Preparing the LTD Edition of A.C.T.

This is a potted story of what was involved with creating the LTD Edition books, elaborated upon in A.C.T., itself.

Climbing the Queen of the Forest

Tree 186, was 2010’s Trafalgar Square Christmas tree. The Norway spruce gifted by Norway to the UK since 1947, as a thank you for looking after the royals and prime minister. The tree is also known as the Queen of the Forest. For me, this tree is a symbolic vertical bridge between my two nations; the two halves of my fractured family. I climbed this tree a few days before it was cut at a ceremony with the Mayor of Oslo, and the Lord Mayor of Westminster.

Tracing the Queen’s heartwood

I was given a slice of the trunk at the tree felling ceremony, and I traced approximately 65 rings using photoshop.

Santosh Kumar Jain – Chippa workshop

I sent the two tone image (above) of the Queen’s heartwood to Santosh Kumar Jain, a master chippa in Jaipur, via the Indian Block Company. He produced the masterpiece in Sheesham / Indian rosewood, using a wooden mallet and chisels. The shape and knots are placed correctly, and Mr Jain interpreted the rings.

Climbing Paper / Making ‘Climbed Paper’

My artist friend Janicke Schønning and her family cut down another Norway spruce (tree 188) to make way for a log cabin behind their house for their growing family. (the kid on the stump is Sol, who has since grown up to be an artist herself). I helped by climbing up and attaching the chain. (I applied lipstick up the tree, but that’s a story for the book.) I took a log from this tree to Peterson Paper Factory, who processed and timed it going through their machines, and gave me a roll of ‘Climbed Paper’. (Photo of me in the tree, Vidar Sørtømme. Logs being moved at Peterson, Kristen Helgesen). I used other parts of this tree for an art work, ‘Falling Tree’, featured in A.C.T.)

Making Queen of the Forest charcoaled ink

I returned to the site of where the Queen of the Forest was cut down in July 2011, and nicked a bit more of his/her stump. In 2025 I lit a fire with my mum, in her garden, and made charcoal from the wood in cocktail shakers, blended the chunks, and, ‘hey presto’.

Making Queen of the Forest Prints

Mixing the QOF charcoal with ink, printing on ‘Climbed Paper’ with Santosh’ masterpiece, and then leaving the 37 prints to dry for about a month… (I use a bird book gifted to me as a kid by my grandmother; it’s the perfect height).

Cutting / Fixing QOF prints into A.C.T.

37 QOF prints are cut and glued into 444 LTD Edition copies of A.C.T.

The Baby Family tree

I won’t tell you too much about it here, but this little Scots pine – this seedling, grown from seed – became an important part of the book, and features every month of the year of my diary. It’s also on the cover, and spine.

Printing / Fixing the ‘Baby Family Tree, 59 Days Old’ into A.C.T.

Santosh Kumar Jain sadly passed a few years ago. I made contact with his son Kishan Jain, who had taken over the workshop, and commissioned a new block based on the Baby Family Tree. The block maker was Sonu Kushwah; it was finished by Kishan. The LTD Edition book begins with the father, and ends with the son…

I send royalties for sales of Queen of the Forest prints, (including those in the book), to Kishan and his family.