Cold & grey outside... best stay indoors.

Lately I’ve been feeling in some sort of rut… a little ho hum, a tad dispirited, and all wintry and lethargic. I’ve wanted to do little else but read and then read some more. As I explore underground with Colum McCann as my guide (This Side of Brightness), and thus far, the Soviet Union (Dancer, a fictional biography of the Rudolf Nureyev), it seems it is all I want to do. Reading on the old couch parked underneath the window (surely the only spot for a couch, affording you a view of the grey sky outside whilst you remain cosily tucked up, warm and snug, under a rug by the heater) is a cherished winter pastime. With a rug wrapped around me, a big woolly hand knitted shroud covering my entire form from my toes to my neck, with only arms and hands free to both hold the book and turn the pages.

{150 or so scribblers stacked in many small towers.}

In the full grip of winter much time has been spent in the nest even though I have a full army of woolly scarves and the odd pair of mittens at my disposal. Design jobs for others (one a lingerie web site, the other for Imp… see a little taste here) and the oft mentioned huge and fantastical scribbler order has kept me busy but it has not managed to banish the winter ho hums entirely. Feeling as though standing at the foot of a mountain I’ve no means of climbing, I have embarked upon a rigourous banish-the-winter-ho-hums campaign.

I have spent one day exploring Guggenheim Collection: 1940s to Now at the NGV… wandering from room to room past great works I have never seen in person before, eyes suitably wide. I have also been planning an escape to the Melbourne International Film Festival and I have a mini pass with my name on it… 13 films in 19 days, happiness! On my line up, thus far… Alexandra (Alexander Sokurov), The Boss of it All, Lights in the Dusk (Aki Kaurismäki), and… if I can fit it in… Half Moon, DOL: The Valley of Tambourines… and so many more. All these things to squeeze in, session times permitting, and I’ve yet to reach the documentaries. All things guaranteed, wouldn’t you say, to get one out of a rut?

{There's always underground, i (Le Médecin malgré lui)... a small peek.}

{There's always underground, ii (Le Bourgeois gentilhomme)... a small peek.}

And now for those in Melbourne, LJ & I have two collaborative drawings included in a group show at the VCA Margaret Lawrence Gallery, the space in between - book project. There's always underground, i (Le Médecin malgré lui) and There's always underground, ii (Le Bourgeois gentilhomme) can be seen alongside several other book related works until the 4th of August.

*** With a bit of luck I shall have an update for you on those cards by the end of the week. The ideal paper for them has been found, and all is looking one step closer to completion. Thanks again for all your help.***

Comments

[Brydie]

Oh my goodness G & L... your VCA additions are absolutely beautiful, again as always! Sheepishly I feel so compelled to enquire on possession, purchase and price!
Glad your ho hums are keeping you warm, i too am looking forward very much to seeing the guggenheim collection and the film fest. OOhhhh so much!

[julie]

Oh oh your new collaborations are so beautiful - you really do make a perfect team!!!!
And i wouldnt call it a rut...look at it in a positive way as refuelling for new inspirations and enjoy this time escaping into great books and films, love julie xxx

[shari]

sorry for the ho hum winter doldrums. i've got the summer rut going on over here. the melbourne film festival sounds like just the ticket to escape. can't wait to hear your movie reviews. and oh my goodness! the newest collaborative drawings made my heart skip a beat. the hummingbird is amazing! xoxo

[cruststation]

The stacks of scribblers are STUNNING, I want them all! Aww..I agree with Brydie, please please add some to your store, they are absolutely swoon-worthy!!
Sorry that the weather is making you a little dispirited. It's raining 99% of the time in the UK, and we're in the middle of summer! (I try so hard to feel upbeat about it all, but don't really want to sound too 'British' and complain about the weather all the time...) Love your new sneak peeks, they are beautiful AND I am intrigued by the book project, wish I could be there to visit in person.

[Lola is Beauty]

your first paragraph sounds just like me at the moment. Though it's *supposed* to be summer here...well done on your ho hum banishment campaign, I hadn't even thought of that, just wallowing in it. Action! Manyana...x

[fanja]

I would love to be there to be able to admire your drawings closely, they are beautiful. love the Molière reference, reminds me of school. and your little escapades sound very pleasant indeed x

[marsha]

Beautiful! I wish I could see them as part of the larger show!

