Wednesday 9 November 2011
Monday 7 November 2011
Music v Art
It became an issue when I started art school and then joined a band and realised that singing was bloody ace.
Art was my first love,it defined my character,I do art, that's who I am.
But music, that was other people's territory. The Grade 8ers, the serious musicians, with application to their chosen instrument.
Of course writing this down makes me see the ridiculousness of my statements about music.
I love art. I can be moved by it, eternally satisfied by it.....but music......
Music stirs me in a way I just cant fathom.
It stirs the bottom of my pond.
It shows me my unknown unknowns.
It speaks a language I cannot put into words.
I love music and here is my declaration to do it more, every day, to share it, listen to and talk about it to everyone I can....
so watch out, if you see me coming run for the hills or get ready to chew the fat over this ace thing we call music. raaaahhhhhhhhhh!
Art was my first love,it defined my character,I do art, that's who I am.
But music, that was other people's territory. The Grade 8ers, the serious musicians, with application to their chosen instrument.
Of course writing this down makes me see the ridiculousness of my statements about music.
I love art. I can be moved by it, eternally satisfied by it.....but music......
Music stirs me in a way I just cant fathom.
It stirs the bottom of my pond.
It shows me my unknown unknowns.
It speaks a language I cannot put into words.
I love music and here is my declaration to do it more, every day, to share it, listen to and talk about it to everyone I can....
so watch out, if you see me coming run for the hills or get ready to chew the fat over this ace thing we call music. raaaahhhhhhhhhh!
Tuesday 18 October 2011
I am ill. I am editing
So, I am house bound but have become addicted to editing small movies on a terrible piece of software which used to be much better in an earlier version.
This is a post to see if they work.....bloody hope so!
This is a post to see if they work.....bloody hope so!
Friday 30 September 2011
patch tool
Todays wonderful insight is the patch tool in photoshop.
hiding in the 'Healing Brush' section......take the patch tool,
draw as if you have a lasso around object you wish to remove but preserve a clear background...
In my case, a bird off a wire.... and bingo.....move your selection around till you get the right effect, a perfectly matched clear background, no birdy...nada!
Thursday 29 September 2011
Developer added to photocopier Colour prints nearly done
I think the title is pretty catchy!
So the developer which is magnetised and attracts the toner to the drum was replenished.
Back popped Jonathan Webb from EBS photocopiers to install said developer.
The blacks in my photocopies is now as black as night.
Today colour printing resumed on lining paper rather than the newsprint.
Mainly all went really well. Just some white marks on 20 prints to resolve.
The solution being to stop the print run and resume tomorrow morning when the machine is cold and has done a self-clean.
The lining paper was cut into 26cm pieces, keeping the width of the roll, on my A2 guillotine ( best buy of the book project so far!)
Grain runs north south of a roll, so when you put it on the wall, grain would run ceiling to floor.
I then flattened each piece but putting it through the photocopier with a blank 'screen', ie no image under the photocopier lid.
It is time consuming but works perfectly.
More interestingly, the music for the album is almost complete and one thing I really like are the noises that sound like someone is in the room with you, listening, the clicks, are they saliva sounds?
So the developer which is magnetised and attracts the toner to the drum was replenished.
Back popped Jonathan Webb from EBS photocopiers to install said developer.
The blacks in my photocopies is now as black as night.
Today colour printing resumed on lining paper rather than the newsprint.
Mainly all went really well. Just some white marks on 20 prints to resolve.
The solution being to stop the print run and resume tomorrow morning when the machine is cold and has done a self-clean.
The lining paper was cut into 26cm pieces, keeping the width of the roll, on my A2 guillotine ( best buy of the book project so far!)
Grain runs north south of a roll, so when you put it on the wall, grain would run ceiling to floor.
I then flattened each piece but putting it through the photocopier with a blank 'screen', ie no image under the photocopier lid.
It is time consuming but works perfectly.
