What Kate Did Next??

A couple of posts back I wrote about books. One of the photos shows the inside inscription of the above book  - What Katy Did - and the cover has also set me thinking. What I love about it is the way the ink on the cover (which is slightly embossed) has worn away over the years due to it being handled. It was printed in 1918 - over 90 years ago - so it's hardly surprising it is showing signs of wear. One of the things I've been contemplating is how to depict the 'imprint' or 'trace' of the hand and a while ago I did a series of marks made from 'turning the page' but didn't do anything with them as they were too 'visible'. Books somehow have a real sense of implied touch - seeing a book induces a haptic (?) memory of holding it, turning the pages, feeling the weight, texture and the quality of the paper. A well thumbed book also induces a suggestion of a shared experience - it is a reflection of the numerous people who have also held it and physically manipulated it.
I do have a number of things relating to the digital/ hand debate which I can tackle using existing work (and large digital drawings which need to be completed). These works fit very clearly into the last segment of my work - they require thought related to outcomes not to content.  The things I am considering in relation to imprint and trace, will I think, move the content of the work forward.
I've been very busy lately with non-art stuff - and I'm likely to be for some time which means the amount of time I have to spend on my work is very limited. This is not a good place to be as what I've realised is that I need a lot of time to consider what I am doing, to think through the ideas which I know will continue to resurface until I begin to sift through them. The two recent exhibitions have in a way drawn a line - but have also made me realise that moving onto the next stage can not be hurried.
I think sometimes I look around and see what everyone else achieving and feel a pressure to do more, and do it quickly. What I think I have to accept is that I have to work within my own time constraints - and the fact that this may mean a low profile for a while will be a positive in relation to my own journey. I'm a tortoise not a hare :)