The Artist is in Residence - Exploring the Mangroves and Tidal Zones

How's your lockdown/stay-at-home time going?  I'm continuing with my self-residency @ home daydream.....

Since I 'returned' from my virtual lithographic residency in the mountain rainforest (see last week's POST), I've been lurking around tidal zones amongst the mangroves and mud.  It's a favourite place of mine, with lots of childhood memories associated with it.

We've been out on our kayaks a couple of times in the past week, luckily kayaking for fitness is allowed under the lockdown laws!

So this week at my self-residency @ home I decided to finish off a project.  It was intended for an exhibition in June, but that has of course been postponed, but its time I resolved the artwork.

To get you in the mood and so you can fully appreciate my headspace in this week's residency project, here's a short video of me out on the water in my kayak.  It might give you a feel of the moment I'm blissfully just floating along listening to the birds.  If the video doesn't play via your email feed, you can view it directly on my BLOG or Instagram feed.

The work I completed this week is some 3D sculptures of mangrove seeds.  I wanted to have larger-than-life seeds to hang on the wall, featuring monoprints using leaves from the tidal zones.  The scultpures will sit alongside some other works on paper that I started in this blog HERE.

So my first step was to print lots of monoprints on lightweight papers, such as tissue and japanese kozo. Its great fun and freeing to randomly print without worrying about composition.  I used my oil-based inks and my Xcut press for maximum colour and detail. Here are a few samples:

The next step was to make the mangrove seeds.  I created wire and paper frameworks then covered them in a product called Paper Magiclay.  Its a lovely soft flexible product that air dries.  It was a fun process recreating my large seed models based on the shapes of actual seed pods.  I inserted small loops of wire on the back so the seeds can seamlessly hang on the wall, like they're floating.

I then tore my prints into small pieces and glued them onto the paper seeds, in a paper mache-like style.  I used a mixture of Yamanto japanese glue and PVA.  I painted the seed tips with acrylic paint and I also printed using my gelatine plate over the top in sections to add some more detail.  More is better!

In progress

The final step this week was to apply encaustic wax, to seal the work and give it a rich dimensional look.  This is a 2 step process - applying liquid wax then fixing it with a heat gun.  Drippy, messy fun!

I melt my wax in tins in a skillet filled with water, on a low heat
setting.  I use unrefined beeswax that I source from farmers markets.

Applying heat to the wax melts it into the paper
and makes it transparent.

The end result is some interesting representations of the mangrove seed.  I like the layers of prints using leaves from the tidal zones on top of the seed structure, as a kind of representation of the connection of the different elements from the tidal zone.

I'm happy with the completed works, hopefully they will get selected and exhibited when the galleries are open again.  In the meantime, they'll hang on my wall, assuming I manage to find a spot amongst all the other artworks!

The finished works.
The longest one measures 64cm.

Encaustic Fun

I've just spent 3 days exploring the medium of encaustic with American artist, Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch.

I've played around with encaustic before using books and DVDs as a source, but nothing beats having the techniques demonstrated to you by someone who really knows the medium well.  And 3 days of playing around is a luxury too!

Encaustic is a medium made of melted beeswax and damar resin (pure or coloured), layered over collages, drawings, shellac - anything really.

During the workshop, I had my first experience of image transfer, its really easy with the wax.  I found my niche on day two using some of my gelatin monoprints as a base, then layering with wax, image transfers and shellac.

The shellac was just divine - burning the wet shellac with the heat gun produced the most serendipitous marks (and you know how much I love them!).

Although its back to work today, a four day Easter weekend is looming, so guess what I'll be doing???

Not eating chocolate thats for sure!

p.s. I'll be exhibiting some of my encaustic works at my show in May, look out for them - I can't capture their real depth in photos.

Foreground -The wax pots melted and ready to go,
Background - Tricia using the heat gun to fuse the wax

Fern monoprint with image transfered text

Fern monoprint, with shellac and image transfer bee

An abstract piece -
I love the patterns made in the shellac by burning it!

Here I am, working on another encaustic piece,
doing some scratching with a dental tool.
I'd later wipe over the surface with oil paint
so it picks up the lines