Monday 30 May 2016

ALL ABOUT ENAMEL

The story of Archie and Dorothy the second project as part of Echoes in Enamel, has been well received at the Museum in the Park, Stroud. 
The feed back I am getting about this Arts Council funded work is emotional.
People are looking at the enamel pieces and then reading the story of the two locked in their suicide pact, (for the whole story) and have been moved.
But as part of this funding I have been able to run an enamel taster workshop at the Museum.
Here are my examples to whet everyone's appetite. A great deal can be achieved in a day.
I wanted to show that enamel can be contemporary and accessible. 
We used simple methods, just using wet enamel.
Drawing into it when the wet enamel has dried.
Simply cut stencils helped to tighten up the drawing.
Cooking skewers were used as tools.
The group took to layering up the enamel, firing and drawing through in stages.
Everyone went away with 2 or 3 
successful pieces.
Drawing skills were shown to best advantage.
Experimentation was fully realized.
The whole day was lots of fun and it has bought this section of the project to a successful close. 
The enamel book will be on show until 5 June, at the Museum in the Park, Stroud.
Thank you to Northern Kilns for making this workshop possible with the loan of a kiln.



Monday 23 May 2016

MONOPRINT, THE NEXT LEVEL

Saturday saw a viscosity monoprint workshop at the yard:ARTspace.
I am excited about this workshop as it takes mono print to the next level, from a 
simple effective technique to a complex exciting way of working. 
Using the principles of viscocity inking often used when printing a collagraph,
a runny pale ink stops a thicker ink (the red) from laying down,
then a really thick ink (the black) will not roll onto the pale or (as in this image) blue.
The print is then popped through the press and worked on with more mono printed shapes.
Thin card, textures and wall paper are the low tech, but effective mask starting points.
Hard edge graphic shapes and soft painterly effects can be achieved.
Left over masks can be printed and reprinted to make new work.
This is just a small selection of the days out put.
It is a great way to generate ideas quickly, without thinking too hard. Ideas that can be worked into and taken further.
www.theyardartspace.com for more workshops and courses available for the rest of the year

Sunday 15 May 2016

THE BEST JOB IN THE WORLD.

I have the best job in the world and I meet the most fantastic people
The last couple of weekends has been full on workshopping at the yard:ARTspace and
 
in Much Wenlock for Gallery Twenty Twenty.
Both the workshops were the Mixed Media Techniques for sketchbooks
As you can see last weekend was hard work, enjoying the sunshine and warmth in the yard's yard for a 2 day workshop.
Ink, bleach, paint, wax and a few gum Arabic transfers later...
folding and cutting too, then hey presto,
a wonderful collection of sample leaflets to inspire sketch book pages.
Yesterday, different venue in Shropshire, different, but an equally creative bunch.
As this was just a one day workshop we concentrated on
acrylic transfer
Ink, bleach, paint and wax.
The resulting leaflets looked
like the starting points for complex abstract
paintings.
A lovely bit of composition.
But the side effect of all this workshopping has been to rekindle
 
my sketchbook practice and has given me the momentum to 
work on my pages and prepare lots more for my next set of experiment days.
Also this week I have pulled off the 'Print of the Month' and it's a bigun
On an A1 piece of paper...just.
And inspired by all my exposure to my lovely new textile chums this peacock is holding an embroidered snippet (thank you Julia for showing me how to make a bullion rose)


Monday 2 May 2016

STARTING THE SUMMER TERM AT the yard:ARTspace

It was a long Easter break for the yard:ARTspace but last week saw me back at it with a vengeance
The daffodils have moved over...
and my Tuesday and Thursday Solo group is making ambitious work. Do come for coffee and see what we are up to, between 2-5pm in term time.
The 10 week printmaking course has started. This term we are exploring multiple techniques, printing lino blocks with collagraph backgrounds.
Everyone is busy
designing and
cutting their lino blocks.
Can't wait to print them this week.
Saturday saw a mono print workshop take place.
Using card shapes, wall paper and pressed flowers,
wonderful atmospheric images  
poured out of everyone.
Lots and
lots and
lots and
lots of prints
were made.
It is such a spontaneous
method and really
loosens those creative muscles.
Even the bits left behind look
useful.
The summer term will be a busy one for me, get your diary out and pop the 10-12 June and come over to see my enamel pieces at The Contemporary Craft Festival, Bovey Tracey.
Lets hope the summer will start to warm up soon??