I made it!....at last.

I did get around to finishing my book and am delighted that I can still post it here. I was unhappy not to have the project complete before A.L.A.W. came to a close. I miss not having the challenge of A.L.A.W. and the encouragement from all the wonderful talented participants, but I have been making other art books and expect I will continue my interest in artist books into the future so while this Blog has come to a end I cherish all I gained from being part of it, So once again THANK YOU Fiona and all the A.L.A.W. friends.

Better late than never ...

I don't know if anyone will actually look at ALAW 2014 now that it is very much over, but here is my second alphabet, Place, finished. I took the photos ages ago but have been a bit slow getting them off the camera.

So my little 'pizza' letters now sit in a box.

It's been great fun participating in this project - thank you to all and especially Fiona.

. . .  and this is a ps!

I had this idea, then ALAW came to a close. So I thought I would do it anyway. Below is the finished alphabet. It was done with a piece of comb and ink to created the letters, then a stamp of dots for texture. Each letter is done on a piece of paper from my collection of odds and sods - I managed to find enough different ones to create a rainbow effect and each colour is only used once. Then I went looking for some clip rings - I loved Fiona's little book that uses them.

Thank you all -

forever, 

confuzed

Nine's alphabet

I have been terribly slack and did not get to post this for Nine.

Apologies for taking so long.

Fiona

I hope I'm not stepping out of bounds here but I wondered what the creators of these wonderful alphabets will do with their art, how they will be displayed, etc.  At the moment, mine are in their little boxes on a shelf.  I hope to bring the faux cat breed flash cards to the animal shelter where I volunteer and let people browse through them.

A flag book of Tamil English slang

 I finally got down to making the flag book of Tamil English slang.

The title of the book is Super Matter.

The 26 letters of the English alphabet have been created by stitching sequins onto a piece of card which has a piece of text in the Tamil script cut out at random from Tamil magazines.
On the reverse of the flag is the word in English and in Tamil.

There are more pictures on my blog.Click here.

Almost There

Apologies I did not get the 2nd alphabet finished last year, but here it is almost... I have all the letters completed but putting it together is proving a little slow and seems to be evolving as I keep running into difficulties,

I should have thought more about how I was going to construct the book for these padded fabric pieces before I started, I knew I did not want to make them into a patchwork type quilt but having put wadding into each piece they are fat and cumbersome to work with. I was undecided between making Cubes or a Flag Book, Regrettable I went for the Flag, I lay them down and sewed the letters back to back as they should appear in the book.

But they would not sit as a Flag book should, and I had no idea how I would reinforce the back fabric so it would have hills and valleys, So I undid it all.....but not each sewn square as I had trimmed the seams down to a minimum before I turned them right side out so if I started unpicking those I'd have to go right back to "A".  I had also trimmed too much to make cubes so I was left with trying to salvage the squares I had sewn.

 I have sewn a length of fabric to each square and it will be the spine of sorts. I'm hand sewing each square to each other. The fabric spine reminds me of folds for smocking so I might try that once I get it all together, With hindsight I see I would have had far more options if I had not put the wadding (quilting foam) into each square. It now reminds me of a child's bath book, and that's not what I had in mind when I started, 

So now I just want to get it all assembled and see if I can rescue it at the end with  some interesting finishing touches.

sacramentaire - the end

and so ........ I'm late, but I have a very good reason : my stupid computer just doen't allow me anymore to post, I know it IS old but , well ... hopefully I'm in my office now with a brand new computer and here it is, my last ALAW book :

first page

ready to bind

Inside and outside

And now I want to thank all of you for your kind messages, and your wonderful work and Fiona for organizing this emulation. I've been so happy to be part of ALAW twice, and sure will regret it on 2015

Burnt Letters - presentation

I decided to create a sort of swatch book with the Burnt Letters.

I stitched a bead between each letter on the upper left.

I kind of like the look of the pages swirled round like that. The burnt edges make their own pattern.

Completed Alphabet

I have bound my 26 letters with their captions in a coptic bound book.  The cover paper is some Japanese printed paper from my hoard and I made a half slip case to keep it neat.

 The title is a map of Japan over the flag

My Final Six Letters

I have completed the letters and intend to bind them into a little book.  Here are the last six.  I was  a bit liberal where there is no Japanese equivalent:  for "V" I used an item beginning with "B" which is usual for foreign words in Japanese, and for "X" I used one beginning with K which has a similar sound.

Uchiwa
A round paper fan with a wooden handle

Bangasa
An umbrella made of bamboo and oiled paper

 Wagashi
Japanese style confectionery

 Kabuto
A helmet worn by samurai

 Yukimidourou
A snow viewing stone lantern

Zukin
A cowl or hood
















Thank you Fiona for hosting this blog.  It's been interesting, informative and impressive to see the variety of techniques and concepts which people have come up with, so thanks to everyone for sharing your work.

Free Alaphabet completed

My free letters are also done and packaged.  My panda has taken on a personality of it's own and I will miss working on it.  I made a folded two piece box to store everything in.

Completed Place Alaphabet

My faux cat breed flash cards are finished and packaged.  I used all of the cat stencil done on thin copper for the front of the little folder/box for the cards.

Sabi's Place Alphabet - Finished

Here are the last of the letters to complete this alphabet:

Warangal

X - Everywhere else

Yamunotri

Zoji La

I made the finished pieces into a book covered with paper hand-made in India:

I have really enjoyed this project and just wish I'd joined it earlier.  The work done by members has been beautiful, inspiring and so imaginative.

The end of a letter road...

To all who may read this blog and who have enjoyed watching the creativity that has abounded on these pages for the past five years, thank you so much for spending time with us.

It has been a delightful journey to embark upon, but one that has now reached its end. There will be no A Letter A Week 2015.

I started this wee project back in 2010 as a way of getting myself to do something small, anything at all, creative each week. It certainly did that, and my creative life has expanded and grown alongside each year's blog.

Through the blogs I have 'met' many wonderful artists and enjoyed their willingness to explore the alphabet in so many wonderful, beautiful and creative ways.

Along the way we were also able to hold a fabulous exhibition and showcase the beauty of the alphabet to many enthusiastic and impressed viewers.

But after five years, I have decided that the time is right to complete the project.

Thank you all for your presence, your contributions and your comments - I have enjoyed it all so much and I look forward to seeing how we all finish our alphabets this year.

Go well

Fiona

for all the lovely letters...