National Pencil Day

Every day is pencil day at The Spendy Pencil, but in the United States, March 30th is National Pencil Day. A special day for pencils? Yes, please! I love my pencils and over the years have accumulated quite a collection.

Some yellow and greens colored pencil from my stash collected over the years. These maybe only have one Laurentian that somehow I still have from childhood.

Whether you’re doing rough drafts, homework assignments or creating works of art, pencils are a forgiving medium—as long as you aren’t using the pencil grip of death with a #6 pencil. But a light hand and gentle erasing means you can rework your concept until you have it just right.

Humans have been using mark-making tools since… we figured out mark making could be useful, right? From sticks, stones, clay or charcoal from the fire, if we can use it to communicate an idea, it’s useful.

The modern pencil emerged with the conte crayon developed by 18th century, French artist Nicolas-Jacques Conte when he combined graphite with clay, making it stronger and more versatile. The crayons are still used by artists today. The familiar wood pencil with a graphite core and rubber eraser on the end was patented by Hymen Lipman 1858.

The modern pencil we grew up with which has been replaced by the mechanical pencil?

My Favorite Pencil

I have a huge collection of pencils. Buying a pencil is my go to when I’m feeling stressed. Let’s not examine what having a large collection of pencils means for my stress levels.

My favorite pencil is the Mars technico 780 mechanical pencil. I think mine is pretty old now because the ones on the website are black and have a lead hardness indicator. Mine is blue and very basic. It’s my favorite pencil for two reasons:

The Mars technico is the mechanical pencil in the middle

1) thick lead. Most mechanical pencils have a very thin lead and I spend more time getting the perfect amount of lead sticking out from the pencil because I keep snapping the lead than I do getting anything done.
2) sharpener. Instead of an eraser on the end, there’s a little knob that comes off which you can use to sharpen the lead like chalking a pool cue. I always seem to forget my pencil sharpener so having one on the end is super handy.

Looking through my sketchbook and files, I realized I haven’t been doing as much pencil work as I used to. I found these illustrations I did for Drawlloween 2018:

Rat Enjoying Candy Corn
Drawlloween 2018

By Lori Ono

Yokai: Kasa Obake—Dralloween 2018 by Lori Ono

The umbrella is type of yokai called a kasa-obake, basically an umbrella monster. It’s actually supposed to have an eye. The rat well, the only thing I love about candy corn is how it looks. I love how satisfied the rat looks. I might feel like this after I eat a really nice cinnamon bun.

Colored Pencils

I grew up calling them pencil crayons. Fellow Canadians, remember Laurentian pencil crayons? I always wanted the 60 pack. Never got them. History Canada has a great thread on the history of these iconic Canadian school pencils. My favorite brand is anything soft. I like Crayon D’ache and Holbein but I think Iro Jiten has a lot of beautiful colors but they are a bit hard for my taste.

I have a huge collection of pencil crayons (who am I to stop calling them that now?) but looking through my work I realized I don’t have a lot. I know that I started doing more pen and ink work (inspirations, Edward Gorey, E.H. Shepard and Sir Quentin Blake).

Anyway, I want to show some cool work using colored pencil. A lot of people do photorealism with colored pencil. There’s a lot of amazing work and technique. But I want to celebrate one of my friends, Michelle Zacharias, who uses colored pencils for her abstract art. Check out this gorgeous image from Michelle’s Pollution series. She has a number of pieces in this series and it’s worth checking them out.

This is from Michelle’s series Pollution.

Spring Diaspora 春離散; 2014; Coloured pencil, watercolour, and gesso on wooden panel 色鉛筆や水彩; 57 x 57 cm (H x W); Private collection

Photo courtesy of the artist.

What’s Spendy Now?

The Water Rabbit

This was my New Year’s card for 2023. This is the year of the rabbit. I read that each year a different element is assigned and this year was water. With the 5 elements, the next water rabbit, will appear in 60 years.

I drew this completely on my iPad with the Apple Pencil.