More interestingly, the music for the album is almost complete and one thing I really like are the noises that sound like someone is in the room with you, listening, the clicks, are they saliva sounds?
Friday 2 September 2011
Printing days
If i want the blackest black over a large area, do two prints, remove artwork from glass, do 3 blank photocopies, then replace artwork and do 2 prints, remove artwork , lighten setting, do 3 blank copies, then replace artwork,remember to darken setting, do 2 prints.
continue.
It can take a couple of hours to do a page.
I have been flattening curly lining paper in the 'blank' passes.
When prints crinkle, this tends to happen if the paper has already passed through the machine a couple of times for other pages.
Best solution is to take that set of prints home and flatten them, cool them or change their environment in some way.
Return next day with prints and they don't crinkle.
Two prints on a page seems to work without problem before any crinkling occurs.
Toady's session stopped by big paper jam.
I'll sort it tomorrow.
Off to work now, ha ha.
continue.
It can take a couple of hours to do a page.
I have been flattening curly lining paper in the 'blank' passes.
When prints crinkle, this tends to happen if the paper has already passed through the machine a couple of times for other pages.
Best solution is to take that set of prints home and flatten them, cool them or change their environment in some way.
Return next day with prints and they don't crinkle.
Two prints on a page seems to work without problem before any crinkling occurs.
Toady's session stopped by big paper jam.
I'll sort it tomorrow.
Off to work now, ha ha.
Thursday 18 August 2011
More photocopier nerdification
So Jonathan Webb from EBS copiers arrived and cleaned the photocopier.
a service costs £49.50 plus £15.00 every hour? 15 minutes? minute? not sure.....
He was great and gave us a maintenance manual for our lovely ancient machine.
Our Konica 1216 has only done 70,000 copies which is nothing apparently, 1 million is what you might expect.
JW cleaned the 7 or 8 mirrors, he cleaned the bit with 2 wires which carry a high electrical charge and sound like a guitar string.
The blackness returned and we learnt how to keep the black.
So, each time you do a copy a portion of toner is used. The reservoir where the toner lives pushes out a bit of toner( more than for just one copy) ready for the next copy.
Now, if we have photocopied a totally black page, loads of toner would have been used, hence not much left for the next copy, so, the next copy might be a bit pale.
So, if we do totally black pages and used shed loads of toner, we have to trick the reservoir into depositing more toner out into position for the next copy.
We do this by photocopying a white page (a copy done but no toner used) Hence the toner stock builds up ready for next copy.
I'll stop now.
Thankyou.
a service costs £49.50 plus £15.00 every hour? 15 minutes? minute? not sure.....
He was great and gave us a maintenance manual for our lovely ancient machine.
Our Konica 1216 has only done 70,000 copies which is nothing apparently, 1 million is what you might expect.
JW cleaned the 7 or 8 mirrors, he cleaned the bit with 2 wires which carry a high electrical charge and sound like a guitar string.
The blackness returned and we learnt how to keep the black.
So, each time you do a copy a portion of toner is used. The reservoir where the toner lives pushes out a bit of toner( more than for just one copy) ready for the next copy.
Now, if we have photocopied a totally black page, loads of toner would have been used, hence not much left for the next copy, so, the next copy might be a bit pale.
So, if we do totally black pages and used shed loads of toner, we have to trick the reservoir into depositing more toner out into position for the next copy.
We do this by photocopying a white page (a copy done but no toner used) Hence the toner stock builds up ready for next copy.
I'll stop now.
Thankyou.
Wednesday 17 August 2011
Photocopy Nerdification
Okay, the mass printing has begun.
It takes 40 mins to do one page 120 times.
it takes approx 3 hours to do a 'fold' that's 4 pages joined together.
It is relaxing apart from when the paper curls and gets stuck.
Does it curl because of that batch of paper's grain?
Heat?
Is there a difference in surface on either side?
Not sure yet.
Kind of concluded that perhaps as the paper is of such poor quality, some parts of this ream/batch could have a rubbish content/rubbish tree/ rubbish pulp? It's a n idea anyway.
