So what's an artist do? Print with it, of course......!
Since 2016 I've been working on a piece entitled 'Dispersal'. Its a collection of monoprints on repurposed envelopes that describes the journey of weed seeds assisted by humans.
In my day job as a bookkeeper, I have been collecting envelopes of varying sizes - the business type ones have beautiful blue patterning on the inside, which forms the background of my prints.
Over time I have been collecting the weeds from my backyard and local parks. This process changed my behaviour towards them – I treated them more kindly, nurturing them like I would my own treasured garden plants, pulling them gently from the ground to preserve their roots.
Printing with these weeds made me realise that, in print, they were just as beautiful as many of my other garden plants that I use in my art practice.
One poignant example of this is the "Red Caustic Weed" - this weed has been my nemesis for many years. Its a prostrate introduced plant which self seeds readily and pops up on my gravel paths and in my garden beds. I really hate it! But when I recently found a particularly large one, I carefully pulled it from the ground and placed it between sheets of newspaper under weights for a few days - this removes the excess moisture and flattens it nicely.
And it has produced the most wonderful prints. The leaves and flowers are clearly discernable, the root structure is very fine and descriptive. Its my favourite weed print for my 'Dispersal' project.
So, I guess maybe "Red Caustic Weed" is beautiful in its own way. Next time when I'm scanning for annoying weeds in my garden, I'll try to remember that.
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| Red Caustic Weed |
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| Second print off the plate with plant on it. |
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| The very flat weed after running through the press a couple of times. Revenge is sweet...... |
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| Revealing the print, the best moment in a printmaker's artistic life. |
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| I just love these root prints - gorgeous expressive lines |
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| Results of my latest printing session |
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| The beautiful blue patterns on the inside of business envelopes - this is a Telstra one. Good for something! |
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| "Dispersal' installation at Miles Gallery 2016 - I've been adding to it since then. |
I hate that weed too - though they say a weed is just a plant that is very successful in the wrong place. I'll be out there tomorrow gleefully pulling up the blighters to copy your idea. :)
ReplyDeleteA beautiful print Sandra. I have also been saving all those blue patterned envelopes (possibly for book pages), but you have given me yet another idea for their use!
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