Mountain Getaway....and art opportunity!

This week Craig and I took advantage of a mid-week public holiday to escape to a cabin in the 'mountains', well, as much of a mountain that we could find close to Brisbane!  We stayed at Cabins at the View at Mt Mee, approx 40 minutes drive in a north-westerly direction.

The view was delightful, as were the bird and animal friends that we saw along the way.  We did some exploratory drives through the nearby D'Aguilar National Park as well as dropping into Woodford for some refreshments and to visit a couple of op shops..... but don't worry I only bought one book which I thought was very disciplined for me!

And of course, I had to take my art with me.  This time it was gelli plate printing, using some new leaves that I picked up during my stay.  I took some unresolved prints to work on.  The most successful gelli plate prints are those with at least two layers, using 2-3 colours, so its easy to start with a incomplete or pale print rather than a new sheet of paper. 

The view from our cabin,
Brisbane city is in the distance

The view from one of the lookouts, looking
west

I'm on a rock-hop along a creek bank, always on the
lookout for printing goodies

A Currawong at the picnic area.
I sometimes hear these birds near our house, and
I read recently that they are moving closer to urban areas
which is not good for local small bird populations.

A friendly Kookaburra, no doubt he was after
a handout or just to swoop and take what he wanted!
Unfortunately for him we were indulging in dips and crackers,
not on his diet.

I took over the dining table for my temporary art studio
at the cabin.  A very small table - good for romantic
candlelit dinners but not big enough for serious art making!
But yes I did clear it all away at dinner time......sigh

A printing frenzy.....heaps of fun!

Printing with leaves and a stencil.
 This one has a yummy colour, blue and a bit of black I think.

Blueprint

During the last few weeks I've been busy preparing to make prints for an upcoming show called 'Blueprint'.  I'm part of a small group of printmakers exhibiting in an architect's studio at West End, responding to the theme of Art and Architecture.

Even though my work is based on the spontenanity of the technique of monoprinting, there's actually a lot of preparatory work, mostly with the selection of imagery.  The other technicality with this project is that we've been given only 5 sheets of paper - so that immediately restricts me to take a less experimental approach.  Hence the extra time I've given myself to do test prints and work out exactly the sequence of print techniques I need to follow to get the result I'm after.

I'm using a combination of monoprinting and a solar etching plate.  I've used these two techniques together before but this time I've used the techniques slightly differently, maximising the effects of printing off the object rather than the plate. 

And because the paper supplied is so large, I wasn't able to print on my 'Thumper' travelling etching press, but had to use my new large studio press which is stored under my Mum's house in her garage.  A slightly less inspiring environment, with the challenge of poor light and wind blowing in the garage door, but it did the job.

I'm happy with the resulting prints, they'll all be exhibited at the Blueprint exhibition, Baber Studio, 9/173 Boundary Street, West End, Brisbane (upstairs and turn right).

After the opening at 6pm Friday 29 August, the exhibition will continue until Saturday 20th September.  Opening times are Monday to Friday 12-2 and Saturdays 9-3 (2 of the artists will be present on the Saturdays).

My temporary studio in Mum's garage,
slightly chaotic but I still managed to print OK

My HillDav Studio Press, ready to start work

Gorgeous Swamp Blood-Wood leaves,
covered in ink after printing

The solar etching plate I created from a map, with
images of the leaves 'printed' onto it (the aftermath of
my printing session)

One of the final prints, just to give you an idea of
the end result - a monoprint and etching
using a Cotton Tree leaf as a plate.

Details of the Exhibition, opening Friday 29 August 6pm @ West End.
Please join us for a drink, some nibblies and beautiful art!

Launch of MagicalMonoprinting ETSY shop

I've finally taken the plunge and started up a shop on ETSY.  For those of you who are blissfully ignorant of the wonder of ETSY, its an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and art/craft supplies.  In other words, totally deadly on a rainy afternoon when you are innocently trawling the internet and come across ETSY, an absolute sinful treasure trove of all things handmade, like the best and biggest handmade market you've ever been to.......

So next time you're 'surfing' the web, drop and in say hello to my shop MagicalMonoprinting (love it by clicking on 'favourite').  Here's the link if you need a bit of help getting there....... https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MagicalMonoprinting. 

But before you click the link and dive into a few hours of ETSY love....I wanted to tell you that I've become addicted to making cards.  Not the scrapbooking, all bling and wow factor type of card.  My cards are simple, colour savvy and show off my monoprints.  I make cards now in several styles, using a few different printing methods. 