I named this blog The Spendy Pencil because of the Mars technico pencil but also becuase my camera was my mark making tool and it was spendy. But now I have a new spendy pencil—an Apple Pencil. I don’t know if I like drawing with it as much as regular graphite pencils or colored pencils. I feel like my hand control is not great on the screen, and I already have the paper-like film on my screen. I use an Intuos tablet as well. It seems to have just a bit more friction. I like that it’s easier to hit the back button if you make a mistake. Mostly, I like that I don’t have to worry about photographing the artwork and struggling to get the photo to look the same as the original.

One thing I’m excited about using an Apple Pencil is for editing writing and marking up a PDF instead of printing out paper. Does it work? Sort of. I’m still more excited by the idea than the result. My handwriting with the Apple Pencil is much worse. A lot worse. I do like that I’m saving paper so I keep trying.

Still Analog

I love my tech but I’m still mainly an analog person. Along with all my pencils, I have my pile of used notebooks and an even bigger pile of notebooks waiting to be used. I can’t wait until National Notebook Day! I’m feeling inspired to get out my sketchbooks and work on some pencil drawings.

What’s your favorite pencil? Do you have a pencil horror story? Did a pencil ever save your life? I want to hear about it!

Happy National Pencil Day! I hope you remember your pencil and use it’s power for good.

The Start of My Mushroom Obsession

In this article on my other blog I explain about my photo in the Art Byte Critique Anniversary Exhbition, “10” and how it marks the beginning of my mushroom obsession.

My Photo in the Art Byte Critique Anniversary Exhibition

Click the link to read more about my first foray into mushrooms and art.

Other Mushroom Art I’ve done

Here’s a quick annotated overview of some other mushroom pieces I’ve created:

MaiNichiMushroom Magazine series (zines): I wrote a middle grade mystery and serialized it in this zine series. There is a planned total of 15 issues. Each issue covers a different facet of mushrooms knowledge.

Altered Tin and concertina books. In the post below you can see these books in a stop-motion animation video.

Mushroom Art Book Stop Motion Animation

There are three stop-motion videos of displaying different books.

Macro photography of mushrooms: In this Art Byte Critique group exhibition called In The Details, I examined mushroom gills and how this tiny form reminded me of giant geographical features.

Art Byte Critique Behind the Scenes

I love a peek behind the curtain. Art Byte Critique is having their tenth anniversary exhibition called “10” at Launch Pad Gallery in Yokohama.

I think installing a show is a lot of fun. A solo show can have a meditative feeling as long as everything goes to plan. 😉 But a group show has a totally different vibe. The energy of a group of people working together to achieve a vision in a short time can be addictive. Add the professionalism and teamwork of ABC members and art life is a lot of fun.

Art Byte Critique member Deanna Gabiga, who is doing intriguing wire sculptures, organized the show for us and did an amazing job! During the install, she also did the hard work of taking a time-lapse video which compressed the 2 hours into a five minute video.

Time Lapse Video of Art Byte Critique’s “10”

I wrote a blog post on my “official” website which you can check out here.

SHOW DETAILS

Launch Pad Gallery is less than 10 minutes away from Ishikawa Cho station on the Keihin Tohoku Negishi Line. But Launch Pad Gallery has more detailed information for other train lines. For those who like to do their own map navi, the street address is:

5-186-8 ISHIKAWACHO, YOKOHAMA 045-641-1511 

FRI-MON 13:00~19:00/ 金-月 13:00-19:00 (the gallery is closed Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday)

Art Byte Strikes Again! Find Out What 10 Means.

10-FINDING & CELEBRATING ARTIST COMMUNITY with ART BYTE CRITIQUE

I embedded the above blog mostly to save time. Read on to find out more about 10!

I also recommend following Arthur Huang, the founder of Art Byte Critique, on Facebook as he recaps some of the work Art Byte Critique has done.

Quick Review of Tokyo Art Book Fair Ginza Edition 2019

I love, love, love the Tokyo Art Book Fair. It’s a concentration of great ideas and you can almost feel the creative energy emanating from the pages. From March 8th to April 7th, Tokyo Art Book Fair is holding the “Ginza Edition” at Ginza Sony Park. The Zine’s Mate shop is open every day. On weekdays you can buy books from a vending machine and on the weekends, exhibitors replace the vending machine. Each weekend has different exhibitors. I love the vending machine concept. Between the vending machine and new exhibitors every weekend, there’s plenty of motivation to go more than once.