Then the photocopier became less black!
Our Konica 1216 is the work horse.
It has the blackest blacks.
I spoke to EBS in Norwich....very helpful.
Perhaps the developer has gone?
Developer looks like toner but is more like iron filings and accepts an electrical charge ( which does something to attaching toner to paper....excuse my vague science)
So, I rang Head Office of Konica, Developer .... we chat....hope is low.....keep asking.
Then Keith Brass at HQ finds a compatible developer in Germany the id number is 003J and it is for the more modern Konica machine 2233 but will work in our Grandaddy 1216.
So we get local engineer to visit, who thinks 1216 may just need a clean.
Brilliant local engineer visits, takes machine apart, gives it a good clean.
tbc
It takes 40 mins to do one page 120 times.
it takes approx 3 hours to do a 'fold' that's 4 pages joined together.
It is relaxing apart from when the paper curls and gets stuck.
Does it curl because of that batch of paper's grain?
Heat?
Is there a difference in surface on either side?
Not sure yet.
Kind of concluded that perhaps as the paper is of such poor quality, some parts of this ream/batch could have a rubbish content/rubbish tree/ rubbish pulp? It's a n idea anyway.
Then the photocopier became less black!
Our Konica 1216 is the work horse.
It has the blackest blacks.
I spoke to EBS in Norwich....very helpful.
Perhaps the developer has gone?
Developer looks like toner but is more like iron filings and accepts an electrical charge ( which does something to attaching toner to paper....excuse my vague science)
So, I rang Head Office of Konica, Developer .... we chat....hope is low.....keep asking.
Then Keith Brass at HQ finds a compatible developer in Germany the id number is 003J and it is for the more modern Konica machine 2233 but will work in our Grandaddy 1216.
So we get local engineer to visit, who thinks 1216 may just need a clean.
Brilliant local engineer visits, takes machine apart, gives it a good clean.
tbc
Thursday 4 August 2011
Counting
Today this rubber thimble was my most treasured tool. Counting my way through approx 5000 colour prints.
Re-arranging them into sections rather than chapters.
Each section has 8 folds
The entire Book has 11 sections.
The numbered sections have become the best was to communicate about navigating around the book and printing the book.
Am hatching a plan to try and get colour printing done much cheaper than my ready-carved path is leading me to.
Soon
Tuesday 26 July 2011
How to store printed matter?
How to store printed matter
So we print 100 of fold 1. Put it in a pile.
We print 100 of fold 2. Put it in another pile.
There are 8 folds to a section and 11 sections in the book, the last section being only 4 folds.
How do I store them flat, clean and not in sunlight?
There are 84 folds in the book
Is that 84 piles?
So I need card to divide the piles so I can store them on top of each other.
How many pieces of card? 84?
The card needs to be at least 60cm x 30cm.
That's bigger than A3 and smaller than A2.
Mark suggested hardboard.
We could get 6 sheets of 1220mm x 2240mm (14 dividers per sheet) @£5.68 per sheet
14 dividers x 6 sheets = 84 dividers
6 sheets cost £34.08 plus cutting to size costs.
A boring way of spending yer money but a possible solution.
So we print 100 of fold 1. Put it in a pile.
We print 100 of fold 2. Put it in another pile.
There are 8 folds to a section and 11 sections in the book, the last section being only 4 folds.
How do I store them flat, clean and not in sunlight?
There are 84 folds in the book
Is that 84 piles?
So I need card to divide the piles so I can store them on top of each other.
How many pieces of card? 84?
The card needs to be at least 60cm x 30cm.
That's bigger than A3 and smaller than A2.
Mark suggested hardboard.
We could get 6 sheets of 1220mm x 2240mm (14 dividers per sheet) @£5.68 per sheet
14 dividers x 6 sheets = 84 dividers
6 sheets cost £34.08 plus cutting to size costs.
A boring way of spending yer money but a possible solution.