I source my card and envelope blanks from the internet, usually starting on EBAY to find the best deal. I also get my plastic bags from there as well.   I love to layer my cards, using a piece of bazzill card to frame the print.  Bazzill card is just wonderful!  Colours in every shade and not just the primaries or fluros, but absolutely gorgeous shades, for about $1 for a 30cm x 30cm sheet.  I source my card from scrapbooking shops or online.

I think what I enjoy about card making is the meditative process of construction and the outcome of a beautiful card to brighten someone's day.  They're a cheaper option for someone who can't afford one of my original prints or journals. 

I've only recently started using quality colour photocopies of my monoprints for my cards, after finally working out that using an original monoprint on each card wasn't very economical as each monoprint is a one-off!

Below are a few examples of the cards I'm making at the moment.

The Bazzill card frames the prints beautifully!

These ones are original prints using my Ezi-carve stamps.

I like these ones because the cards 'frame' the print.

Prints from my Sedge Series.

 

 

Now off you go to ETSY (here's the link again  https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MagicalMonoprinting.)  I bet you'll find it hard not to find something you like there!

 

 

Secret Belgian Binding

Recently I made a 'End of Financial Year' resolution to reorganise my studio and storage space.  I suddenly became overwhelmed by how much 'stuff' I had acquired and decided I should focus on using what I already have rather than buy more.

So I'm abstaining from op shops for a while (sigh) and am determined to reuse and reorganise my stash.

My first project was to repurpose some small concertina books.  I made these using gelli-plate prints some time ago and never did anything with them. 

I also decided to challenge myself and try something new.  I searched through my books (in my book 'stash', another example of using what I already had) and found Alisa Golden's 'Making Handmade Books'.  Its one of my favourite books, having a wide variety of techniques with easy to follow instructions.

Step 1 - I deconstructed the concerntina books to create two covers.  The inner section will be included as a page within the signatures.  I then made a hard spine from a scrap of board and a gelli plate print.  The photo below is the outside view of the covers and its new spine.

Step 2 - I then sewed the spine and covers together.  A rather tricky stitch, working with the boards flat and leaving a gap between the spine and the covers.  The photo below is the view from the inside of the book.

Step 3 - To complete the book, I sewed the signatures to the spine, looping the thread around the stitches created in the previous step.  A curved needle made this so much easier to do.

What I like about the finished book is the decorative stitching on the outside.  And its surprisingly stable, given that the pages are only sewn on using a looping action.

 

 

It was very fiddly to stitch so I don't think I'll be doing a lot of books using this binding, but it was enjoyable to try something a bit different.   And to chip away a little bit of the stash....

Burnt Offerings Exhibition by Catherine Money

Yesterday I travelled up to the Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens to view my friend Catherine Money's solo exhibition 'Burnt Offerings'.

Her exhibition presents a fabulous array of printmaking, drawing, stitching, pyrography, metalwork and embossing, all linked by her theme of the disappearing wallum.

In her words "In 2013 a 'love lock' on the Pont des Arts in Paris became the inspiration for a new series of works exploring her love of the coastal heathlands and their need for protection.  Burnt Offerings celebrates the importance of fire in the wallum environment  for its regeneration.  The beauty of the native banksia and hakea are interpreted through a variety of print techniques..."

Many of her artworks are formed around the shape of a lock, with imagery of banksia and other heathland vegetation, overlaid with her recurring motifs of patchwork houses and hands.

I found that the variety of techniques and mediums gave me a 360degree viewpoint of her inspiration and helped me to connect to her passion for the wallum environment.

Her exhibition is on until Sunday 13 July, open Tuesday to Sunday 10-2.  Arts and Ecology Centre, Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanic Gardens, Palm Creek Road, Tanawha. You can contact Catherine on 0402 117 074 if you have any queries regarding the exhibition.

Congratulations, Cathy.  Your hardwork and talent is inspirational, and your beautiful imagery allows the viewer to escape into another world.  

Highly recommended!



Catherine Money, 'Burnt Offerings' exhibition

a view of some of the works on paper,
 beautifully and simply hung

'Protect' - drypoint print, chine cole, gouache



'Protect' - 2 colour lino print

Old locks and keys, etched with imagery

'Forever' - pyrography, gouache, aluminium on wood

Nothing is ever wasted

Being a prolific monoprinter, I create lots of prints many of which don't quite 'hit the mark'.  And being a frugal artist, I never throw anything away.

The best monoprints get framed.  The not-so-best prints are trimmed for cards, bookmarks and book covers.  Those that I consider 'good backgrounds' get layered with other prints, such as my handmade stamps or etchings.  And the rest of the pile become pages in books to add a bit of colour and interest rather than just plain paper.