 

Zine’s Mate before first day opening

Underground entrance to Ginza Sony Park

Subway underground arcade

I shared a table with Art Byte Critique on the opening weekend. Working with ABC is another reason I love TABF. Throughout the year I enjoy watching my fellow artists’ creations morph from idea to physical object. Then during TABF we get to see people interact with our books and ask questions. ABC also shared the table with artists from England that we have been collaborating with over the last two years. I really admire how they push the idea of book form and their craftsmanship.

 

 

Like every year we’ve been next to great tables and this year is no exception. Our neighbours were Anmoc Books, which is based in Korea, Homspun, a clothing shop in Shibuya, and COS. COS had a beautiful book about structures and folds.

 

 

Anmoc Books had some of the most beautiful photography books I’ve seen. Their craftsmanship for handmade photography books is amazing. We traded a few books.

Taehee Park of Anmoc Books with fellow exhibitor

 

On a personal note, I was really excited to finish Glow in the Dark Pop Out Mushrooms for TABF. The case is covered with polymer clay that glows in the dark and the  hand-drawn and painted concertina. The smaller green book, Pop Out Mushrooms was first shown at Launch Pad Gallery in September in the Reading Between the Lines exhibition.

I also had a new project called Space songs which is based on the electromagnetic and radiation waves translated into sound.

I’m going to take my own advice and check out the vending machine during the week. I’ll update the post with pics from my next visits along with some books.

Organized by the Tokyo Art Book Fair & Ginza Sony Park
When: Mar 8 – Apr 7, 2019 from 10:00 – 20:00
*Mar 8 will be from 17:00 – 21:00.
Where: Ginza Sony Park 5-3-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

TRANSIT
Connected via the B9 Exit of Tokyo Metro Ginza Station (Marunouchi Line/Ginza Line/Hibiya Line)
5 min. walk from the Central Exit of JR Yurakucho Station (Yamanote Line/Keihin-Tohoku Line)

Zine’s Mate:  Every day from 10:00-20:00

Vending Machine: Mon – Fri, starting  from 10:00 – 20:00

Interview with Artist Jeni McConnell about Artist’s Books

The last six months has been great for meeting artists and talking to them about their work. Jeni McConnell is another British Artist I’ve exhibited with but haven’t had the chance to meet yet. She also shared a table with Art Byte Critique at the Tokyo Art Book Fair-Ginza Edition on the weekend of March 8th. It was lots of fun to watch people pick up and enjoy Jeni’s books.  In this interview she talks about her why she makes art books and her creative process.

How long have your been making art books?
Since 2007 when I took the 2 nd year print module during my Fine Art BA. The print tutor, Michelle Rowley, was (and still is) an amazing teacher, print artist and artists’ book maker. She introduced us to the form of the artists’ book and took us to see the special collection at MMU in Manchester, England https://www.specialcollections.mmu.ac.uk/artists.php. As a student group we began to show and sell our work at artists’ book fairs in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and London, which I continued after leaving college.

Why do you like making books?
I have long loved books as objects to be held, read and treasured. Sometimes, the fustier and yellowed, dusty and battered, the better the book feels as a weight in my hand. It’s as if the passing years add to the heaviness. I developed a passion for making artists’ books and altering existing books as a natural way of
extending and exploring this sense I have of the book as a form. The contact of marks connected to the papery surface, images that flex with words to take the reader or viewer to another place, on a journey, through an experience. I love to explore ways of presenting my thoughts in this wide ranging form, often conceptually. The process adds a rich layer of meaning to my other creative
forms of expression.

What do you like about making books compared to other forms of expression?
The book form is something that can be handled, explored, moved and touched which adds another layer of experience for those who interact. It is so much more than just looking, it takes you on a journey, gently leading you through the pages.
Many of my books will also have a container, box, or wrapper to hold the book form as a key part of the work. I love this way of making the readers’ explorational journey to get to the book a part of the experience.
There’s also a sense of freedom that you can explore in the order you wish; I am left handed so I think I explore books slightly differently because of my dexterity skill balance – tending to open and explore books from the back page first!

Do you have a favourite method or technique to make books?
I tend to stick to simple book forms, concertina and other folded shapes. I also make boxes and containers to place them in. For me it is so important that every part of the book form expresses the message, or responds to the theme I am working with. I often play around with small pieces of paper and different folds as well as with the images and words – there’s so much more trial and error in
the recycling bin than you might imagine for what at first look like such simple final forms!

