haiku for the new year

new year's haiku 1
Leslie Avon Miller

At the change of the year I require light, and space and room to breathe. I need time for mental clearing away and sorting to allow room to allow freshness in my life. January is such a personal month. I withdraw, cocoon and cleanse, preparing for what is to come.

new year's haiku 2
Leslie Avon Miller

I find myself stacking antique Japanese glass floats on an equally aged silver tray. They capture and reflect the pale winter light. Their aura is simple. They reflect my mood, symbols of vintage beauty brought forward in news ways to this time and this place.

new year's haiku 3
Leslie Avon Miller

The rich sparseness of Haiku appeals to me. I find myself sorting, choosing, tearing, shaping and arranging small space to please my need for minimalism and clarity.

new year's haiku 4
Leslie Avon Miller

 



threading a needle

on new year's day

the spool unwinds

 

Jane Reichhold

 

 

new year's haiku 5
Leslie Avon Miller

 

                                The first page of my new journal reads:

 

365 new days

 

and the second page

 

Let your life be a painting

Let your life be a poem

 

Osho

 

 

new year's haiku 6
Leslie Avon Miller

 

 

 

Best of new year wishes to you.









Artist Book – The Beginning

Artist books are wonderful places to explore, confirm, and celebrate one’s art. I usually make a couple of books each year in late summer and early autumn. I find I spend a lot of time on them – about three months from the start to the finish. Some years I made them of brown paper bags, creating a pocket for extra pullouts; some years the pages were made from nature prints I had done; and some years the pages were each an individual collage picturing a theme.

I’ve been thinking about how perfect my tissue paper transfers are for the pages of this years book. So in the past few weeks I decided on a format. I am going to use a simple Japanese side stab binding. The pages will be 11 inches wide (about 28 cm) and 4.25 (about 11 cm) inches high, of BFK Reeves paper which is a favorite of mine. The binding on the left short side will take away about .5 inches of the page. Therefore I have put the most interesting part of the tissue paper composition on the far right edge.

I am thinking of these as visual haiku. The appeal for me is the natural minimalism of the papers and the haiku format. I’m not sure what I will do with the opposing pages; perhaps some words, or fragments of poetry, a nature print or something found in nature. Each of these tissue paper pages will have added mark making of some kind to complete the composition.

I enjoy the process of book making. For me, a simple form is the best, allowing me to focus on the content which I find most engaging. I like to add a semi-transparent paper as the first and last pages. I have done transfers on heavier rice paper and can use that as covers. I have 14 pages started so far, and anticipate at least that many more. As I continue to work on these I will post updates over the coming months. I find there is a meditative quality to making artist books, repetition of the page format, thinking ahead to the over all content and theme, and the tactile quality that is afford when one picks of a handmade book. My books almost always serve as a means for me to celebrate my favorite season – Autumn.

The Latest Communication

I decided to add to this piece. My tendency to minimalism is always with me, so I do try to push further. I think about completion in terms of Haiku, with 17 syllables. If I can find somewhere near 17 shapes, or passages or elements, then I can conclude. I may still come back and work this again, but for now it is done, and I will move on to the next piece. It’s snowing again. I love being snow bound, as it is creating extra art time. When I get 3 to 4 days of studio time in a row, I find my creativity flows, and I am rewarded with new ideas. I feel like experimenting and finding new art discoveries. Something happened on a paper plate (I mix my paint on paper plates) that was so great I am going to tear it apart and use it as a collage piece. What fun!
I don’t have a tree up, or cards written, but I am happy. I stopped and thought about how much time and energy goes into the holiday preparation, the actual celebration and then putting everything away again. I made a choice to do much less this year. This is my gift to myself. We will still have a celebration, presents, little twinkle lights, lovely food, champagne and I won’t be stressed. And I did decorate my blog with pretty falling snow...Why did it take me so long to figure this out?