I hope to hear about the films you see - or at least about your faves.

Hope you are staying warm and cosy.

[risa]

oh grache, your new artwork is so, so beautiful!

[jenny scott]

Louise and your work at the vca looks wonderful . Such beautiful and controlled work.

jenny scott

[jessica]

was happy to see the Magyar Posta stamps. i am hungarian. it made me smile.

[gracia]

Ah, thanks, Brydie. We had allot of fun working on these two drawings… and as always, working right up to the last possible minute. At midnight I was making sure the toads webbed feet were glued firmly in place, Enjoy the NGV and the film fest too… perhaps we’ll bump into one another shuffling from the Forum to the Regent?

Thanks, Julie. You are always so encouraging… and I am greatly enjoying refuelling! Escaping into books or films, there’s really little else I’d rather do.

Thanks, Shari, too. The film festival shines bright on the horizon, and thanks to it I’ll be able to travel to Norway, Kazakhstan, Iceland, Russia, Israel, Finland, Mongolia, Japan… and I’ll report in on each and every one.

Thanks, Crust Station. Yep, we’ll be adding a few new scribblers to etsy and our online store soon… plenty of new Liberty fabrics (always swoon worthy) and Amy Butler delights. A few of my favourites have made it into this order of 1,000, which makes the cutting and ironing stages more enjoyable by far. Enjoy that summer of yours… wink, wink.

Hi there Lola is Beauty,
Action… full steam ahead… advance! The banish-the-winter-ho-hums campaign is all going according to plan. Thus far only one or two slight but expected hiccups.

Pleasant escapades, ah, yes, they are capable of lifting even the soggiest of spirits! LJ has just posted a few more detailed peeks at our new collaborative pieces, Fanja. You can see them here: http://gracialouise.typepad.com/elsewhere/2007/07/a-topographical.html

Hi there Marsha,
Another opening, this time you missed it by five days. It was great getting to see how others had responded to their issued books… I’ll wing a catalogue your way. Hope you have managed to successfully throw off the jetlag.

Thanks, Risa and Jenny Scott,
LJ and I loved creating these two works for this group exhibition… and discovering a little more on Molière before playing with the cut out pieces of our two green books. I’ll try and post a few larger pics to flickr sometime.

Hi there Jessica,
Those Magyar Posta stamps, how I have a soft spot for them. Such beautiful designs and colours. Happy to hear they made you grin.

take care, g xo

[Tiffany]

Doesn't it seem like the mountain of work only makes the humdrums worse? And there's nothing like settling in for a long winter's read...or sitting out in the sun with that fav summer read too!

[lisa s]

all i can say is... sigh... pretty. so so pretty.

love you and l's new collaboration.
have missed you!!
wish i could send you some sun!

[kate]

I love wandering to new blogs ... your 'There's always underground' series looks intriguing.

And then there are the scribblers. I love the cover patterns. Wish they were sold here!!

[Catherine]

I can understand the feeling of being a bit lethargic and stuck in a little winter rut. I thought the Guggenheim exhibition was fantastic. Love your scribblers

[Marieke]

I know what you mean - I have the summer equivalent of it. There is just no speeding me up! Take care x

[Elisabeth]

Just lovley work!

[Eunice]

curling up on the sofa under sun in the winter is one of my favorite things. even better when my dog decides to join me and i tuck my feet under her. i usually knit or read, but mostly it's just nice to be warm in the winter.

how is This Side of Brightness? i read his Zoli a while ago and I absolutely loved it.

[comfies]

must be going around, g. i'm feeling a little ho hum as well, but have no real reason to be feeling that way. in fact plenty of GOOD things are happening. ah well. i hope things are picking up for you mood-wise!

xo
d

[Maryam in Marrakesh]

I am sorry you are feeling blue but those boxes or whatever they are - the scribblers - they are just so beautiful. Just looking at them makes me feel pink and even bright yellow!

[Fran]

So many lovely thing to look at. Don't give up on crochet! Honestly...if I can master it (well, that's the plan) anyone can...once you accept that it's a bit like your hands learning Russian. I'm going to MIFF, too! Did you take a lolly when you left Gugg?
Cheers, Fran.