Friday 15 July 2011
Abernethy Bookbinder
Had a good chat with Aidan Abernethy.
Sewing the book is not the most precise part of the whole binding process.
A non-pro could do it, with some expert supervision from Aidan.
bookbinders frame needed, clean space etc
a) we either get some pixies to sew the books for a small fee - guided by Aidan.
b) Sal and I sew them ( guided by Aidan) and reward ourselves with sweets and handbags.
Either way I think this wee problem can be solved.
Aidan mentioned he had been thinking about books and binding again having had a long separation for them.
The universe provides.....
Sewing the book is not the most precise part of the whole binding process.
A non-pro could do it, with some expert supervision from Aidan.
bookbinders frame needed, clean space etc
a) we either get some pixies to sew the books for a small fee - guided by Aidan.
b) Sal and I sew them ( guided by Aidan) and reward ourselves with sweets and handbags.
Either way I think this wee problem can be solved.
Aidan mentioned he had been thinking about books and binding again having had a long separation for them.
The universe provides.....
Carrying the book to you
First stop Eco Print.
All the paper has been delivered there.
Arrived, got the cutting template.
Double check the grain.
Grain on this batch is opposite way round.
Glad I checked , have asked for each batch to be checked.
Actually better this way as I get three sheets to each A1.
14 x 250 = 3500 x 3 = 10500 pieces of paper
Each book contains 84 sheets of paper x 100
8400 required for 100 books leaving a healthy 2100 for test sheets.
Visit Steve Forster.....
Ask Henry of Book Hive if he would sell books and use credit card machine at any launch.
UNBOUND -Bristol Art Gallery/Venue/CINEMA/bookshop ARNOLFINI http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/
ICA Bookshop
nastylittlepress.org Sophie+Luke Wright beautiful small books
10" vinyl
Epic 45
MAKE MY MUSIC - enablers - great business model
Owen Sickroom
Transept ask
Write an essay on the book
The Butcher writes an essay on the book.
Sarah Beare - Hoxton Book Art Shop
Thank-you to the lookers and advisors today.
All the paper has been delivered there.
Arrived, got the cutting template.
Double check the grain.
Grain on this batch is opposite way round.
Glad I checked , have asked for each batch to be checked.
Actually better this way as I get three sheets to each A1.
14 x 250 = 3500 x 3 = 10500 pieces of paper
Each book contains 84 sheets of paper x 100
8400 required for 100 books leaving a healthy 2100 for test sheets.
Visit Steve Forster.....
Ask Henry of Book Hive if he would sell books and use credit card machine at any launch.
UNBOUND -Bristol Art Gallery/Venue/CINEMA/bookshop ARNOLFINI http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/
ICA Bookshop
nastylittlepress.org Sophie+Luke Wright beautiful small books
10" vinyl
Epic 45
MAKE MY MUSIC - enablers - great business model
Owen Sickroom
Transept ask
Write an essay on the book
The Butcher writes an essay on the book.
Sarah Beare - Hoxton Book Art Shop
Thank-you to the lookers and advisors today.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Binding thoughts
So, took the book to visit Henry at the Book Hive. He thought it was beautiful and we will work together on a launch in the future.
A new art-book shop will open soon in the old King Of Hearts.
Then went to Jarrolds Printing Museum to see the chaps.
Derek the embosser is still ill.
Met a bookbinder called Richard Lane, had lovely chat.
He recommended that I found a binders half way between a one-man set-up and fully mechanical shabang.
Biddles of Kings Lynn
Perhaps somewhere in Cambridge, they may have more call for bespoke books with more editions needed.
Must talk to Mel Clark.
A new art-book shop will open soon in the old King Of Hearts.
Then went to Jarrolds Printing Museum to see the chaps.
Derek the embosser is still ill.
Met a bookbinder called Richard Lane, had lovely chat.
He recommended that I found a binders half way between a one-man set-up and fully mechanical shabang.
