I am rapidly learning that creating a book is quite a rollercoaster. I am so enjoying the process but as with all creative pursuits, it can be difficult to switch off and let it go. The first 5 books are now all done and the remaining 3 (Ponds, Urban, Farm) are now with the printer and should hopefully be back by the end of the week. This weekend I decided to pick up the pfeil tools and carve a woodcut. I have to be precise with the illustrations and I wanted a bit of freehand freeform freedom.
I have this photo of a flying swan I took on my phone when visiting some of the bees I look after on marshland near me. I had written about mute swans in the Ponds book and remembered that sight and sound of swans flying overhead: that whoosh whoosh of the wings and the sheer power of the bird is always magical, and I simply couldn’t communicate that in the 100 words or so I have in a text box.
I love the feel of carving a woodcut, even though I am not particularly proficient at it, and I had a number of Springwatch episodes to catch up on, so it was a nice way to unwind but still do something creative.
I am in a bit of a grey area now as I have approached a number of bookshops and outlets about stocking the logbooks so need to wait for their response, and I am so excited to have my book for sale at Much Ado Books in Alfriston. I still can’t quite believe my little book is in a bookshop! They go out in to the shop this week so I will pop down and take some photos of them in situ. I have other places I want to contact regarding selling maybe the Urban and Farm books and I think I will wait until I have them before sending emails. I also have some orders for the ‘boxed set’ of 5 and I am really looking forward to seeing how they look all together. I am fiddling a bit with the next books but I can’t quite find the focus with the others in train. It’s so strange how the process really has a life of its own, and the books/birds in them really seem to have something like personalities…does that sound ridiculous?
If you have any recommendations for venues that might like to stock the logbooks do please let me know. I really would like to stick to independents and high street bookshops or other bird or wildlife outlets as they are so cute and tactile.
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