What's In My Plein Air Sketching Kit - Making an Artist’s Book for My Masters

Ghosts are often associated with archives; it’s an evocative idea that has shaped some of my latest research and writing for my masters. What surprised me over and over again as I’ve researched 19th century female botanical artists in several Australian archives is the presence of a particular mark- known as a ghost print, that is found in several forms scattered throughout the many sketchbooks, scrapbooks and journals that I’ve had the privilege to handle and study in person. The ghost print is sometimes the shadowy imprint of an artwork, where the pigment transfers to the opposite page when closed for a century. Quite frequently, it is the shadow of a botanical that has been pressed between the pages, leaving a shadowy outline, and sometimes, even the century old pressing itself is still present. This month I turned the photographs I had of these encounters with ghost prints into an artist’s book for my master’s exhibition. I’m calling it ‘A Book of Ghosts.’ To me those faint stains are the perfect metaphor for how much isn’t left behind about the women I’ve been researching from the 19th century. I spend a week editing my photos, mocking up and printing the pages. Then I took them to a bookbinding workshop and the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades here in Ballarat where a paper conservator taught me how to make my first traditional case-bound book from scratch. All that time in front of the computer left me in need of some serious outdoor time, so in this video I also go on a peaceful Sunday sketching trip on one of the first lovely days of spring here in Australia. I packed a small and manageable kit (it all fits in a bum bag) and went out to draw by a creek about five minutes from my home. If you ever wanted to start a plein air practice but felt overwhelmed by choice, I really think the secret is giving yourself as few decisions as possible before you even leave the house. If you’ve ever come across a trace of someone who came before you, in a book, a house, anywhere, and felt that strange pull of connection, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. And if you made it to the end, give me a book emoji so I know. Chapters • 1:18 Packing my plein air sketching kit • 7:02 Drawing by the creek (and why simplicity helps a sketching practice) • 15:26 Printing and folding the pages for my artist book • 20:22 Learning to bind a case bound book at a workshop • 26: 34 A flip through of the finished Book of Ghosts A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supports this channel by purchasing art or an e-course from my website. It genuinely helps fund the time and materials that go into making these videos, and I'm so grateful for every bit of it. Other videos mentioned in this one: My last exegesis chapter video:    • Filling the Well | Writing My First MFA Ch...   Accordion sketchbook / leather portfolio class: https://www.susannethercote.com/a-la-... Art, prints, e-courses: https://www.susannethercote.com/ Newsletter: https://catchy-frost-81401.myflodesk.... Masters of Visual Art playlist:    • The dance of practice-led research | MFA p...   Artist Books playlist:    • Artist Books   Instagram:   / susan.nethercote   Music via Soundstripe: The Edge of Silence, Sounds Like Sander (AD5RBVZBJEMCPCDA) Subscriber count at time of publication: 3545