A BUSMAN'S HOLIDAY

So what do artists do at the weekend? Well I have just had a busman's holiday at Hope and Elvis, near Nottingham learning how to solder with the very generous Di 'Tinker' Foster.

Di assembles art treasure and with 

the magic of soldering

creates extraordinary objects packed with memories and symbolism. 

The studio known as Hope and Elvis hosts fascinating and inspiring workshops,

organised by the lovely Louise Presley (on the left).

Here I am hanging on every word as Di shows us how to solder.

With my collection of bits poised to make treasure boxes and charms,

we all made several pieces to take home

giving us lots of soldering practice.

When not soldering or eating Tunnocks Tea Cakes there were lots of inspiring things to look at.

Pieces by Julie Arkel and

Mister Finch.

Even examples of my latest passion, budgies...more about that later.

After 2 days I had a set of things I am happy to take home and a new skill into the bargain. For more examples of this creative weekend check out the Hope and Elvis Facebook page

Meanwhile back in the shed I made a few more labels for 

the up and coming Select Showcase, now only 2 weeks away.

Back to 

the yard:ARTspace for a quiet bit of teaching this week I think.

AUTUMN HAS ARRIVED

Autumn has arrived in my garden.I love this time of year,

especially when the weather is golden.

My garden is full of late flowers,

the nasturtiums are particularly glorious at the moment and edging the  doorway to the shed.

But with Autumn comes the start of term. The 10 week printmaking

course at the yard:ARTspace is exploring

the collagraph technique of silk aquatint. A very sophisticated way of making a collagraph plate using a chiffon base to give rich velvety blacks and layers of glue to create tonal contrasts.

I am getting about too, I spent Saturday in Much Wenlock facilitating

a Viscosity Monoprint workshop for the 

gallery Twenty Twenty.

An enthusiastic class produced lots of

beautiful monoprints,

with Mary, the gallery owner hosting a delicious lunch.

While I was in Much Wenlock, the painter Louise Millin Inchley was running a painting workshop at the yard:ARTspace, stunning results were achieved and I look forward

to Louise taking over the printmaking space to run more water soluble oil painting workshops in the future.

To finish off what has been a very busy week, I can announce that this collagraph has been accepted by the Royal West of England Academy's Annual Autumn Exhibition. Starting 4 October – 29 November in Bristol, it will be an interesting and varied exhibition, well worth a visit.

BACK TO WORK

After a lovely summer break in Amsterdam and St Ives, I started back at the yard:ARTspace this weekend kicking off the Autumn term with a weekend workshop, Collagraph with a Dry Point Twist.

It felt very Autumny with spiders webs bejewelled and a very mist couple of mornings.

The yard was set up

to greet everyone, new work hung up.

Sunflowers to remind us of summer??

And a display of collagraph samples made into booklets.

Party rings and custard creams set the scene for what was to come this weekend!

Everyone was soon head down and working

on dry point images on 'file cover plastic'.

Here is an example of where we were all heading, a drypoint plate on plastic with a collagraph background made from card and glue.

Printed together they give a rich drawn print that looks a great deal like a two plate etching.

Here is the drawing together with the plastic dry point on the right and the glued and shellacked collagraph on the left.

With 2 plates on the go there was lots of inking

and the small presses were ideal for the job.

The dry points printed first produced energetically drawn images,

masking tape added tonal areas

creating solid areas of colour.

but the magic happened when the dry point plates were  

printed on a collagraph background,

wood glue produces very interesting textures and

printing with 2 plates keeps colours defined

and allows the printing of lighter colours without contaminating them.

Lots of gorgeous prints were made, the atmosphere was energetic and the weekend whizzed by, most of the party rings were eaten!!

For details of more classes being held at the yard:ARTspace check out the website.

CREATING COLLAGRAPHS

You may have gathered by now that I am an artist who uses collagraph to make my work. I choose collagraph because it is an exciting, versatile and a creative way to make an intaglio plate. Not because I am unable or do not have the facilities to etch. It is a positive choice about the way I make my work.

applying carborundum

In the late 70's I did a fine art degree and learnt to etch on copper. Collagraph has been an extension of that process after discovering it being used at a Steiner school in Gloucester over 20 years ago.

gluing highlights

I spend a great deal of time looking up other collagraph artists and researching my chosen method. I am excited by other people's working processes.

shellacked plate

And this post has come about because I stumbled across an American Youtube video describing Collagraphy (a term I hate) as and I quote, 'Poor persons etching',  I am incensed to have my working process described in this way.

inking up

When not looking at cats on the computer or putting things on my Facebook page I check out what is happening in the printmaking world. It is good to know what is out there. I can see why galleries think that collagraph could be considered a second rate, ameteur printmaking process. For a start no one seems to know how to spell Collagraph...it's Collagraph, not Collograph.

blue, brown and black inking

It's an intaglio process in it's own right and you need an etching press to print them. Relief printing them alone creates a thin image, a combination of the 2 creates magic.

Rook with Stag beetle 

There are wonderful role models to look up to, Brenda Hartill and Peter Wray, both have developed methods of making and inking collagraph plates, leading the way in raising the collagraph profile.

Collagraph with gum arabic transfer

There are really informative blog posts, information and books available.

Collagraph with gum arabic transfer

It seems to me that more than any other process, it's accessibility and low tech platemaking

Magpie with Longhorn beetle

is it's strength and leads to exciting, experimental images.

Rook with moth

I am completely absorbed by the process of making plates and over the years I have discovered the secrets to making collagraphs is in sensitively made plates and  the skill of technically correct inking.

Got it pegged

But the biggest questions we have to ask ourselves is, why are we using this process over other ways of plate making and what am I saying with it? To say that it is a poor persons etching has maddened me more than the constant misspelling of the process I am completely and wholeheartedly committed to. I know why I am an artist using collagraph printmaking...I would be interested in why you do, or even why you don't!!

The images of birds with labels and bulldog clips are from the plates I made at Art in Action. Got it pegged was inspire by my day out at Slimbridge.

For collagraph workshops and courses check out the yard:ARTspace