Author: Jo Bund

Once again I exhibited with SEVEN artists’ book collective at the Leigh Art Trail. This year our theme was childhood, which most of us took as an opportunity to reflect on the past and connect with our inner-child.  

The project was playful, nostalgic, and deeply personal — we each transformed reclaimed children’s books into one-of-a-kind altered books to celebrate and explore the many layers of being young.

By repurposing old storybooks, we can breath new life into forgotten pages. These altered books become part memory, part dreamscape—each one a unique visual narrative crafted through a joyful mix of materials and methods. 

The creative process was diverse as each of us explored the theme in our own way. Everything from spirographs, bubble printing and fingerprints to bold sticker play and whimsical collage were rediscovered.

The book I chose to alter was a concertina book in the shape of a house – each page had four flaps that, when lifted, revealed an image behind them. I decided to divide each double page spread into themes such as family tree, school days and pets and added photos from my childhood to create a mini photo album.

Our new venue was light and spacious

We were in a new vernue this year, which was spacious and light. Got us thinking about how to make the most of this next year…

The Art Trail was on from 5-13 July.

Here’s a brief look back at the craft fairs I’ve taken part in so far this winter…

I Am Handmade

This is the first year, since before the pandemic, that the I Am Handmade market had been on; organised by the Southchurch Community College, it was a great event to be part of. Although the weather was a little grim (thanks to Storm Bert!) and we were moved to a room upstairs at short notice, it proved to be a lovely day.

Thank you to all the visitors that braved the weather and dropped by.

These are some of the woolly items that found new homes…

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Christmas Eco Fayre

This is an annual event, held at the Leigh Road Baptist Church in November. The visitor numbers are good and the atmosphere is always warm and welcoming. The amazing selection of cakes available at the cafe are very hard to resist!

Some of the eco products I had on my stall were my 100% cotton washcloths, that proved very popular…

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Folk and Bespoke

This monthly event is always one of my favourites. Organised by Katy at Folk & Bespoke this event was held at Leigh Community Centre on 9 November. There is always a varied selection of quality, handmade crafts made by some very talented local makers.

At this time of year, the craft fair had a festive vibe and plenty of lovely visitors.

Phew! Three fayres in three weeks – and then I signed up for one more!

If you missed any of these events I’ll be at the Farmers Market at Scott’s of Southend garden centre on Saturday 7 December for more fun!

If you would like to commission something bespoke or would like to order an item you’ve seen on my stall/website, please drop me an email: hello@jobund.co.uk Thanks x

In July this year I exhibited in the Leigh Art Trail with SEVEN artists. We chose ‘Ghosts’ as are theme and we each took a different direction into how we interpreted it. I took inspiration from the book ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghosts‘ written by Sandra Lawrence and, in particular, the quote below:

“The book recalls a world that no longer exists, populated entirely by shadows. A grainy, b&w world in which even major players have become phantoms, sometimes without even a monochrome snapshot to their once famous names.”

Sandra Lawrence (2022) p327

Background

Miss Willmott loved to take photographs. These now gives us a glimpse into her life at Warley Place where she lived from 1875 until her death in 1934. Photography began around the 1840s, and during the mid 19th Century the Spritualism movement contributed to the Victorian’s fascination with spirit photography (or ghost photography); the aim was to capture a ghostly impression of someone in the afterlife. The most likely causes of such ghostly images would have been from scratches, dust, lens flare, double exposure etc that occurred during the photography process.  

The aim of my artbook was to take inspiration from Miss Willmott’s Ghost, Warley Place and ghost photography to create my own ethereal images. Collaging layers of b&w photographs, mono prints, drawings, text and stitch. I created seven signatures which I bound together with a concertina spine. 

My completed ‘Ghost’ artbook with concertina spine…

Our venue

We were in venue 1 at Metal Culture, in Chalkwell Park…

The Leigh Art Trail was on from 6-14 July.