A CREATIVE PROMPT: SEQUENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

I can't quite believe I am on prompt number 3. I am very relieved that I didn't promise daily prompts. I also have to admit a very selfish thing...writing this blog keeps me thinking and gives me a shape to my week. 

I expect we are all spending a bit more time looking on Pinterest and searching out online tutorials, or is that just me? This week I found a great tutorial by Karen Stamper on Sketchbook Revival. It is great to find something to have a go at it was right up my sketchbook street, we all need reminding about what we know and have a few nudges towards new techniques.

I suspect you have come across this site already as I have seen some familiar faces in the Facebook Group? 

I thought I would have a go and let you see how I got on. I, of course used my eco printed fabric and paper as a starting point, so this builds nicely on the last two weeks prompts, as you will notice I am repeating some of last weeks techniques.

My garden is beginning to wake up and this is the view from my shed. This will be fleeting as like most spring flowers this blossom will last a week at most. But while it is here it is my inspiration.

These are the materials I collected together, have a good rummage and pull out what you have. Pens, pencils, graphite sticks, an oil bar (oil pastel will do), candle wax, white crayon, rubbers.

Then the wet stuff, paint and sponges.

Inks, spray bottle and Acrylic wax if you have it, but not essential.

Look at your garden and choose a couple of shapes and make some rough ol' stencils from cereal card. You could just draw around the leaves and blossoms. Rip and cut them out, varying the edges and also play with scale. Or choose abstract shapes like last week, I am just inspired by Karen's tutorial Wild Garden so am giving the garden theme ago.

I decided to use a piece of Eco paper and fabric to compare the behavior of the drawing materials on the different surfaces. Plain paper and fabric will do.

I started off by randomly scribbling on the fabric and the paper using pencil,

graphite and white crayon. Vary the pressure of your lines and the density of the marks.

Relax into this, get rid of some pent up frustration...and breath! Channel that inner child.

Then using a rubber I knocked back the marks on both paper and fabric, this spreads the stronger  marks and softens the scribbling. Again a very stress relieving  process.

I then worked back into both substrates with a white crayon. You can spot that some of my random scribbling became less random and a bit leafy...anything goes.

It was at this point that I fell in love with the pencil and white crayon on the fabric. It is eco printed white sheeting and is a beautiful surface to draw into.

Dig out those old cotton sheets.

It is an advantage that these are not white surfaces to start with, both substrates have twig and leaf images on them, so a perfect start for a garden image.

Stencil time, here I am using an oil bar. What is an oil bar? Its a big old stick of oil paint and it drys on the surface. In comparison to an oil pastel which will stay oily and smudge, but you can use oil pastel instead.

Using the stencil and oil bar I worked my stencils across both surfaces, working on the fabric and paper in tandem...yes I am churning out lots of work at the moment!

I also did some paint and sponge stenciling, it gives a flatter softer look to the image. I used white and buff here, but go for colour if you are ready.

Here are the two pieces coming along nicely. Everything I did to the paper I did to the fabric, so don't worry if you do not have fabric related materials. And the other way round of course, if you only have fabric materials try those on paper.

Paper with added Biro drawing. Biro makes a very satisfying mark on layers of other materials.

Fabric with added Biro drawing, just adding definition at this point.

Now scribble, draw, mark  both pieces with wax candle and/or Acrylic wax

I don't know about you but I find this next bit daunting. Washing ink into the surface. I often look at the piece and think, just leave it now! But this would lack courage...and what's the worse that could happen? I am risk averse so I always dilute the ink first, so I don't commit myself immediately, then build up gradually. Especially as I added green ink at this point.

The wax layer, the acrylic and oil bar stenciling should resist the acrylic ink. The ink adds depth. Here I have used a stick to draw twiggy things on the paper, at the same time I have sprayed it with water to disperse the lines, blotting and allowing things to dry as I go along. 

However the ink reacts very differently on the fabric. I went in very gently, it is softer and there is not the same definition as on the paper. I still like it though.

When the ink has dried, anything that looks too dark or too inky I reinforced with more stenciling using the oil bar and the paint

Phew...this was a happy afternoon with the odd adding moment every other day. Just above, you can see my first attempt in black and white.

When you have had a go at this leave it for a couple of days and then go back and work on it again, especially if you are not happy with the first results. That's what I do, I tweek for days until I am bored.

Start off just using black and white drawing materials, then do another one adding one more colour, spot the green and build up confidence until you are working in full colour.

