Can you believe it's been five weeks?? I hope you're enjoying this journey as much as I do :)
I've been playing with another type of book-making this week, a simple accordion booklet. It's super simple to make, and adds so much! You can see the making of the little insect guide (and the rest of the pages) in the video here, or visit it in my YouTube channel:
After last week's turmoil, it looks like our guy, J., was able to get back to work and focus again. Or did he?...
The two pages this week have a pretty simple composition, but a lot of details when you look closely, then you can see tiny details of text stamping and the staining of the background.
The large butterfly on the right page is the first thing to catch the eye in the double-spread because of its strong coloring. I chose yellow-orange coloring to create a connection to the first page of the journal and the butterfly wing piece in the specimen baggy. The butterfly image also balances the diagonal line, created by the ephemera pieces across the two pages. And looking closer at them, we can see that all the labels here are familiar from previous pages and connect to J.'s work.
But the real focal of this double-spread is the little insect guide on the left page. It's very unassuming when closed, but when opened... I just love these images SO much. They're all from Tim Holtz's Entomology stamp set, one of my faves, I use the text stamp from that set all the time, so it was high time to bring the insects into this project!
I love accordion style books, they're so easy to make but give so many options, because they open to this long strip, and it's fun to have two sides to play with. Plus, the folds of this tiny book are a perfect place to hide a little note...
Finding this kind of cheap general guide in the journal of a researcher is a bit curious, he would definitely need a much more thorough book for his work. But maybe this little booklet was a gift, given to our guy by this R. And that begs the question - who is R. and what did he, or she, mean to J.?
Next week we'll say goodby to this journal project, I hope you'll join me for the binding and finishing! If you have any questions please feel free, I'd love to hear from you :)
Have a wonderful weekend (and week), and see you next time,
I’m continuing to go through the expedition journal with two
new pages and a little “find”.
You can see the making process of the pages here or on my channel
This week I delved into floriography, the language of
flowers. Flowers caught the eyes and hearts of people around the world and throughout
history, but this project is set in the Victorian-Edwardian eras, so I looked
into the meanings attached to flowers then. And boy did I find some! I never realized just how rich Victorian flower language was, there are dictionaries
for it and they’re amazing! Pretty much every flower, tree or herb you can
think of had some meaning attached to it, well, at least those plants that were
known to Westerners at the time.
The flowers that appear in these two pages were chosen with
consideration of the meaning attached to them, and – let’s be honest – what I had
available :)
The left page of this week’s duo has a large iris, meant to
emulate a vintage botanical painting. This page has a very simple composition, but that allows the eye to focus on the iris and all it's details.
I used a stamp set by Altenew to create a
sketch-like outline (you can see how in the video), and then water-colored it. The
idea was that the journal owner painted it, so I didn’t want to use a printed
image. Stamps can be used for a painting effect, even when they weren’t necessarily
meant for it, and it definitely saved me a lot of time with the fine details on
the iris petals.
Irises are one of the cases where the meaning attached to a flower came from its
name. It signifies a message,
probably because the Greco-Roman goddess Iris was a messenger goddess (among
other things).
So here's you're first clue to this week's find ;)
The right page has a lot more going on, but I made sure to keep its front pretty simple so it won't overwhelm the iris page. The folder cover only has some stamping details of flower related dictionary definitions, but under the ribbon knot we have a clue on what's going on inside.
When you open the folder, you get another hint of the inside right under the cover flap. This little group of images connects to post, with things like mail and telegraph labels, so the folder connects the flower and post themes of the two pages.
Inside the folder the post theme is clear, with a bunch of labels and stamps, but under it all there is a base image of the same dictionary definitions we saw on the outside of the folder and some flower images, so the flower theme is definitely still in the background (sorry, had to go for the pun...). This folder is full of little details and textures and I really like how it all came together.
In the little pocket I inserted three flower tags of pansy, sweet alyssum and stephanotis. They were inspired by Victorian pressed flower collections, but I also had the idea of them being a sort of flower swatch card collection that our guy is making. Each tag has a protective layer of vellum and the flower's name on the back. I got the idea to attach the pressed flowers with a tiny strip of paper from the flower collections that inspired this, that's how it was done before cello tape :)
The making of the pansy tag is in the video, and I also mentioned that pansies stand for "thought" or something like "you're in my thoughts". Like the iris, the meaning is connected to the name: pansy comes
from the French word for thought - ‘pensée’ (I'm sure I murdered that one in the video, sorry...), which is from same Latin root as the English word ‘pensive’.
Sweet alyssum, stands for "worth beyond beauty", so... appreciation of non-superficial qualities? It's not very clear without a context, but it probably meant to suggest that the person receiving the flower has qualities like kindness and wisdom, and not just good looks. I'm not sure why sweet alyssum had this meaning, maybe because it's such a small and unassuming flower to look at, but has the most amazing fragrance.
Stephanotis (or Madagascar jasmine) was a symbol of marital happiness in Victorian times, and apparently was used quite often in bridal bouquets.
So together we have thoughts, qualities beyond beauty, marital happiness and, of course, the iris and it's "messege".
I can solve one mystery, the iris was chosen because its meaning complemented the postal theme of the right page, and the "surprise" I added to the pocket: behind the flower tags is a hidden letter:
It's torn and stained, but reads as follows:
"Dear J---
Three
weeks and no word. Your work keeps you occupied, I am sure, but would you not
find time to write a few lines to those who care for you? The circumstances of
your departure are unfortunate, but please do not imagine they changed my
affections. Will you not consider a change of heart? This cannot be what you
truly desire. If -- "
The bottom of the page was torn, so no signature but it definitely raises some questions, doesn't it? This is the first real hint to the journal owner's personal life, we'll wee how things unfold in the coming weeks, hope you'll join me
Till then, take care and have a great week! xx Naama
