It was a quick and unusual trip ...


 



An interesting phone call came my way last Friday - was it only last Friday?  We were coming up to the long-weekend, 8 hours day, and we were to go to Bruny Island to stay over with friends. The call came while I was at the Lettering Shed around lunchtime. Would I come to Perth to complete some new work in the Declaration Against Modern Slavery Books?  These magnificent books were created by Joy & John Tonkin and I did all the original calligraphic design in both books.  The books travel the world with their instigator Andrew Twiggy Forrest of the Minderoo Foundation & and Global Freedom Network, collecting signatures from people of all walks of life, Sovereign, Religious, Civic leaders and more.

An Indonesian signing was coming up on Tuesday 14th March and they needed the pages to be created for signing - four of them two in English and two in Bahasa - and this was Friday 10th. Oh and while I am at it would I add eight new heading and eight new dates.  Yes, they had contacted several Perth calligraphers who had declined the job and in a way that is understandable.  The books are so stunning they scare you just to look at them. You have to write directly into the book leaving no room for error.  It is a sad state of affairs that minor human error is not tolerated in this day and age when every medieval manuscript and writings since time in memorium have mistakes in or on them.  Anyway it is a daunting task for a calligrapher and the pressure is huge. Also not everyone has the ability to drop everything and fly for a commission.  Having created the originals I knew the behaviour for the parchmentine paper ... dreadful to write on being waxy and slightly bumpy ... but to correct a mistake, yes I made some, it is one of the finest surfaces like vellum to repair small errors. 

So with all expenses paid and a beautiful apartment to work in at Cottesloe Beach, a huge table, lots of light and full of space, I settled in and enjoyed once again working on the Declaration Against Modern Slavery. I arrived home on Monday evening exhausted yet glad I had this opportunity. Thank you to all my friends and especially David who supported me as I cancelled several things that weekend.

It now feels like a dream ...












Wording in Indonesian Bahasa at 3mm, 3/4mm Brause & stick ink






Comments

Barry said…
Hi G - that is just amazing in all its facets. Well done. B
March 16, 2017 at 9:18 PM
Fiona Dempster said…
What an incredible trip and how fabulous to be back in touch with the books; but oh my what an amazing effort and journey for you! I hope you are home safe and sound and settling, and letting things wash over you for a bit...beautiful work, congratulations on another triumph.
March 19, 2017 at 5:37 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The journey begins ...

Image
To say I am fortunate is an understatement. Time and time again I find myself in the most wonderful of situations that allow me to experience extraordinary things.  What I love most is I am always ... always learning something new. Today for example I saw my first driver less car.  Never!!!! I could barely believe it.  Some one reading this in fifty to one hundred years time may chuckle and say "cars had drivers?" .  I am in Pittsburgh after all. I guess you could say today is day two of this particular journey. Day one was spent on a series of aircraft to get me from Tasmania to Pittsburgh USA. The route I like to take when traveling to the US is Sydney - Dallas avoiding that horrible commuter nightmare, LA.  All the flights went well, reasonably on time and smooth transitions. I am getting to know Dallas/Fort Worth very well and would highly recommend it.  For me it is a suitable hub for flying in from Australia and connects me to pretty well anywher...
Read more

"The Johannesburg Group"

Image
"The Johannesburg Group" Catherine, Marj, Jill, Antonette, Pearl, Barbara, Louise, Dianne & Jeff  And per se and! Meet Tiny. What a woman! Here is a wonderful array of work from the Retro Deco three-day course in Johannesburg. Thank you to all my diligent participants who worked ever so hard to achieve these works. A huge thank you to Pearl de Chalain for being the the mover & shaker for the JB group. Also my thanks to Pearl & Paul for their generous hospitality.
Read more

Making time my friend ... and poly myalgia rheumatica

Image
  The past fifteen months has taken its toll on me as there has been a lot of pressure and stress. Self-inflicted of course, as that is the way of things with me. Subsequently I have been diagnosed with (nothing sinister) poly myalgia rheumatica which has seen me at a low painful ebb. Coupled with very high blood pressure which is not a good mix, we are now just getting that under control. As my lovely doctor says "Gemma, you do not want to have a stroke" .  To address the PMR issue I have just started a steroidal pain management treatment and the prognosis is very good. I have known for some six months or so that something was not sitting quite right with my health so it was only about a month ago that the body responded with a " stop now ". It’s just a bit of a pain really but I do wish to live a long a fruitful life. Who doesn't, right!? Some of you know I have taken steps to slow the rhythm of my everyday life to manageable and more enjoyable levels. While t...
Read more