FESTIVE GREETINGS

It's the season to be jolly and this time of year is marked by the annual fairy swap that takes place between me and my friend Caroline.
This year our theme was Found Object Fairy. In the past we have done Scary Fairy, Furry Fairy, Foreign Fairy, Fat Fairy, Flat Fairy...I think I've made the point. This was my offering.

But as usual, I got the better end of the deal receiving this beautifully made, imaginative piece from Caroline, thankyou I am thrilled!! This tradition is now I believe 8 years old and I really feel Christmas is around the corner when I have managed to put together my fairy.

The festive season has effected my sketch book work and why not? Thankyou to everyone who has been reading my ramblings and a Happy Christmas to you all, here's to a creative 2010.

ENAMEL EXPERIMENTS

Exploring a new process, starting from scratch, feeling like a beginner!!
All these feelings come at once and is frustrating and exhilarating in equal measure.

There is an excellent exhibition of enamelling on at Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery called Playing with Fire and is well worth a visit.

In the mean time I will keep plugging away at the hit and miss experiments and thoroughly enjoying myself.

EXCUSE FOR CAKE

The end of term at Christmas is a good excuse for a get together, so I hoovered round, put up some fairy lights and invited my printmaking class round for tea and mince pies.
But they did not get off lightly, to earn their tea I set them the task of making a 'Christmas Fairy Cake'. Nothing competitive you understand. So out came the edible gold, glitter and silver balls, together with a few calorie conscious offerings which were crochet and felt.

I love that these busy, talented people indulge my cake based whims and rise to these

culinary challenges with such gusto.

Except for these delicious chocolate buns and my mince pies, we could not bring ourselves to

eat these festive sculptures. But the young people in my household did not have the same

scruples and most were gone by the next day. A good time was had by all, gallons of tea was drunk...I love starting my festivities in this way...thankyou for a great term everyone.

CUTTING & FOLDING

What to do with all those samples and prints that have not quite done what you want at the
end of the term? Well I suggested to my printmaking group...fold it up into an attractive

pamphlet. It turns an unloved piece into a thing of beauty. All these booklets are made from

a single piece of paper. Each page throws up a surprise as the print is looked at in a completely

different way. As the collagraphs are printed on 300gm Somerset the booklets take on a board like quality. A very nice way to end our term.

And here is my latest enamelling experiment, mucking about on an etched piece of copper.

So much to learn....so little time!!

NEW TRICKS

You can't teach old dogs new tricks? Well never too old to learn!! Just when I thought I was settled into a way of working two new techniques come my way, a bit like waiting for a bus really.

First, screen printing. It has changed beyond recognition from when I was first a student, it was smelly toxic and a pain to clear up. Now it is quick and washable with wonderful results.

I have screen printed blue and then print a collagraph plate over the top. It has allowed me to add text simply and the lovely soft splashy marks.

I can also achieve that lovely blue sheen that these birds have.

The biggest revelation for me this week has been enamelling. These are a couple of experimental examples on copper. The cross overs with etching and screen printing are interesting.

I can not explain how it feels to be trying something really new. Thrilled only just covers it!!

COLLAGRAPH EXPERIMENT

From drawing to collagraph, I always enjoy the development of an image. I am very relieved
that this plate printed so reliably. I have had a few very public failures recently.

I am still working on the plate, adding glue to lighten the areas around the brush and putting

more highlights on the bird and moths. I now feel confident about making a start on the second

drawing. I am always surprised at what can be achieved with such simple DIY materials, PVA glue, poly filla, grey board and carborundum. The secret ingredient that binds them all together? Textured wall paper of course!

CREATING NEW COLLAGRAPHS

It is liberating to create images for different reasons. While working on the fish commission I am also working up some images in my sketch book for a series of Corvid collagraphs, just to experiment really.
I have used The Raven as a starting point, or should I say an excuse. The use of everyday objects in the work of the artist Jim Dine fascinates me, so with the two influences colliding and lots of textured wall paper I have made these two drawings. The next stage is to make the collagraph plates.