“Seeing from Both Sides” is a little black and white book that started with the Beltane bonfire. In a rare moment of clarity, I remembered that I wanted to try to make handmade Vine Charcoal. So I cut up some grape vine clippings, put them in a tin can and under the coals of the huge brush pile bonfire that included our Christmas tree, needles for incense, and ice storm branches.
Vine Charcoal Bonfire
Vine Charcoal
Vine Charcoal drawing by Kathleen O’Brien
Greg and I kept bees for a few years. My favorite pastime was catching swarms, only because they always chose to swarm on a low branch. The hive was rubbed with fresh Melissa and placed under the swarm, branch shaken, in they went after the queen. Fascinating.
beekeepers
Sadly, we lost our hives to beetles, and admitted that it was a lot of work, easier to buy honey! Meanwhile we had a lot of beeswax from the foundations. That got me remembering an art friend, Morrison Polkinghorne‘s video about making crayons. The one difference in his instructions was that he was using Lotus blossom ash, I ground up the vine charcoal.
Vine Charcoal and our beeswax
Grinding the charcoal was a good excuse to try a Neolithic pestle.
Vine Charcoal ground with Neolithic pestle
grating our beeswax
He suggested pouring the mix of melted wax and powder into parchment paper, open it when cool. Mine looked like a boat, just like his did! The fragrance of beeswax is still present.
Beeswax Crayon
Beeswax Crayon
I first tried it out on an encaustic collage with poppy petals and feather shapes torn from Japaneses paper, the color sticking to the raised areas.
drawing with the Beeswax Crayon on an encaustic collage
Then on the back side of the charcoal drawing used the crayon to do a frotage of the collage.
Frotage of the encaustic collage with the Beeswax Crayon
Writing, marks and frotage of the encaustic collage with the Beeswax Crayon
I drew over certain areas of the charcoal drawing using different sides of the crayon.
Front side of “Seeing Both Sides” before tearing, showing Vine Charcoal drawing with beeswax crayon by Kathleen O’Brien
back side of “Seeing Both Sides” before tearing, showing drawings with beeswax crayon, pens, pencils by Kathleen O’Brien
When both sides were complete, I tore the sheet and folded them into signatures and finally sewed them into a sixteen page book, “Seeing Both Sides”.
back side of “Seeing Both Sides” after tearing, showing drawings with beeswax crayon, pens, pencils by Kathleen O’Brien
“Seeing Both Sides” with Vine Charcoal , beeswax crayon, pens, pencils by Kathleen O’Brien
It’s really fun to arrange the pages before binding, and interesting to see the interplay of the two styles. It was only after I titled it that I remembered when I first started making collages in 2001 they were two sided. They were very difficult to display, so I gave it up after a while. With bookmaking, I can achieve that inclination.
pages from “Seeing Both Sides” by Kathleen O’Brien
pages from “Seeing Both Sides” by Kathleen O’Brien
What an interesting story and a creative process that followed a loss!
thanks, Bernice. It makes sense that the bee’s gift of wax would enliven the book, the fragrance is gentle, they’re sort of still around…
Wow Kathleen I love everything about this – the materials made from fire and vine, beeswax and mortar – old, simple things with way more meaning than an online order from an art store. Makes me think of Robin Kimmerer’s work. Then the marks made and reversed, the page torn and sewed back together. Lovely piece & super inspiring – thanks for telling us this story!
Keira, you remind me of why I enjoy all these steps, the slowing down, the observation, simplicity, just black or white, construction, deconstruction, reconstruction, nothing less than entertaining. I’ll have to look into this artist who is new to me. thank you for your thoughtful response!
This is wonderful. A local friend showed me how to make willow charcoal. I want to make a video about that experience. I also want to try the crayon, but will have to purchase the wax. Your bee connection makes it super special. Thanks for the link to this blog…you’re awesome!
thanks, Wendy. Your video would be superb, no doubt. (which character stars in it?) Wax should be easy to find. My wax was somewhat refined in the first stage solar rig, yet still far from the pure kind used in encaustics. It would be interesting to try different grades. If you can’t find any, I’ll send you some, send address!
Kathleen, I just found this description, and it! Maybe it was meant to be that I found it late, because what I want to say now—-that I wouldn’t have been able to weeks ago—-is that your writing reminded me of a book by Ann Blockley, her latest: Creativity in Nature/Foraged, Recycled, and Natural Mixed-Media Art. It’s a very personal account of relying on being in nature for creative restoration and even materials. I think you’d love it!
I’ve been wanting a book recommendation, so thanks!, I’ll check it out. It would be fun to try some of those ideas together, don’t you think?