Ta dah!

I have now passed on the print I mentioned in my last post - hand held through the process by my lovely friend Sue. I printed the initial proof at home and the print plate needed some altering but I'm pleased with the second attempt and he looked great and was well received.  I doubt I will take another print off the plate but I intend to do something with that as it is a thing of beauty in its own right.

This is a crow called Russell, last seen in Shropshire on my monthly visits to the art group with Bobby Britnell. Rescued as an abandoned fledgeling by Bobby's son, Russell flew all around the place, often into the classroom, where he had a penchant for pulling pencils and pens out of containers and throwing them around. He was definitely a crowd favourite but since July he has disappeared and his fate is unknown. It makes me even more pleased that I opted to make a reminder.

Our art group met this weekend and Bobby shared a sneak preview of the courses planned at Moor Hall for next year. I won't spill the beans here but there are some fantastic tutors coming and a new opportunity to sign up to some mentoring sessions is included in the programme. The mentors are really top notch textile artists and I predict a  fast take up of places. People are already asking for places on courses without knowing dates or anything, such is the reputation of what's gone before. If anyone wants to know more , sign up for Bobby's mailing list and newsletter. It's worth it.
 

Drawing a line under it

 There are times when I'm sat at my desk where I challenge myself to make something from the items that are within my reach, just for the fun of it. It could be a collage, a book or a print usually. The other day I was determined to put that series of simple collagraph plate shapes to bed once and for all but as I sat at the desk I picked up a stack of 4 inch square mat board pieces. Now, I'd cut them for a sample of a stiff leaf binding that I was making and they were left over so I browsed the mess that is my desk and also eyed the sheets of ring re-inforcers and sticky labels stacked there too.

The quickest idea is usually the one that's uppermost in your mind and of course,that's the tea bowl/pot shape in my case, so I made another two collagraph plates.  I can't look at these subsequent prints without knowing the circular motifs are those ring re-inforcers but what I enjoyed most was using the shiny sheet that's left when the rings are removed. I used it as a background to the print above and the finish repelled the shellac sealer and gave me some interesting effects when viscosity inked. It seemed to pool in the unseen holes and almost looks like a deconstructed screen printing effect to me.

After making these two plates enough really is enough and I need to move on. Other things are in my head and gestating on the printmaking front. I recently made these two prints exploring copper sulphate etching and they serve to show that I obviously have a bit of a 'circle' thing going on whether it comes from a manufactured shape or via my own hand. I have some ideas to develop my mark making repertoire on aluminium and I've been playing with some unusual resists which I'll share another time.

I also spent a great day last week with my friend Sue working on a collagraph plate that is intended as a gift for someone. It's under wraps at present in case she reads this blog although that's unlikely.... but it's also under wraps because I can't get it to look how I want it to. I'm going to try printing it again tomorrow and seeing how to improve it. Wish me luck!

Don't think, just make.....

 You're probably looking at the above picture and thinking what on earth has she got in that bowl? Nothing but a hefty solution of Lapsang Souchong is the answer. I think I used the last 12 or so teabags in the box to tone some cyanotypes that I produced on Saturday afternoon.
I'd intended to do some printing but that plan went awry so I took advantage of some great sunny weather and made a few more cyanotypes with the dodgy solution that I made last year. Now every time I use it ,  it gets less and less predictable and I know I should throw it away but I can't seem to let it go. Somehow the imperfections of the process are what I am enjoying. I don't care that the blue isn't deep or that's it's patchy, I just love using it. Of the few that I made, one was a book cover I'd already constructed from watercolour paper and it turned out OK but I decided to try and tone them instead.

 Firstly I made a solution of washing soda to bleach out the iron in the blue but that did nothing so I resorted to good old household bleach  which turns the prints into yellow and white, although as you can see above, my book cover held on to some of the blue and it doesn't look that yellow! The results were not promising at this stage but then I placed them in the tea bath and  they all turned various shades of brown. As my whites were not that clear to start with there is not much definition between the lights and darks but I still like the random patchy effect of it all.

 Time now to make the book with the constructed cover and I'll probably do the same with the others after I've given them a coat of acrylic wax just to liven them up a little. I'll show the books when they are finished but that will be next week as I went back to the printing press today instead.

 I was intending to print some copper sulphate etchings but I  again got sidetracked with a simple little collagraph plate that I made recently.
I had a large A2 drawing that I cut into squares at random to see what serendipitous images I'd get and this was one of the shapes I was left with so I decided to make the simple plate as it reminded me of a tea bowl. Then my husband said he preferred it the other way up looking like a pot so that's where these will stay.... for now. I quite like them either way and have had  fun messing about with different viscosity mixes of ink all day. I think I've done about 20 prints and some are disastrous, whilst others have possibilities. Quite a few look like they will be interesting to draw into later or use for collage so I'll let them dry and go from there.

Today has been one of those days that remind you it's not about perfect outcomes. Unless you get out there and make something you'll end up making nothing. The majority of today's play will come to nought most probably but I feel itching to get back up there tomorrow and do some more. The last thing I did was print a couple of plates in metallic ink and then paint them immediately with indian ink to see if it would resist. Might work, might look rubbish but could be brilliant. Who knows? Whatever the result, it will lead my thinking onwards. Surely that can't be bad?

and he has picked.....

