{Two of twenty-eight new collaborative collages made to accompany A Charm of Finches Good as Gold by Gracia & Louise.}
Louise once drew a zebra finch. This zebra finch we then multiplied and made double-sided. A charm of finches, 100 in total. To hang from tiny golden threads. This was one part of a work for Milly Sleeping’s Carlton store as part of LookStopShop.
Each finch, we estimate, took about ten minutes to cut. A slow, meditative process (those little curled feet, by gosh!), we’d have no other way. Our hallmark is labour. We love the quiet precision of working on something like this. Over and over. Round and round. Repeat. I guess it is no different to a runner in a zone, a pianist at the keys. Focus. Single-minded, sometimes. Throw yourself in.
Into the top of the wing, once each finch was folded, a tiny hole was made with aid of a bookbinder's Japanese hole punch. Through this tiny hole, a golden thread we neatly tied. Twenty gold strings at 150cm, 100cm, 70cm, and 50cm in length we cut. Then a further ten at 120cm and 30cm. All in varied rich golden shades. Unfortunately, in haste to deliver this work to Milly Sleeping today, we neglected to take photos of our birds in their neat paper trays in patterns that call to mind those you will find in museum collections. Lying side by side, in columns made up of ten birds, they speak of our neatness and obsession. Around each bird’s belly, each individual string is loosely wrapped in order to make the installation process smooth and to ensure no threads become tangled. It was rewarding to see them lying out so. Each bird facing its neighbouring twin. All flat and yellow and delicate. This piece, A Charm of Finches Good as Gold, has been great fun to make.
And so today, to Milly Sleeping, to Leah and Janette, we delivered our box of light as feather birds. Leah plans to install them this evening in the hush of a closed store and we are terribly curious to see what she does with this work. Some, we understand, will hang in the window, and others will fly deeper into the store.
Perhaps we will be able to swing by the store early tomorrow morning, press our noses to the glass, and see what wonder she has assembled. Yes, the agony of the wait!
{Hidden Gems & Rough Diamonds at Milly Sleeping Carlton (157 Elgin Street, Carlton) soon.}
+ Finding Hidden Gems: See additional collages
+ Rough Diamonds, Hidden Gems
+ With wheels
