The Omo People

I found this absolutely mesmerising. Just enjoy.

Another Sue Brown Masterclass

I went off to Hampen Factory this weekend for a Non Toxic Etching course with my friend Sue Brown. We were experimenting with a technique that Sue has developed herself using gum arabic transfers safely etched onto aluminium plates. By her own admission it can be a serendipitous adventure but as her work (above) shows, it is a wonderful technique when all goes according to plan. Sue kindly let us use her own own photographic images which she'd photocopied but the others, who all lived locally, got some photocopying done and brought their own on the second day. I was happy to use what was on offer, all the time thinking about the images I have here at home that I can use. I shall have another go this week and see how I get on. There are a lot of stages to remember and quite a few variables which will effect the outcome but the results are worth it. There were four of us on the course and with apologies for the photography this is my mini gallery of our efforts this weekend.

Sue

Ellen

Charlotte

And finally, one of mine.

Thanks Sue!

International Mini Print Exhibition

Today we travelled up the coast to see the 7th British International Mini Print Exhibition at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre. The criteria for entering was that all prints had to be 70cm square and there were over 200 prints on show. It's always amazing to see so many different techniques and look at the way they are applied. Despite the large number, as always, some just jump out at you and you like them. You can't really put your finger on why it is but they say something to you. These are a few of the prints and the artists that appealed to me today.

Jenny Blanchard Tumble Collagraph & Chine ColleAnnie Woodford Growth Etching

Fiona Hepburn Sea Daisies Photo Etching, Screenprint & Chine Colle

Beetle Drive

I know, I know... not more photos of bugs... but I can't help it. I love the things! The museum houses many entomological collections for research purposes. Those on display represent only a fraction but they have picked some stunners to show the vast differences in these creatures worldwide.

When you look at their iridescence is it any wonder that so many of them were caught and used to make jewellery with by the Egyptians and the like. I find it amazing to think of how all those colours and shapes have evolved over centuries . They are living jewels. Exactly that.

This shoe fits the bill

Last year I found a great book of bird illustrations by Jeffrey Fisher and one of them was of a shoe bill. Although I'd probably seen pictures of them before I was really taken with this unusual bird and looked for more. They are fascinating creatures and when I came upon this handsome chap at the Museum of Natural History it was interesting to see that they're not as big as I thought they were. Standing in a glass cubicle and sandwiched between the display cabinets of an albatross and an ostrich he only stands about 4 feet tall.

Look at that face full of expression and those lovely eyes....

Part of me hates the thought of when all these exhibits were killed and stuffed for posterity but it does make me want to see a living shoebill. I don't even know if this is possible? Something to find the answer to.

Orbicular Granite

We spent a fabulous day at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford yesterday. I finally got to fulfill a long held desire to visit the adjoining Pitt Rivers Museum too and my brain is still fizzing with all the things we saw. It will take a few days to organise my photos but the first thing I saw and had to touch was this piece of orbicular granite. Now, I've never heard of this before but I 'googled' it today and the images that come up are amazing. Just look at those patterns and tell me they don't scream 'get out the carborundum, make a plate and print me'.....

Kevin Coates

Kevin Coates has a new exhibition, touring from North Wales to the Harley Gallery in Nottinghamshire next month. It is called 'A Notebook of Pins' and each pin is mounted on a notebook page that distils the original drawings and ideas Coates did for the designs. They are deep in meaning and full of mystical creatures and birds, all crafted with the finest materials in the most exquisite detail. A joy to behold.