What method of making books do you want to try next?
An altered book: I have an old book that I used to press some collected plants and weeds from a desire line walk I did a few years ago. I’ve removed the old battered pages of the book and kept the book cover and spine in tact – I now need to work out how I connect the pressed plants with the book frame in such a way that it conveys the message I want with the right aesthetic. I have been thinking about this for far too long – should I just get on with it?

What was the biggest challenge in making your book?

How Will This End by Jeni McConnell

How will this end is formed of inkjet printed A4 recycled paper sheets, cut, folded and glued to form a single concertina book. Getting the images cropped for printing and making sure the folds of the paper were level and even was key to the final piece. Thinking back further, it was also a bit of a challenge to get the plastic sea creatures covered in gold leaf, making sure their breathing/eating areas were kept clear – but it was a key part of the work.

Looking forward, I was unsure whether people would respond to this book with their own words and images, which the separate small cards were provided for. To date I’ve had no replies, but maybe people are still figuring out how to respond. I’ve done this in Europe with ‘Talking with Strangers, 2009″ and had quite a good response. Perhaps I need to explore and understand more about our
cultural differences – but even the silence is compelling for me to respond creatively!

Do you have any favorite book artists?
Elizabeth Shorrock 
Louise Tett 

Where can people find out more about your work? (Social media etc)
My website: jenimcconnell.com
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Tate Library

Interview with Artist Jacqui Priestly about Artist’s Books

Jacqui Priestly is a British artist who has been collaborating with Art Byte Critique in sharing artist books between the UK and Japan. Currently she is sharing a table with the Art Byte Critique artists at Tokyo Art Book Fair Ginza Edition from March 8-March 10. The Ginza Edition is at Sony Park and runs from March 8 to April 7. During weekends, exhibitors have tables and during the weekdays, books are available through a book vending machine.

Inside page from Melancholia by Jacqui Priestly

Books on left and right by Jacqui Priestly

How long have you been making artist books and why do you make them?
I haven’t been making artists books very long, along have l have made my own sketchbooks for some time, so am familiar with a number of book binding techniques.
I like how the medium allows me to combine my two artistic passions, writing – poetry & prose and visual arts – printing, painting, drawing and photography. I am also fascinated by how far we can push the concept of “a book” into more conceptual three dimensional forms.

Do you have a favourite creating books?
I don’t really have a favourite process in terms of book making, l like to experiment but l am fond of the traditional processes of stitch binding and stab binding, both can be challenging but rewarding when the pages come together. I am keen to try some cut page work on my next experiment, combining it with my love of ink drawings. Maybe starting with a more simple cut work like Maddy Rosenberg’s REPTILES! Which with its accordion format seems achievable using ink drawing and cut shapes.
I have included some images of my most recent books.

Further examples of my work across all media can be found on:

website: www.jacquipriestleyartist.com

blog: jacquipriestley.wordpress.com
Twitter: @jacquipy

Creating Community and Artist Books. An Interview with Joan Birkett

Joan Birkett, an artist from the UK, has collaborated several times with Art Byte Critique. Currently, she is part of the UK contingent sharing a table with Art Byte Critique at the Tokyo Art Book Fair Ginza Edition at Sony Park in Yurakucho. The TABF Ginza Edition runs from March 8-April 7. The Art Byte Critique tables from March 9-March 10.

In this interview, Joan talks about her work, collaboration and building a community.

You and Arthur Huang were instrumental in creating Reading Between the Lines, and other shows, how did that collaboration come about?
The group of artists connected with the Tokyo St Helens project, came together at my request after I had made contact with Art Byte Critique through Arthur.

What was the purpose of building the artist group in your area?
Some of them belong to Platform Arts studios which was originally formed by Claire and myself linking up with a number of other interested artists, with help from the very active Arts and Library service in the Town. This was about ten years ago now but it has changed over the years to what it is today, most of the artists now involved are new. Other artists involved work individually across the North West but come together for group projects. There has always been a number of individuals and small art groups in St Helens but Platform arts was possibly the first artist network around in St Helens at the time of its conception. Since then there seems to be a number of artists coming together to form collaborative partnerships. The Yellow Door artists are one example.

