FRENETIC FEBRUARY

February is a dull, dreary month and unless you are a teenager or a complete romantic St Valentines day does not always lift the spirits. But then there is always viscosity inking!!

At the yard:ARTspace my Wednesday printmaking classes have made a variety of collagraph plates using textured papers of every description. It is making recycling virtually impossible in some households. 

 We are now exploring the delights of inking these plates using the viscosity, or simultaneous colour separation method. A snappy title coined by the printmaker Stanley Hayter who developed this technique in the 1960's.

 

 It fills the room with richly coloured prints that sent everyone home with a spring in their step despite the chilly weather. I will be covering this technique on the Silk Aqua Tint workshop on the 25/26 April, there is 1place remaining.

On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons the yard:ARTspace has Solo sessions from 2-5pm. This allows printmakers who want to develop a personal approach to their work and 

use the press and the space in the yard to experiment or make larger collagraphs. Everyone is making very exciting and confident looking work. It is also lovely for me to have creative company when I am working in the press room. 

I have spent the last week developing this silk aqua tint plate. 

I have a great tit coming into the garden at the moment with this exact expression.

 

For those of you who do not follow my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sue-Brown/1478939815714857 my big news is that I have received Arts Council Funding to do a 3year project with the Museum in the Park, Stroud. I will be responding to their First World War collection making 4 new art works in enamel and print.

The first work is being installed on 2 March so I am in the shed developing a collection of enamelled objects inspired by women munitions workers .

From Home to the Factory will compare and contrast the machinery used domestically and industrially. It will celebrate the women who took the step of leaving their domestic environment for the factory floor.

Thanks to the Museum staff and Stroud District Council for the support they gave me when applying for the Arts Council grant.

Last but not least it is editioning February and I have started with the large Dunstable Swan and this group of chickens. Thank goodness I made the decision to have an editioning month as I have just heard that I have got into ...

This is a fabulous artist led printmaking festival in Ulverston, Cumbria on the 2-3 May, www.printfest.org.uk and well worth a visit.