Collaborative work with Jacqueline Laane

London: 30/01 - 02/02

During this trip to London I planned to collaborate with Jacqueline Laane to make a piece of art with her drawings and my skills in binding.

To start with I need to share a book me and Jackie have made in the past...

We made this book in 2022 following a trip to Jackie's place of origin, Estonia. We decided we would keep and document everything in order to compile it once the trip was over. This meant taking many pictures, keeping paper ephemera, wrappers, conversations, which were written or recorded. The combination of my experience of being a tourist in a new place I had heard so much about, and Jackie's experience of revisiting and following a touristic itinerary of somewhere she new like the back of her hand, was what we wanted to present. We compiled everything onto single sheets and I bound the book in a very diy patchwork manor, glueing the pages together to become double sided and sewing it up with five rows of coptic stitch binding. The binding is alternate brown and white thread, and there is a (found) stick sewn in, as well as a (found) safety pin. The covers were two pieces of board covered with (found) cloth and two pieces of ceramic we made during the trip sewn into the front and one at the back. The covers have collaged found bits stuck on to form endpapers and the content begins and ends immediately. There is a sticker we found stuck onto the front and other found bits (like a peg) throughout.

I took this book with me to London to reminisce with my artist friend, and we conjured up a plan for our next piece. It was important to reflect on this previous piece of work as we wanted to tap into the same energy for the new piece of work, which also collates and presents an experience.

Art collaboration

The concept:

Jackie wanted to patchwork her drawings together and hang them from a stick.

We acquired the stick while walking around London. 

The process:

We started by collecting together the drawings Jackie had done and might want to include. I laid the stick down so it was flat and we placed the pictures around. I marked out places to punch holes with an awl.

I started by sewing the top largest piece, to then be able to work from. This was very difficult as it was heavy and we didn't have much facilitation to make the process easier. But I balanced the stick between table and sofa and wrestled on through!

Other pieces began to attach themselves as Jackie decided. Lots of adjustments had to be made with the sewing, so I did some unthreading and rethreading. We got there in the end.

I added little moments to the sewing, making creative and structural decisions.

I would attached pieces using clips, then punch the holes, then sew from the back.

Sewing from the back:

There is a range of dangling, attaching, and patch working going on, giving it dimension and moments of interest. I like how the eye travels through.

The outcome:

The piece currently sits on Jackie's wall, hung by thread. It sits well, relatively flat against the wall. The stick appears very long when hung, but we like it and wouldn't want to change it. I think the construction is sound - not perfect but even enough, and should last a while if handled carefully. 

Better photos and description to come ☻

~

Our book for sale at Oxfam bookshop, Oldham

In 2023, I printed and bound a book with Jackie's poetry and illustrations. A copy of it has ended up donated to Oxfam online shop!