Keep everything, I will be using all these pieces in the coming weeks.

Who is inspiring me at the moment? Take a look at:-

https://www.karenabend.com/sketchbook-revival-2020/

This is coming to an end soon, there are a couple of tutorials that I really like.

https://www.instagram.com/under_the_oaks_creativity/?hl=en

Very inspiring Eco, mono printing and check out the felted paper tutorial, I don't know how I have lived without it.

https://www.instagram.com/catherinekingzett/?hl=en

Cath came up with a great daily prompt to get us looking. Alphabet I-spy. Well worth considering.

You can still find me on Instagram, sb.brown21, I have updated my Pintrest page, https://www.pinterest.co.uk/suebrownartist/sue-brown-printmaking/

and sadly the yard:ARTspace, Cheltenham is closed at the moment, but you can still check out the website and join the mailing list ready for when I am back teaching face to face. https://www.theyardartspace.com/

Look forward to planning next weeks prompt. Have the best creative week you can. Best wishes, Sue.

A CREATIVE PROMPT. ALL ABOUT ACRYLIC.

My main focus this week has been thinking about what to do with my ever growing stash of eco printed papers and fabrics.

I find it hard to do anything to these printed treasures, but I am determined to get over that. 

The best way of course, is to have a project in mind before starting the boiling process.

I tried and I will be trying harder as I get a bit frustrated when the pieces are not quite the right size or shape! Also if a piece comes up with little on it, I reboil with new leaves. 

Remember, for sure fired results look at the list of leaves that work and add small amounts of wire wool to the wraps as mentioned in the previous post. 

But if like me, addiction to making these papers and fabrics starts to get out of hand, have a go at working into the prints.

Get your pile of eco printing. Hunt out that collection of stencils, some sponges, acrylic paint and acrylic ink.

If you don't have stencils have a look around the house for fruit netting, sequin waste, old

sticky tape or toilet rolls (yes, rare as hens teeth) its surprising what comes to hand when you have an idea in mind or 

make your own stencils with cereal box card. Here I have just ripped card to create a thin jagged line.

I am nervous to mention using a craft knife to make bespoke stencils as I believe A&E are busy enough... if you are confident have a go, please make sure the blade is new and hold the card away from your cutting direction!!!

Responding to the natural patterns on the substrates, stencil some marks onto the surfaces. 

With a spare amount of paint on the sponge, evened out by tapping it on newspaper first, bounce the paint sponge over the stencil. Go gently avoiding over loading the sponge as the paint will seep under the stencil.

I like to use white or black acrylic paint, but don't hold back, try colours too. Be sympathetic to your eco print colours...but that is up to you. 

Remember if you make a mess of your eco print, spring has sprung and you can always make more. Or draw over it?

When the paint is dry, using candle wax or

acrylic wax, draw or paint out areas you want to protect from the next stage.

I did find the white paint a bit startling, so after waxing areas I washed the white surfaces with Paynes Grey acrylic ink to knock back the whiteness. Again, if you like a bit of colour, go for it. Anything you want to protect, 'wax'.

This acrylic stenciling process works really well on the fabrics. 

Although I do not recommend inking onto fabric, but do experiment, remember the fabric will absorb and spread the ink. Try water colour products like Koh-In-Or dye based water colour inks, they are softer.

Still keep the paint thin on the sponge so that the paint does not creep underneath the stencil, you can always add more, but once its blobbed too much you will have to cover it up with stitching or collage.

I like to just add stenciled marks here and there, less is definitely more. 

These techniques work equally well for those keen to try a figurative approach.

I like drawing on surfaces that have been interfered with. Once I have plotted out my image,

I will draw with white acrylic paint, popping in all the highlights. I use the paint neat and quite thickly to create texture. Where you want darks, don't put paint!

When the paint is dry, I flush the image with acrylic ink. Diluted to begin with, then I get bolder and add neater ink. White acrylic resists the ink running off the white, this works with with Indian ink too. Just add more white if it gets too dark, let everything dry between each layer or it will all go a bit grey!

 Beware that if you use pen ink such as Quink or any other water soluble ink it will sink into the paint, not shed off it. This is another creative opportunity.

I have been softening  my drawings recently by spraying them gently with water while the ink is wet,

this makes the ink run in a very satisfying way, softening lines. If it goes horribly wrong at this stage, just quickly wash and blot it off and try again.

I really like drawings with eco printed backgrounds, but you may have a few stand alone pieces of eco print. Hang on to those until the right moment arises.