[gracia]

Hi there Tiffany,
Yes, most definitely. A cosy nook indoors or a sunny spot to loll, legs extended, in warmer months... reading. So wonderful.

You too! You too, Lisa S... so very glad you are back, and so very looking forward to seeing and reading more of your time in Japan. The tales thus far, the photos... how I'm loving them. Welcome back!

Thanks, Kate,
Swing by anytime, I quite know what you mean about the joy of stumbling on a new blog. Oh, and whilst we don't have any actual stockists in your area, you can pick up one of our A7 scribbler notepads on either of our two online stores here:
http://www.gracialouise.com/catalog/index.php
or via etsy, if you prefer...
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5144535
(Or if you prefer one of the fabrics from this order just wing an email our way and we can figure a little something out.)

Hi there Catherine,
Ah, yes, me too. Must make plans to head back for a second wander through before it all disappears. Fantastic, yes, I completely agree.

Ah, glad to know we two are in the same ol' boat, Marieke.

Thanks, Elisabeth... very kind of you. So glad to have found your beautiful blog via Maditi.

Hi there Eunice,
Pets just seem to love it when you sit still for long periods, don't they? Omar loves to nestle in the crook of my arm (which can make page turning quite an art form) and Olive likes the feet. If you enjoyed Zoli, as I did, then you'll also enjoy This Side of Brightness which begins in 1916 with the digging of the tunnel system... running parallel to this is the story of Treefrog, a homeless man living underground some ninety years later. Beautiful, poetic and descriptive as you'd expect, and then some.

Thanks, Comfies... they are, they are, though sometimes those ho-hums like to linger a little longer, hey? Here's to those GOOD things of yours!

Thanks, Maryam. Those little fabric towers are small A7 sized notepads ( http://www.gracialouise.com/scribbler.html ) which we decided on a whim to call scribblers. Each one has a little hand-cut fabric section which folds over the front and covers the narrow glued spine. The small size makes them fun to work on, even when so many need to be made... small towers of them in their various stages still fill the living room floor.

Crochet, learning to write Russian... in awe, Fran. I'll give the crochet a whirl - one day. Hey and maybe when you are not knee deep in crochet creations I'll see you making your way from forum to Regent? Oh, and yes... I did make sure to pick up a Felix Gonzalez-Torres liquorice. It's sitting on the bookshelf alongside other collected debris from recent days.

take care,
g xo

[simple me]

for me it is almost impossible to imagine winter at the moment ... do you also feel like that? when you cannot think how a season feels like.
the image of you sleeping in the couch made me smile :)

I also want a pass to go to a film festival ... I haven't gone to the movies for ages.

I saw alexander sokurov's "mother and son" not long ago. for most people it is one of those dead boring movies but I found it beautiful. it has such amazing imagery and ambiance.

those collaborative drawings with Louise are just superb. I love them both.
and I like to see those piles of scribblers ... I didn't know there was also paper of that echino (the one with the ladybird) design. I thought it was only fabric.

[gracia]

Here's hoping you get to a film soon, Paula. A fitting reward for all your beautiful hard work I have just been perusing on your etsy store. Those home slippers are marvellous... to say the very least. I have only seen a little of "Mother and Son" on YouTube which I'm sure does it no justice at all, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it one day, and of course to seeing "Alexandra". What I have seen of "Alexandra" I also spied on YouTube. I feel sure I'm going to love it.

take care, g
xo

(Oh, and the ladybird echino print is fabric... just like our larger journals... we use fabric instead of paper. It's so nice to work with this particular fabric as it has such a pleasing heavy weight to it.)

[amisha]

hi dear g. it sounds like your plans to banish the winter doldrums are exactly what is needed... i think i need to institute a similar program for my summer days over here, where it sounds as if my couch is a twin to yours. under the window i sit reading, but in a skirt and tank top instead of a blanket, sweat beading on my upper lip. so so hard to shift from this spot!
xo

[gracia]

"where it sounds as if my couch is a twin to yours"... I like that idea. And, yep, it certainly does seem to be the case. Under the window, on the couch, reading... enjoy turning the pages of your book with your nose, as my Dad would say.

see you, grache
xo