THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO MMMMM!

Every now and then I can be found out and about, looking for inspiration and recharging my artistic batteries. I recently took the opportunity to have an outing to Bath with chums.

We made a 'B' line for the Victoria Art Gallery and the exhibition, 

A Celebration of Flowers by Kaffe Fassett with Candace Bahouth.

I don't think it matters if you like quilts, tapestry or mosaic or not, the  exhibition was a riot of 

colour and texture. Glaringly bright and cheerful.

Lots of fun and completely spirit lifting.

After filling our heads with all that saturated colour we poped upstairs. It is well worth looking around the permanent collection, there are lots of surprising treasures, spot the Grayson Perry and the John Piper. 

Enjoy the collection of Staffordshire dogs.

While wandering around Bath we came across a community project exhibtion of Cyanotypes.

It was a collection of beautifully laid out place settings and very inspiring as coincidentally, me and my chums are booked onto a Cyanotype weekend workshop at the yard:ARTspace later in the month. 

Watch this space for those results?

MOTHS, MOTHS AND MORE MOTHS

I haven't drawn or made a collagraph of a bird for months. Instead I have been working on a project which will be exhibited at the Museum in the Park, Stroud in October. 

I will be part of a post MA group of artists call IN-Sight. 'Into the Light' will be our 3rd exhibition together and will be about items kept in the museums stores.

The preparation for the exhibition has been on going since last year...yes, it takes that length of time to create an idea and then make work from it. I have chosen to look closely at the museums collection of moths, I am never too far away from a wing or two.

We have been allowed behind the museums scenes and I have been drawn to the rows of specimens collected by local enthusiasts...when it was not frown upon to do so.

It would have been easy to then make collagraphs from this resource material, but IN-Sight is a chance for all of us to try new ways of working and push our practices.

With this self imposed challenge I decided to print onto silk.

I experimented with collagraph plates covered in carborundum and plaster to create backgrounds, did you really expect me not to print? But these samples made the silk loose it's soft diaphanous qualities.

Frustrated I went back to look at the museums moth collections.  

I loved the shadowy cases of slightly crumbling exhibits.

Then did more drawing.

I wanted to capture the soft faded look to the exhibits.

I like the idea of the labels and scientific reason for how 

they are set out.

The natural colour palette also became alluring. 

Using collagraph to print first onto the silk,

then by layering on top with gum arabic transfer images, 

I am beginning to create the delicate effect I want.

 I am beginning to add rust printing

which is adding the natural colour I am looking for.

Potassium permanganate is also creating depths in the layers.

I can't wait to get the lemon juice onto this one!

These are all still experimental, there is more rusting to be done

and a bit more exploring before I start the 2 large pieces that will go into the exhibition. But so far so good, although I have dissolved one piece through over bleaching, I have so much to learn and many decisions to make...do I add stitch for instance. The jury is still out on that one! 

But am loving the process.I just love my job.

Want to know more about gum arabic transfer and collagraph? Check out my Esty Shop, MadeBySueBrown for leaflets about the technique or join a workshop at www.theyardartspace.com

SILK AQUATINT WORKSHOP

The sunny bank holiday weekend bought with it a Silk Aquatint workshop at the yard:ARTspace

Silk Aquatint is a sophisticated collagraph version of Mezzo tint.

Mount board is covered with chiffon which holds a rich velvety amount of ink.

By using layers of glue, details and tones can be achieved.

Despite the warm weather there was a great deal of concentrated gluing as layers were applied to make different tones. 

The weekend was used to explore the

plate making processes and then

chine collee, and viscocity

inking was added to the mix.

With the studio doors flung open

lots and

lots

of prints were made. The next collagraph workshop will be 23 September, Printing Collagraph and Lino together.

Before I head off just a quick word about the up and coming GDPR legislation and how it will effect my activities. You will have had lots of communication from organisations sorting all this out. If you are on my mailing list please update your preferences as requested on my last newsletter or unsubscribe if you no longer wish to hear from me.

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