Not long after Platform started to operate, the Heart of Glass programme began in St Helens with funding from Arts Council England. This was through what is called the People and Places funding which is for artists to work with communities in order to introduce innovative arts and cultural opportunities, hopefully broadening and raising the level of engagement with Art and Culture throughout a particular Town. A number of different organisations in the Town were involved in bringing bidding for the funding and Platform was one of these. It was through this programme that I originally received some funding to look at the possibilities of linking with artists in Japan, it was suggested by one of the Heart of Glass producers because of my family links in Tokyo and my interest in Japanese woodblock print work and how my own work had been influenced by the connection. It was also about providing information to others about how links could be made and the benefits of working in this way on a number of levels, perhaps influencing others to have a go. So I did quite a lot of research about what networks were in Tokyo and I put some information together which I sent off to them. My daughter-in-law helped by translating the letter for me. However, I wasn’t very successful until I discovered an online blog/help site, by an artist working in Tokyo, named Miki Saito, she was very helpful and receptive to what I was trying to do and put me in touch with Arthur Huang and consequently the artist group -Art Byte Critique. Arthur, was from the beginning as I have always found him to be, so positive and resourceful, open to just trying things out, exactly the artist I needed to meet, he has been so such a great person to meet and work with. It is really down to him and all of the other artists involved that we have been able to put on three joint exhibitions as a result of the partnership. I can’t believe how lucky I have been in being able to meet such open and interesting people.

Another artist that I met was Atsu Harada a really talented traditional wild life artist, this was through a friend of my Son, and we keep in touch and have been able to meet up when I have been in Tokyo

How long have you been making art books?
I started to explore making book art objects as part of the Tokyo/St Helens return project, which began in 2014. This was somewhat of a pragmatic decision on my part because of the practical difficulties of sharing larger works between Tokyo and St Helens. Also the fact that a number of the Art Byte Critique artists with whom I had made contact through the artist Arthur Huang, were making books and zines as part of their practice and exhibiting at The Tokyo Art Book Fair.

Why do you like making books?
It has allowed me to explore 3D possibilities on a scale that I am able to cope with easily, experimenting with materials and form, I also like the fact that it can be touched and explored by the viewer. Although not normally working with paper unless I am sketching or drawing from life, I am interested in materials and texture, and book art has inspired me to work with different papers and to explore my interest in print as a process.

What do you like about making books compared to other forms of expression?
My work generally begins from my being inspired by a particular subject or idea, after  which comes the research that informs the work I eventually make, this is often large scale and consists of a visual language type imagery as a depiction of humanity. Book art allows another dimension to this in presenting a number of possibilities, particularly in the size of the work, it makes me think about working on a different scale and with the text in a different way. It does though present certain constraints given I am quite new to the process and book making skills.

Do you have a favourite method or technique to make books?
I am still learning so I haven’t tried many of the techniques yet, my experience to date is limited but I intend to keep exploring the possibilities.

What method of making books do you want to try next?
I have had a long term interest in using text within my work therefore I suppose I would be interested in exploring different types of text and what I can do with it, therefore developing my work in this way.

What was the biggest challenge in making your book?
Definitely for me not getting too expressive in the making, so that the object becomes too fragile for the viewer. Although I have to say this is often really what I am looking for, a depiction of strong and fragile within the same object, so a bit of challenge. I have also attended a number of print making workshops in order to extend my knowledge and skills with printing methods. I don’t deny that this is quite a challenge for me I work expressively, precision and constraint is not something I am necessarily very good at.

Do you have any favorite book artists?
There are so many artist’s work that I find inspiring generally, I haven’t really just looked at artists who concentrate on this medium. I’m interested in how the making of book art can influence the expression and physicality of my ideas.

Where can people find out more about your work?
www.joanbirkettart.com

Odding Wang Talks About Sequential Art and Monogatari.

Odding’s adorable avatar

The first time I met Odding was at the Sequential Art Meetup in July, but we never got a chance to talk. During the set-up for the Monogatari exhibition at Tokyo Chapter in October, we discovered we had a lot in common–especially coffee and mushrooms. Odding’s delicate graphite images for her Monogatari contribution, “Here,” add a wonderful facet to the amazing artwork in the issue. Checkout the Q &A with Odding below.