Biddles of Kings Lynn
Perhaps somewhere in Cambridge, they may have more call for bespoke books with more editions needed.
Must talk to Mel Clark.
Friday 8 July 2011
The Book is in my hands......
I feel odd. It looks great. But I am feeling some kind of pain.....
The binders had a difficult time.
I have been sent away with a needle to pierce the pages of the next batch of books to ease the sewing nightmare.
I have also been given the option of re-calibrating the book to 4 folds per section rather than 8, to make the binding process easier and hence cheaper.
The book looks great. It is a success, but a financial pain in the arse.
Each book, at the moment, costs £35 just to bind......hmmmmm.
Let's see what happens.
The binders had a difficult time.
I have been sent away with a needle to pierce the pages of the next batch of books to ease the sewing nightmare.
I have also been given the option of re-calibrating the book to 4 folds per section rather than 8, to make the binding process easier and hence cheaper.
The book looks great. It is a success, but a financial pain in the arse.
Each book, at the moment, costs £35 just to bind......hmmmmm.
Let's see what happens.
Sunday 26 June 2011
The Book is at the Binders!
Well the brick is being made, oh yeah.
Sal and I left the house with the book, we shot video of ourselves triumphantly walking down the spiral stairs, out into the world, forward, forward to a new beginning.
We chatted with excitement about all sorts on the way down Unthank Rd.........
We arrived, we took out the booty, Proud.
"You don't expect me to fold the pages in half do you? At the price I've quoted you I can't possibly do that."
At no point in the process did I believe I had to fold the pages, I thought the binder would have a special folding technique or tool.
Another thing learnt....always learning....which is lovely.....oh yes.
Humiliated and pissed off we walked the walk of shame home, folded the pages within an hour and sulked.
I returned the book to the binders, it is being bound.
Embossing the cover......Jarrolds Printing Museum Chaps may help. Duncan, David and Derick...Derick is the key chap, he's ill....
We'll see how that pans out, get well, Jarrolds Museum Derick.
Sal and I left the house with the book, we shot video of ourselves triumphantly walking down the spiral stairs, out into the world, forward, forward to a new beginning.
We chatted with excitement about all sorts on the way down Unthank Rd.........
We arrived, we took out the booty, Proud.
"You don't expect me to fold the pages in half do you? At the price I've quoted you I can't possibly do that."
At no point in the process did I believe I had to fold the pages, I thought the binder would have a special folding technique or tool.
Another thing learnt....always learning....which is lovely.....oh yes.
Humiliated and pissed off we walked the walk of shame home, folded the pages within an hour and sulked.
I returned the book to the binders, it is being bound.
Embossing the cover......Jarrolds Printing Museum Chaps may help. Duncan, David and Derick...Derick is the key chap, he's ill....
We'll see how that pans out, get well, Jarrolds Museum Derick.
Sunday 20 February 2011
Ordering the book pages
Putting the book in order has merged into putting the music tracks in order too.
The world of the book has consumed my head.
Accompanied by Let England Shake....the brilliant PJ Harvey's new diamond
The world of the book has consumed my head.
Accompanied by Let England Shake....the brilliant PJ Harvey's new diamond
Sunday 13 February 2011
Command :D
Yes, happy faces all round, Command D has been today's most useful instruction.....
In illustrator we are duplicating .........on and on and on and on ...
In photoshop we are deselecting....command D.
Illustrator, shift constrains, alt duplicates once, command D copy copy copy
Type (in illustrator) I want to manipulate you, so I must create outlines...nothing is gonna happen if I don't.
Type along a line... Pen tool , then path selection along top bar....it wont work if you don't
Exciting finale........
Photoshop..... Multiply gets rid of white
Screen gets rid of black
Then you use 'levels' to adjust and perhaps a gaussian blur.
Lap of honour.......
Journal is private, use text edit it's ace
Blog, public.....I'm coming over to stab you in the head.....oh, sorry did I actually type that, I thought no-one would read my blog.
