So, what are the lessons to be learned from this exercise?

1. That discarded material can acquire a new life and therefore the time spent before was not wasted as such.

2. That you can begin without any clear idea of what you are going to do & a shape & a way of proceeding will suggest itself.

3. That it is possible to find 30 minutes of an evening to do something (only to find that 30 minutes expands further).

4. That short periods of work accumulate & produce a larger whole.

5. That the materials dictate.

6. That concentration on little bits of paper opens up a greater sensitivity for surfaces, lights, tones, shadows, textures ...

7. That working to the same piece of music can be beneficial.

8. That the format - in this case the concertina pages - suggests unforeseen possibilities.

9. That working within limits releases (that there were only a few sheets to tear up & options dwindled with each collage). Too many options & things stall.

10. That this project would probably never have seen the light of day had I not been working with the other books in the lead up to Christmas.

11. That it is not a matter of producing The Great Work but a process of making which satisfies of and in itself.

12. That working hands on with paper also wakes up greater sensitivity to language and sound.

The moral: just shut up & do it.