AN UNFINISHED BOOK
by Ana Valine

AN UNFINISHED BOOK
In this book project I have compiled eco film developing recipes I began to research and discover this summer of 2020. As the school
was closed I needed to find another way of working with film. I also was drawn to the possibility of having a portable process that
was connected to materials on hand.
The other parts of the equation are an exploration of creating work in liminal spaces – particularly in this time of pause, and
specifically shorelines – and curiosity about re-framing traditional home-keeping forms. In this summer of isolation, I was drawn to
ideas of threading, connecting and being in relation to. This recipe book was born out of a desire to re-imagine something familiar
and to make a tangible record of a surreal summer.

First Steps: staining paper #1
The paper I bought was an excellent shape with enough room to work but was too bright in ivory. I used a mixture of black teas (Earl
Grey and Lapsang) and soaked each page for at least 20 minutes. The paper smells like lavender and smoke and has a nice aged tint
to it now.

Second Steps: staining paper #2
This step was a bit more stressful as I only had a few sheets of it. I chose it specifically as it has bits of thread running through it but
the original colour was too yellow. This paper picked up colour more quickly than the first paper so it went more quickly.
The ingredients for this stain were instant coffee packs and Earl Grey tea.
Because the sheets were so long I had to put a spring-loaded curtain rod over the bathroom to drape them over for drying. Many
coffee spatters everywhere.
This paper smells like coffee and bergamot.

Paper #2
Dripping as it dries and showing colour difference before and after staining.

Dining room table at beginning and middle stages.

Map ink is made from ingredients found on the way: blackberries, hydrangea, yellow mystery flowers, a brick from the ocean, and
ash from found driftwood burned on my boyfriend’s barbeque.
The ink ended up being too faint to penetrate the thread paper so I had to reinforce it with fountain pen ink. I like the way the end
result looks with the watery ink.