Wednesday 24 May 2017

IT'S MATERIAL

Last weekend saw me rolling out my signature technique, gum arabic transfer with a textile twist at the yard:ARTspace.
Since the successful workshop at Hope & Elvis  earlier in the year, I have been experimenting with more gum arabic transfer prints onto fabric...I am becoming obsessed!
This photo shows the start and finish of the transfer process, spreading gum arabic on to a photocopy on the left and printing the inked copy onto a substrate on the right.
Inbetween those two stages is the inking and the
spraying off with water.
I was thrilled with the work everyone
produced on paper in the morning.
But the day was all about the fabric really. Here I encouraged everyone to put together a fabric collage. I could not believe that I supplied needle and thread to tack the pieces together 
There was lots of decision making and
beautiful results appeared.
The planning really paid off
and the work room was filled with prints, copies and fabric snippets.
And here are some of the results...
All gum arabic transferred images onto collaged, pre-embroidered fabric or just using textile as a replacement for paper.
Lots of experimentation took place, this is transfers on cynotype pieces.
Finished projects, resources for future projects and experiments emerged, I am really hoping that I will be sent some images of progressed work. Thank you everyone for your creative energy, it was an exciting day. 

This is proving to be a popular workshop so I have planned an extra day this year, which is booking up quickly. Check www.theyardartspace.com for the October 6 gum arabic transfer on fabric workshop.

Thursday 18 May 2017

A REALLY GOOD READ??

Last weekend the yard:ARTspace lured the marvelous Sarah Morpeth from her Cumbrian home to the warm climes of Cheltenham.
The yard was filled with her magical creations, intricate paper cut artists books,
telling touching stories and raising paper cut to a completely new level.
Books and pictures of all sizes were on display to inspire the class participants.
And how they were inspired...
Day one everyone produced these
exquisite beak books and
not a cut finger insight.
Sarah was tremendously supportive leading
to happy satisfied results.
Day two led to colour and these beautiful
backed books.
All very individual from cool and classic to
vivid.
Everyone had a story to tell.
Sarah was generous and inspirational, at the end of this weekend there was a happy set of book makers. Thank you everyone for your creative energy and thank you Sarah for an excellent weekend...can you come back next year??

Monday 8 May 2017

MIXED MEDIA MAYHEM

I love my job, the sun shining 
and the yard:ARTspace full of excited people who have come to learn mixed media sketch book techniques this weekend.
I had lots of sketch book examples to inspire.
Spirits were not dampened even by the door handle breaking off locking us all in the yard, its not a technique I use often, locking everyone in at the start of a workshop is not a necessary ploy!!
The lovely Mr Brown came to our rescue at lunch time and fixed a new handle to the door.
Confident in the knowledge that we could escape when ever we liked, it was heads down working on pieces with ink, bleach, wax and of course the star of the weekend
 was gum arabic transfer.
Soon the results of everyone's labours were drying in the sunshine,
fluttering in the breeze.
After 2 days of experimentation and
half an hour of complicated gluing, 
all these lovely books were produced.
I am so lucky, there was so much creative energy this weekend, everyone was willing to try new things and revisit techniques. The next workshop will be in November as part of Create for Christmas, there will be a festive twist, gold and silver glitter will be used in context.