Mixed-media Series.

3&4
Originally uploaded by B a s t i a n o

When my sewing machine broke down a couple of month ago and I couldn't continue making the stitched patterns that had become a classic on my notebooks, I thought that stitched patterns were essential for the style of my notebooks. It was like an identity crisis for a moment.

However, I think that necessity is the mother of invention and invention is creativity. Since my machine broke down, I've started a new series of notebooks with collages on the covers.

As always I'm using recycled papers and almost never without modifying them first. There is always something to change. It is a process that takes many days and involves coffee, tea, eggs, typewritten texts, acrylic paint and polish. I scrutinize each paper for every detail of their natural properties and qualities in order tor make the beauty of torn edges, wrinkles, stains and their smooth tactile qualities visible. All papers are in brown, ochre colors and tones of grey.

Nothing selected

C r a f t i v i s m

There is a very interesting topic for me called Craftivism. Maybe you know it. I discovered it last year and it has become for me an important topic in relation with something else, that is the Open Source philosophy, the topic I've slowly started researching on my own. All this is in relation with Ecology, Recycling and so on - topics that I've always seen in relation with my notebooks and my activities as a crafter. These are some of the things that inspire me in my work with my tools and materials and with my laptop and the new media on the Internet like Firefox, Linux, etc.

 
One good way to explain what is Craftivism for me is to post some extracts from the definition from Wikipedia:

 
"Craftivism is a form of activism, typically incorporating elements of anti-capitalism, environmentalism or third-wave feminism, that is centered around practices of craft - most notably knitting. Practitioners are known as craftivists".

 
But for me, is more interesting the part related to Environmentalism:

 
"Craftivism is also centered around ideas of environmentalism and sustainability. When buying new materials, many craftivists choose organic fabrics and fairly-traded products such as home-spun yarns. Yet, even more popular within the movement is the utilization of vintage, thrifted and repurposed goods in order to minimize waste and promote reuse. This display of resourcefulness acknowledges the finite resources on Earth, and the valorization of quality over quantity. Craftivist, Betsy Greer, is quoted saying, “While I think that crafting has become something fairly elite and cliquish in some areas, at its heart, it is very much made for individuals who value both their time and their money”

 
And the other part of my interest, related to the Open Source and the DIY movement:

 
"A popular way to resist the commoditization of craft is through the Do-It-Yourself or DIY movement. Popularized through "zines" of the 1990’s, DIY inspires people to be self-sufficient and to rely less on the market for basic necessities that can easily be created on one’s own. DIY is a resistance to the both the capitalist nature of the fashion industry and pressures to conform and buy a style. An example of this is the Counterfeit Crochet Project, which seeks to "debase and defile designer items one step at a time". Crafters have also subverted the market through the use of open source patterns and information sharing on the internet. Sites like Burdastyle allow crafters to upload and download sewing projects at no charge. Similarly, Cat Mazza's online software KnitPro allows users to download images into detailed knitting patterns at no charge"

 
My research with these topics is starting and I will post more notes about it when I have something else to share. I'm doing this in a very informal way without any academic method and with my English that is not very good.

 
If someone feels like making  a comment, I will be very thankful.

A raven flying to Taiwan.

I’m going to update this map that has been abandoned for quite a long time.

This is not a new pin on the map, but a new notebook in the pin for Taiwan. This is for Must Ronk (Black Raven), the black notebook I made inspired by the crows from Estonia. This notebook has been flying with me back and forth between Sweden and Estonia during its making this summer, and ended up flying alone to Taiwan.

When I thought about a completely black notebook, my question was that you cannot write or draw on it with a regular pencil and it should be white to be visible - that can be visually interesting - but in the end it didn´t matter. For the first time I’ve made a notebook just thinking about its aesthetics and not to much in its function.

Finally Must Ronk found its rightful owner in Taiwan the same day I put the pictures online in Flickr. She is an artist who has bought also another one of my notebooks, Nervation. It is very nice for me to think that some of my notebooks are so far away from me, appreciated by artists and used for their work.

Alo ja Leila Lugu or Alo & Leila's Story.

This book captures the love story of Alo and Leila who are getting married today in a small peninsula in Estonia.
My friends are interested in eco-friendly life and folk traditions. With this scrapbook I've tried to mix a bit of the style of Estonian folk traditions, especially in the choice of materials like linen, traditional patterns from folk clothes and linen-felt.
In the pages inside there are all kinds of hand-written papers, cards, concert-tickets, printed sms-messages and a calendar made by themselves. All things from activities they have been sharing since they met.
For making this scrapbook, I didn't want to add glue or to do any modifications to their papers, so with an idea of a botanical book in mind, I've attached every single card and tickets with thin tapes of paper from a recycled paper bag in the way that they can take off any of these cards and notes at any time. Also, there is plenty of space for adding new memories.

Hard covers, 30x21cm.

F U S I O N

After a long while not updating this blog I want to show some kind of experiment. I'm trying to make messenger bags with a similar style to the notebooks, but based on an idea that I would like to develop together with the style of the bags.

I attempted to make a small bag looking as simple as possible, but with a lot of work with the stitching pattern, like with the covers of my notebooks. Fusion is the name of the bag because it is the name of the idea that I want to work with. This idea is about my re-encounter with the most essential and primitive geometrical patterns of cultures from South-America, that is my origin and discovery of the similarities they share with primitive geometrical patterns from Northern Europe, that is the environment where I live now. To do so, my designs won't try to imitate patterns from South America or Northern Europe, but they will have a touch of the essence I find in common between them from my personal point of view.