Next Sunday I will be adding to these samples. At the moment it is all just experimentation, giving me ideas for bigger projects. You can try this starting point on plain paper. Acrylic resit with ink washes are a good way to start a drawings.

 Be bold and experiment, abstract or figurative, there are no rules, just guidelines.

Check out these Instagram's for further inspiration and more techniques:-

 under_the_oaks_creativity

catherinekingzett

littleheathbarnstudio

shelleyrhodesartist

sb.brown21

Suppliers who I believe are still posting if you need to add to your materials stash:-

https://www.vycombe-arts.co.uk/onlineshop/

https://handprinted.co.uk/

Please post your results on Instagram if you can, but mention me @sb.brown21 and I will get to see what you have done. Thank you to everyone who has.

Have the best creative week you can under the circumstances. Best wishes, Sue

A CREATIVE SUNDAY PROMPT. I.

What can I do with myself when I am feeling anxious and not the least bit creative? This is a question I am asking myself a great deal at the moment. So strangely this is one of the things I like to do when I am not feeling creative, design creative prompts for others to have a go at.

So Sunday Prompts will pop up each Sunday until we no longer need them or I run out of steam. Hoping the former rather than the later. 

It will be a series of processes that you can dip into during the week as creatively or practically as you like. There will be things for a variety of adult abilities. The Prompts will progress from week to week, either connecting each process to make an on going project, or starting new items each week, however you want to make use of them. 

These processes can be done on paper or fabric, its up to you. 

We all like to work differently, it is not a test!!

I would love to see what you make of this, so please post on Instagram and #theyardartspace or @sb.brown21 so I will get to see what you are up to. Or leave a comment on this page.

So onto the first Prompt, no drawing or special skills required.

  Eco Printing. 

I want you to start by going for a country walk or getting out into the garden. Collect a few leaves, for the best results collect, rose, bramble, oak, cranes bill geranium. Do you have an Acer or Japanese Maple coming into leaf? You don't need many, we are not ravaging the country side or stripping bare the garden. Onion skins are good too.

Once you have a collection of vegetation, you will also need the following. 

Rusty metal items, fairly flat ones, old washers, tacks, steel wool  are really good (use gloves when handling all this stuff)

Natural fabrics, cotton, silk, perhaps an old cotton sheet or shirt, it does not work on man made fabrics.

Paper, thick cartridge, water colour or pages from a sketchbook. If you only have thin cheaper paper just handle it with more care when its wet.

The size of these substrates should be the same as the tile or tube, folding is allowed.

Couple of ceramic tiles or wooden doweling or old rolling pin. I use plastic drain pipe too.

Strong rubber bands or sturdy thread or string.

Lay out your natural and man made finds on the paper 

and the fabric

Make a flat pile with sandwiched layers of finds so that the whole thing will be flat when pushed down. This can be separate squares of paper/fabric or a stripe folded with materials between each layer.The important factor is the contact of each item to the paper or fabric.

Now make a tile pack and clamp it firmly by wrapping tightly with string or elastic bands.

Or if you are making a roll, bind your paper or fabric tightly around a cylindrical thing or 

snuggly around itself to make a tight bundle.

Pop your package into a pan (do not cook in this pan again) it must fit and be submerged, slug a splosh of white vinegar in...although I often forget to. Boil for an hour. Keep it topped up, you really don't want to let it boil dry and have a timer on, you do not want to forget you have put it on either.

Trust me the smell is terrible if that happens!!

After an hour turn off and drain. Use gloves and be aware that the water will stain things. 

Allow the package to go cold (never managed to do that to date) before unwrapping.

This is what I achieved... the above examples on fabric and Khadi paper

Fabric

Fabric

Fabric

Paper, you can really see the onion skins.

Over to you, if you have a piece that is less than successful re bundle with leaves and boil again. Remember not to over load your bundles, you need space around leaves to see the edges print. It is all about contact, if your materials can't touch the substrate you won't get clear prints. 

If you get leaves floating at the top of the pan, you have done something a bit differently to the above instructions.

Its the walk in the fresh air that is the key to this activity.

I now have a week to work out what we could do with these delicious papers and fabrics...

watch this space.

Look up the following artists for more information about Eco Printing,

Claire Cawte - https://clairecawtetextiles.com/new-gallery

Alice Fox - http://www.alicefox.co.uk/

India Flint - https://www.indiaflint.com/

Caroline Bell - https://www.textileartist.org/caroline-bell-interview-eco-printing

 GOOD LUCK