Hoxton is a very trendy place, if you're an arty type. It is home to the White Cube Gallery (much beloved of Brit artists like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin). In fact, Monica and I had a quick look round after the event which really brought us to the area - a Jessie Chorley Workshop on bookmaking from found and recycled materials.
Sound familiar? Yes, there was a certain degree of panic whilst trying to come up with an idea for a narrative which was supposed to inspire our work. When I first suggested using shopping lists, it was rather tongue in cheek. But then the idea began to grow on me. Because there really isn't a much more succinct way of summing up the domestic life of a family.
And when rummaging unearthed a battered copy of a household manual from the 1950's, the subject matter of my project was sealed.
The workshop was very easy going. Jessie had brought some of her work along to show us, and she was happy to explain how she had achieved certain effects, but basically, we cut and pasted and stitched to our hearts content.
There is something scarily liberating about butchering a book ( or perhaps that reveals a deep seated character flaw...). I had also spent the week beforehand, squirreling away any interesting snippets of paper which crossed my path.
But my favourite find has to be the slip of paper left by the book's original owner - her weekend menu plan.
Cutting secret boxes into the pages.
Hamming (or should that be beefing) up the butchery section.
The book isn't finished yet, but I haven't enjoyed the process as much in a long time.
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