Twelve souls braved the blustery weather Wednesday evening for coffee, companionship and concertinas. Not the musical instrument! A conveniently portable sketchbook to tuck in a pocket and take anywhere. Then, once filled, to be displayed.

Lynne Ayers led the group from raw materials to final books.

Briefly, here’s what you do.

Use heavy watercolour paper. We started with 24 x 18″ sheets that had been cut lengthwise into four strips. Then two pieces were glued together to make a long strip.

The raw strip is folded, carefully, in-and-out, to create the concertina effect.

Once folks had folded their sketchbooks, they set to work creating. Some used each fold as a separate page. Others accepted the challenge of the l-o-n-g paper to create a l-o-n-g image.

Folks used watercolour, Posca markers, pencils. The paper is resilient and the format is small, allowing for big creativity in a small space. Lynne has also used collage.

To make covers for your sketchbook, use the thinnish cardboard of a cereal box (recycle!) or something similar. Use glue to attach an old painting, or tissue paper and fold over the edges, then glue to ends of your concertina.

As Lynne said, making and using concertinas is a noncommittal way to play. It’s a small format but big opportunity to create, try out ideas, bring your studio on the road. The finished works make for interesting displays on a mantlepiece or bookshelf.

Also a convenient way to carry about small works you may have in inventory, as Lynne did with this concertina.

Un concertina… Une initiation
Mais qu’est-ce que je peux bien faire avec ça?
Je ne sais même pas comment dire concertina!
Accordéon est une piètre traduction…
Pour une œuvre d’art en construction.
Voilà ce que je pensai en me rendant à notre soirée mensuelle,
Sans grande conviction,
Bravant la neige et la circulation.
 
Je dois rendre à César ce qui lui appartient.
La soirée fut amusante, instructive et inspirante.
Lynne avait préparé et plié du papier de qualité.
L’accordéon n’avait plus qu’à prendre vie.
Ce qu’il fit.
Sous les pinceaux, les feutres et les crayons,
Paysages, personnages et abstraites créations
Ont pris forme et couleur sur les longs accordéons.
Depuis, je vois quelques timbres s’avancer
Et venir se placer sur un futur concertina.
Que diriez-vous de cela ? 

Laurence

Notes: We have a new head of hospitality: Sylvie Juteau. Thank you, Sylvie, for taking on this significant responsibility, making coffee and arranging snacks for our hungry hordes.

Photos by Bobi Leutschaft Poitras & Yvonne Callaway