Printing on old maps was an idea formed in my mind a while ago. With the advent of mapping systems paper maps are less relevant in everyday life. I love maps , particularly when the pressure of navigating to a destination in a timely manner has been removed. The crackle of an ordnance survey map was the first sign, when I was a child, that a trip was being planned.
I love the physicality of them, the awkward folds, the musty smell , the promise of adventure. I could’nt bear to part with my fathers maps when he died and I hate to see them unloved at charity shops.
I came up with a plan to print on old ordnance survey maps. I’m at the very early stages of this and have been buying old ordnance survey maps. Initially I’ve been printing, painting and stencilling but soon I want to start Letterpress printing on them.
As often happens in art , things don’t go quite to plan . Ordnance survey maps lead different lives from one another. Stored in different ways , treated, or not, with respect. Stored in smoky,damp,daylight,houses, sheds, rucksacks. Each has a different quality and it has become an adventure not dissimilar to working on hand-made paper. I select a portion of map to print on and then gently steam iron the creases out. Then I decide what to do with each one depending on its intrinsic colours and those that it’s gained along the way.
Today I’ve managed to match the blue of the text on one printmap and the yellow of minor roads alongside mustard of the nicotine stains on another.
The maps remember their folds , and many are stained along the creases . Some do not succumb easily to inks or paints and fall apart during the process .
I’ve been asked to do an In Memorium print on a friends grandfathers map. A good bit more practice before I do that I think .
Crystal Palace , thank goodness, is not a coffee shop free zone. Quite the reverse.
Ten years ago when we left Cornwall , Dulwich Village became our London home. Serendipity took us here and we have stayed within a couple of miles and have home and family here now. For the last couple of years the local pub has been closed for refurbishment and the addition of hotel rooms. The Crown and Greyhound is named after an amalgamation of two former Dulwich pubs and was built in 1900. Known locally as The Dog it has been greatly missed during its closure. Much has been written about the charm of London pubs, and as the grandchild of publicans I am particularly charmed. I have a love of pub aesthetics and the smell of them that I can’t really put into words. I’m all about the place rather than the drinking .
We devour Interior Design magazines and Pinterest is a regular time waster. How often do you see loo rolls featured? We’ve repurposed an old French hatstand, from TK Maxx to hold loo rolls and really without them in position it would still be an old hat stand. The Crystal Palace poster came from Brixton Village. Hand blown glass bottles from Kokkino Chorio, Crete and the Vanishing Cream from Shanghai.
Now the studio is completely unusable. This will take days to dry and is in the centre of the now tidy floor.
Who knew that printing on old Ordnance Survey maps would prove to be such a compelling activity . This must be about number 6 and I feel like I am getting close to something I would be happy to sell. The journey! has been thwarted by the differing qualities of the paper the maps are made of. They also react to the weather and atmosphere as my studio is in the garden. I hadn’t realised the maps were quite so delicate and as mine are all recycled they have all had very different life experiences with their previous owners .This makes them unpredictable when taking up the print medium.
Inspired by this chap and by an idea I had a week or so ago , I decided to print the VW’s in the colour palate of the original maps so the harmony of the complete image has the same quality as the original untouched maps.
Oh dear, yesterday, we popped into Stax Reclamation to buy a door to turn into a garden table. Barely 5 seconds in, we were seduced by this old water tank with printing on the side. Only there for a few minutes we could have bought loads of things. I particularly liked the old dentist chair with clamps to hold the patients head still. We didn’t buy the door though, a fine excuse to browse again.
A sunflower by candlelight is rather an unusual image. I’m not entirely sure why I noticed it but it is a great picture to share with good wishes to my friends , I hope you had a great day.
His new book, Naked Truth, was launched tonight. A cornucopia of real women, curves, crevasses, confidence and contradictions, it is simply brilliant.
Yesterday the stylehounds of theoldmortuary. design went to the new extension at Daylesford Organics in Moreton- on-the-marsh. For me and the hounds it was a first although I regularly visited the Marylebone branch. However whilst working in Cheltenham and living in Gloucestershire Hannah had hunted down the rural base in search of coffee and decided we should all visit. 
What a feast for the eyes. Daylesford Farm Shop takes pretty to a whole new level. There was texture and colour, perfume and chatter. We came away inspired and happy.