The draw was made by my husband this morning for the book and it is on its way to Australia. Look out Fiona, it will be posted in the next few days.
Thanks to  everyone for their comments. I appreciate them. Sometimes I wonder why I'm still writing this thing after so many years. My output diminishes year on year but I still can't quite give it up. I still love reading and commenting on the small number of blogs that have been in it since the early days, people I've never met, yet consider good friends. Long may it continue. I can't promise another 500 posts but I'll keep a giveaway up my sleeve for another milestone number. Many thanks again.

Paying it forward with a giveaway

 A few posts ago I wrote about the trials and tribulations of my offering for this year's Bookmarks Project organised by Sarah Bodman at the Centre for Fine Print Research. After trying out some cyanotypes and some embossed lettering ideas which I felt had not hit the mark I opted for a crop from a conte drawing of mine and printed my 100 bookmarks digitally.

Well this week I received my full edition of everyone's bookmarks in the project, including one of my own of course to make up the set. It was just like Christmas when I opened the package and I have spent ages looking through them and following up the artists who've signed with an e mail or website address. They are a rich set of original prints, drawings, re-purposed book pages and clever digital work. I am a lucky girl and hope I can join in again next year too.

 Of course, now I have the luxury of hindsight and seeing other people's take on the brief, I realise I was reading it too literally. I could have easily continued with the embossed bookmarks and offered them up so next time I shall yield to my instincts and go for it. No idea is wasted though is it? At the time of the bookmark printing I used the cardboard letters to emboss a few pages of Khadi paper and I subsequently used them as end pages and internal pages within a book I made as a sample for a workshop. I now come to the bit about paying it forward as it is time I did my giveaway for reaching 500 posts since 2009. Well, in truth, I'm a few over but let's not split hairs.......

The book is A6 in size and made up of handmade Khadi cotton rag paper. The surface is slightly rough and it will take water based media to use as a small sketchbook or notebook. It is sewn over tapes and is a bit floppy as so many people have handled it but it holds chunky in the hand and would look great filled to the brim with someone's creativity. The cover is a wallpaper sample of tiles from Deborah Bowness and if you'd like to have it just leave a comment below and say so. I will leave the post up for a week to 10 days and then ask my lovely assistant to pull a name out of the proverbial hat. Once done, I'll post the winner here and they can get in touch via e mail with an address. Hope that sounds a good idea and I hope someone puts their hand up for it!

In the pink

 I have mentioned that we might be moving before now.... but, after a foray into other parts of the country to  look at properties etc we realised what a special place we live in already. Interest in our house, and our garden in particular, served to remind me how much work has gone into it. I don't want to let others reap the reward of our hard work so we're staying put for a few years yet. Besides, there's more to be done here and we still have plans for change which include a wildlife pond or a bog garden.

As if to say thank you, the garden has gone into overdrive. It looks stunning at the moment, full of colour and texture. These opium poppies were sown over a year ago and I thought they had disappeared altogether but all of a sudden they are flourishing. The gorgeous blood red one above came from seeds sent to me by the lovely Jill of Third Age Musings. It is so rich but it has to compete with a mass of this Lauren's Grape poppy that are growing up and through the cotinus bush. It looks like shot silk. Just beautiful. I shall be collecting seed and suspect I'll have a ton of it so I'll be passing some on to friends. Some  might be combined with my 500th post giveaway. Somehow I seem to be on post number 502 so have overshot the target a bit but will be posting a give away next time!

Beach finds

 It was reported in the local papers a couple of weeks ago that large numbers of barrel jellyfish (also called dustbin lid jellyfish) were washing up all over the beaches of west Wales, with Tenby's South beach being inundated with them. I had forgotten that information until we went walking on that particular beach this afternoon.

I'd got it into my head that I wanted to search out some pebbles and shells in strong shades of black or white to draw and ultimately design a print from and my husband needs no second bidding for a walk along the shoreline. Of course he walks with his head held high taking in the view whilst I walk head down,camera in hand, scanning, scanning, scanning...... and we were really surprised to come across so many jellyfish on the strandline. Somehow we'd assume they would have floated back to sea by now  but so many seem to have been washed up so high that return to the water was not to be.

 They varied in size and colour, some being a clear viscous mass and others quite a dense aquarmarine. The smallest was about a foot across but I saw a whopper or two that must have been at least a metre in diameter. Checking up when I got home, I read that they can weigh up to 40 kilos and that, although they sting, it is not a sting that will harm humans. As with a lot of large marine creatures they feed on the smallest plankton and have appeared this year because of the mild winter. Ordinarily killed off by the cold, the milder weather meant they just went further down to the sea bed and overwintered. The warmer Spring water has subsequently brought them to the surface in their droves.

 I did get a few grumpy coughs in my direction as even my patient husband got fed up with me looking at their internal mechanics and oohing and aahing at the beautiful indigo pattern that trails around their outer edge.

 When I eventually gave up the forensic examination of the jellyfish he was happy to help me collect a few things......

I love these odd little pebbles, shell fragments and stones and shall now draw them I think. I also found a lump of something on the beach that crumbled like rust so I intend to grind it down and see if it work as a natural pigment to draw or paint with. It was a lovely afternoon and the return walk through the dunes to the car park was filled with both of trying to identify the many wild flowers there were. I saw masses of flag iris in the wet area on the edge of the walk and wild carrot, speedwell, sea kale and even a Large Heath butterfly, the first one that either of us has ever seen so it was an afternoon of abundance and whilst I was sorry to see so many dead jellyfish they were a fascinating sight. I know more about them tonight that I knew this morning and any day I learn something new has to be a good one.