This afternoon, I sorted through my pile and found a few nice backgrounds created with my gelli plate. I printed over these using my handmade stamps.   These prints will become book covers, though some of them didn't quite work due to the stamp image not being strong enough on a busy background.  These less successful prints will become book pages or cards.

My mantra is "Don't throw it, stow it".   Of course, then you just need the space to store it, then some kind of system of organisation to find it again when you want it...... sigh...one day I'll perfect that.....

Inking up my dragonfly stamp

I use block ink and a rubber roller to print my stamps.
It has a good consistency for rolling evenly.

My favourite bee stamp makes quite an impression.

One of my new stamps, a honeyeater on banksia.
Stamp on the left, print on the right.
The background is a gelli plate print.

Another of my new stamps, a Scarlet Robin in flight.
I repeated the stamp to emphasise the action of flight.
The print on the right is of grass on a gelli plate.

Gelatine Monoprinting in Murrurundi

Last weekend I travelled down to Murrurundi in regional NSW to run a weekend workshop in Gelatine Monoprinting.

I experienced some wonderful country hospitality and friendship, with 7 willing participants joining me in some creative play with monoprinting on gelatine and gelli-arts plates.

The workshop was held in the railway station, a beautiful old building, though impossible to talk when the coal trains went by!

I was so busy with the workshop I forgot to take photos of it in progress, but have taken some photos of my demonstration prints instead.

The Railway building in which the workshop was run

 

An amusing entrance to Murrurundi,
though I saw more horses than sheep there!

Runnymeade Studio BnB where I stayed,
a quiet retreat

The view from my accomodation

Paula (one of the participants) has used some of her
prints to decorate her front door - its
just gorgeous!

Some of my demonstration prints (4 photos)

Eucalyptus Heaven

Last week I was in Canberra for a Ruth Hadlow workshop at the Strathnairn Arts Centre, 30 minutes from central Canberra, amongst rolling hills and gum trees.

The setting was beautiful, the majestic grey leaved gums hosting a variety of birdlife including many types of parrots, with kangaroos feeding on the meadow-like grasses.  Recent rain gave the feeling of lushness and growth, even though the autumn air was cool.

I love the landscape around Canberra, particularly the grey eucalypts.  So I made sure I stopped by the Australian National Botanic Gardens to see their collection of native plants.  My search revealed many different variety of grey gums, but I was most excited to find my first cinerea tree.  I've used a lot of Eucalyptus Cinerea in my eco-dyeing explorations, however I haven't found it growing near Brisbane so I always have to buy it from a florist.  It was lovely to finally see it in the landscape.

Now that I've seen lots of grey gums and cinerea, I feel like its time to do some more eco-dyeing.... the only problem is I'll have to give up one of the ten other things I'm working on at the moment!  SIGH



The Woolshed at Strathnairn where the workshop was held.
It had an old wood stove,
next to which was my favourite place to sit!
(yes I'm a Queenslander who feels the cold)

Strathnairn has lots of artists studios on site.
I loved this sign outside of Studio 2.

A dunny with a view.....

 

At the Botanic Gardens....
if only I could sneak a few branches
 into my suitcase....

It has such a beautiful structure and colour,
contrasts against the reddish trunk of the tree.

Eucalyptus cinerea -
I'm soooooo inspired to do some more eco-dyeing!

Margaret Olley Art Centre

On the weekend we made a quick trip down to the Tweed Regional Gallery at Murwillumbah, Northern NSW, to see the new Margaret Olley Art Centre.

This is a recreation of Margaret Olley's studio and some elements of her home.  Its a great experience, even if you're not a big fan of her work.

After Margaret Olley's passing in July 2011, an estimated 6,000-10,000 items were recorded, documented and removed from her house in Duxford Street in Sydney, and then installed into the Tweed Regional Gallery as a vision of how Margaret's house and studio looked.  But its not just how it looks, it also has a smell, a feeling, a light that makes you sense Margaret's presence.

Its a fascinating look into her world of art and collecting, how 'stuff' and belongings accumulated over a lifetime say something about a person.  A reflection on self. 

I just wish my 'stuff' in my studio would one day be appreciated like Margaret's is!

www.artgallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au

Margaret's Kitchen.  I loved how her art materials
spread into her kitchen, mingling with the spices
and oil bottles. 

Looking into her lounge, across her dining area, and
her painting chair. 
No purpose-built studio, her house was the studio.

My Craig looking through one of the 'windows'

They have doorways you can look through into her 'house',
so you feel like you are really in the space not an art gallery.

Where the gallery meets Margaret's house...

One of Margaret's painting palettes.  Oil paint in sculptural lumps,
one wonders how she painted so well!