make paper and then use the water in their gardens or at the park perhaps... or as a class they could get some plants and water those plants with the water, as one of the activities in the book.