How long have your been making sequential art?
For decades, since I was around 5 or 6.

What do you like about sequential art compared to other forms of expression?
I think sequential art opens up many possibilities, comparing to single frame images, since it brings fragments of time in itself; Comparing to moving images like movies or animation, it gives the reader freedom of setting your own pace; Comparing to literature, like novels or poetry, sometimes it speaks more with less words or even only visual elements. I like all the above forms as well but I think sequential art definitely has its own unique charm and more potential to be explored.

What inspired your story for Monogatari?
“Here” was about a real story, well, it wasn’t even a story, just a little fragment of memories, when I first moved to my current place and found this little old motsuyaki store, run by a small old lady with (probably) her son, the lady was always smiling and I could tell that she was a very honest and sweet person. One day I noticed a bamboo dragonfly on top of the shelf in the store and she realized that I was interested in it, so she took it down and let me play with it. Back then I couldn’t speak any Japanese, so our communication was basically gestures and smiles. I’m always fascinated with old places and old people, and this kind of little stories always brings me lots of warmth at heart.

What are you most proud of in your story?
I’m proud of its honesty, even though it was a mixture of reality and imagination. The point is whenever I read it myself, I can still feel the same kind of warmth as I did in the little store.

What was the biggest challenge in making your story?
Telling the story without words would be one of the biggest challenges, as I did in my other stories too. I was worried that readers won’t be able to fully understand it, but actually they don’t even have to. The story itself is beyond language barrier, and I think I’m quite satisfied with it. Another challenge would be fitting the artwork into A5 size space without losing much details, and I think the editor and printers did a good job on that.

Do you have any favorite stories or sequential artists that you recommend to readers?
My all time favourite would be Chris Ware, then Jon McNaught, whose way of storytelling kind of inspired “Here”. Besides those two, I’d also recommend Lisa Hanawalt and Nick Drnaso. For books I recommend “The Photographer” by Didier Lefèvre and Emmanuel Guibert; and “Here” by Richard McGuire (Haha my story in Monogatari has nothing to do with this book).

Where can people find out more about your work?
You can check out: www.oddingwang.com, or follow me on Instagram: @odding

Interview with Carol Miller about Artist Books

I haven’t met Carol Miller in person… yet. But through another artist, Joan Birkett, we’ve collaborated on a couple of art book exhibitions. Carol is also a very talented illustrator. Her graphite drawings for Drawlloween 2018 are amazing. I was really impressed with her pieces for Reading Between the Lines and Turning the Page, doubly so since they were her first foray into artist books. She answered a few questions about her work. Check out her interview below.

How long have you been making art books?
Before being invited to participate in this project, I had not made any artists books since my Art Foundation Course.

Why do you like making books? / What do you like about making books compared to other forms of expression?
I enjoyed the tactile nature and sculptural quality of the final works.

“Inspiration” Photo courtesy of the artist

“Inspiration” Photo courtesy of the artist

Producing work which people are actively encouraged to handle and interact with and which would be enhanced by the potential ‘destructive nature’ of that handling added an additional element not possible in my other work.

Do you have a favourite method or technique to make books?
Whenever I start a piece of work the process is always fluid and I never have an end ‘work’ or image in mind, rather letting the work and lead me.

I approached making books in the same way.   I did rediscover the joy of Ink and bleach and produced 3 of the books using this technique.  I’m not sure I would say it was my favourite technique, more that I got slightly obsessed with it for a while.

“Dirty Washing” Photo courtesy of the artist

The books I made using this technique are still amongst some of my favourite work.

What method of making books do you want to try next?
The books I made for the project were originals and I would like to explore the possibility of producing affordable editions.

What was the biggest challenge in making your book?
Honestly, stopping.  My one book contribution to the project turned fairly rapidly into five.

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Do you have any favourite book artists?
As a ‘newbie’ to the world of artists books, not yet but I enjoy the journey of discovery.

Where can people find out more about your work? (Social Media etc)
Website               www.artistcarolmiller.com
Instagram           carol_miller_artist
Facebook            artistcarolmiller
Twitter                @carol_miller1

Photos courtesy of the artist.