In illustrator we are duplicating .........on and on and on and on ...
In photoshop we are deselecting....command D.
Illustrator, shift constrains, alt duplicates once, command D copy copy copy
Type (in illustrator) I want to manipulate you, so I must create outlines...nothing is gonna happen if I don't.
Type along a line... Pen tool , then path selection along top bar....it wont work if you don't
Exciting finale........
Photoshop..... Multiply gets rid of white
Screen gets rid of black
Then you use 'levels' to adjust and perhaps a gaussian blur.
Lap of honour.......
Journal is private, use text edit it's ace
Blog, public.....I'm coming over to stab you in the head.....oh, sorry did I actually type that, I thought no-one would read my blog.
Friday 4 February 2011
Kitchen paper
So....off to the art school and I find new papers...
.Junior Art paper, Kitchen paper and think about layout paper and brown paper.
Junior Art paper could be the paper I have been looking for all along......
though recycled paperback paper available from Falkners could also be it!
Super A3 exists....what an upside down world! ..329mm x 483mm
Went to Eco-print 155 Waterloo Rd, Paul Youngs, to get test prints....v.helpful
The Xerox machine will do good prints but it puts a layer of oil on the print after the melted plastic powder...
The papers I tested somehow messed with the oil, we found oil marks on paper beyond printed area.
Suggestion is to try a machine that does all the same things apart from the oil part.
Apple are trying to own the letter 'i' .... sorry I digress.
So instructions to contact Crowes Printers, to use the Zeikon machine or the Bizhub.
Dry toner laser printer, which can print any length paper.
.Junior Art paper, Kitchen paper and think about layout paper and brown paper.
Junior Art paper could be the paper I have been looking for all along......
though recycled paperback paper available from Falkners could also be it!
Super A3 exists....what an upside down world! ..329mm x 483mm
Went to Eco-print 155 Waterloo Rd, Paul Youngs, to get test prints....v.helpful
The Xerox machine will do good prints but it puts a layer of oil on the print after the melted plastic powder...
The papers I tested somehow messed with the oil, we found oil marks on paper beyond printed area.
Suggestion is to try a machine that does all the same things apart from the oil part.
Apple are trying to own the letter 'i' .... sorry I digress.
So instructions to contact Crowes Printers, to use the Zeikon machine or the Bizhub.
Dry toner laser printer, which can print any length paper.
Thursday 3 February 2011
The last month of the book.......
Today is colour tests again. I get very excited about laser printer prints.
Not laser copier, laser printer (that mix-up involved a 30 minute fruitless walk into the depths of outer Norwich, I did experiment with marching songs thou, on the way home)....
Laser printer.....those wee bits of plastic powder heated up and squashed onto the page.
It seems to take to any type of paper including newsprint, and wall lining paper.
The colours are bright and exciting to yer eyeball. i have a new paper stock to try....Bible paper....
It's as thin as newsprint, but whiter and archival.....less acid content. Acid=decomposition+discolouration.....
which I don't mind, but the paper turning brittle and disintegrating is less good.
Will it work? I have a small quiet dream that the laser printer will magically take paper longer than A3....
The book is 25cmx25cm...so longer than A3 has become part of my living days these past 2 years.
Not laser copier, laser printer (that mix-up involved a 30 minute fruitless walk into the depths of outer Norwich, I did experiment with marching songs thou, on the way home)....
Laser printer.....those wee bits of plastic powder heated up and squashed onto the page.
It seems to take to any type of paper including newsprint, and wall lining paper.
The colours are bright and exciting to yer eyeball. i have a new paper stock to try....Bible paper....
It's as thin as newsprint, but whiter and archival.....less acid content. Acid=decomposition+discolouration.....
which I don't mind, but the paper turning brittle and disintegrating is less good.
Will it work? I have a small quiet dream that the laser printer will magically take paper longer than A3....
The book is 25cmx25cm...so longer than A3 has become part of my living days these past 2 years.
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