Treading Lightly

This week I ran an Eco-dyeing on Paper workshop with 10 enthusastic ladies (plus my always helpful Mum, Jan).

I had 3 pots of 'brew' going throughout the day, and thanks to my bike rides in the Woodford forest the previous Sunday, I had collected plenty of leaves.  All of the leaves were picked from the ground or were on branches that had fallen.  Lucky for me the August westerly winds had provided me with plenty of fresh leaf matter.

At the workshop, we spent the first part of the day creating samplers using the different dye pots, then everyone made a large concertina book (snake format) using the Raines Watercolour Paper.  Experiments were made using different leaves, onion skins, strawberries, grapes, and metal.  I had 2 stainless steel pots and an aluminium pot, with the addition of iron and, in some brews, alum.  This created some varied and interesting results.  I just hope everyone took my advice and documented their experiments as they proceeded, this is really important if you want to replicate your favourite effects or learn what doesn't work.

Once again I acknowledge India Flint, its been 2 years since I did her workshop and I'm still enjoying and exploring the concepts she shared then.  I highly recommend her book EcoColour.  Its full of information and inspiration, I hope everyone who reads it gets a sense of what eco-dyeing really is and the spirit behind it.  Remember, WINDFALL and MINDFULLNESS. 

If you're interested in joining me on an Eco-dyeing on Paper adventure, please submit your name to my mailing list via my website www.sandrapearce.com.au




Some of the results - a beautiful snake format concertina book,
eco-dyed with leaves, onion skins, metal and other goodies

Leaves and onion skins on paper,
beautiful marks created by nature

These ecodyed samplers looked beautiful in the sun

Opening the bundles after dyeing,
joy, intrigue, 'not what I expected'....
but expect the unexpected when dealing with nature!

The 3 pots of 'brew' simmering and stewing...

Bundles ready to go into the pots,
a work of art itself

 

'Look at what we did today'!

Magnetic Island Retreat

Last week my partner Craig and I escaped to Magnetic Island, off the Queensland north coast, for a few days of relaxation and exploration in the warmth of the tropics.

Magnetic Island has national park, secluded beaches and stunning coral reefs.  I loved the ruggedness of the large granite boulders and tall hoop pines.  In contrast, I really enjoyed our luxury accomodation on the harbour, watching the comings and goings of the islanders and tourists!  We are normally campers but this time decided on an indulgent 'romantic getaway' package.  I even allowed myself the luxury of a massage.....nice.

But of course I can't go on holiday without my art fix, so this time I took a gelli plate and my paints (a total of 4 kilos of art materials!) and spent an hour or so in the afternoons printing with leaves that I had picked up during the day.

I'm currently working on making some of the envelopes into a travel diary book, using the envelopes to store postcards, photos and other memories of our trip.

A first print using gum leaves and netting
 onto white envelopes

Some of my prints from my first printing day

I'm busy printing, luckily we dined out every day so
I could take over the dining table for my printing station!

now, what have we got this time?

I'm printing onto large tags (thanks Karin!)
as well as assorted papers like cartridge and kozo

Printing onto envelopes.
 I worked with quick drying acrylic paint
so I was able to print on both sides in one session.

Craig & I about to embark on a snorkelling session.
The coral was beautiful but the water was COLD!

Eco-dyeing Workshop

For those in South-East Queensland, I'm running an Eco-Dyeing on Paper Workshop on Wednesday 15 August 2012 (Ekka Public Holiday for Brisbane residents).

Workshop details –

Date: 15 August 2012
Time:  10am to 3pm

Cost: $70 all materials included
Location: Former St Mary Magdalene's (Anglican church), 80 Boundary Road, Bardon

This day is an opportunity for you to play with eco-dyeing on paper, using natural materials to create exciting colours and marks on paper.  It’s a technique which is non-toxic and heaps of fun.  You’ll make a sampler first to experiment, then create a long snake concertina book which can be embellished after dyeing with printing, drawing and/or stamping.

This workshop will give you the knowledge and inspiration to continue dyeing at home, creating your own ‘witches brew’!

If you’re interested in booking in, please email me to confirm.

Eco-Dyed Concertina Snake Book with monoprints

Close up

Revealing the magic....

Eco-dyeing, the gold is from Bracken Fern

Putting the paper bundles in the dye pot

Samford Arts and Crafts

Have you been to Samford recently?

Well, on your next visit make sure you drop in to the Samford Slab Hut, an arts and crafts co-operative with over 60 active members.

Its located in John Scott Park in the main street of Samford, on the north-eastern side of the park.

The building is a reproduction of a traditional slab hut, with local timbers and recycled corrugated iron as well as a few modern conveniences like air conditioning.  The hut sits amongst beautiful gardens in the park and is a very relaxing place to visit and enjoy the goodies inside.

There's a big variety of arts and crafts by the members, who each do a day of roster each month. 

I am a member and I have my monoprinting artworks for sale, including framed prints and books.  I enjoy my day of roster as it enables me to meet the public and talk about my work, and see what they are interested in.  I usually buy something for myself because I have all day to browse and get tempted!

The Samford Slab Hut



Just one view of the art for sale, great for gifts!

Some of my work on display

Monoprinting at Bardon

I've recently found a new location to run workshops in Brisbane.... a former church hall in Bardon.

The owner, Mervyn Langford has 'opened the doors' of the former St Mary Magdalene's (Anglican church) at 80 Boundary Rd, Bardon.  He is hoping to develop a community arts hub, bringing together the local community to share artistic and creative endeavours.

The hall is basic but large and very airy.  I'm sure that together with other artists, musicians and performers we can make it a great vibrant space.

So far I've run 3 workshops there.   Last week I ran 2 monoprinting workshops.  Below are some of the photos.

One of the reasons I enjoy running workshops is being able to share my love of art with adults who may have missed out on creative play during their lives.  I remember during my childhood there was no art classes for children - just piano or ballet (both of which I was particularly bad at!).  My goal now is to ignite a love of play in adults - colour, textures, getting dirty! - and to recognise that there is no right or wrong in art.  Of course, some art is more pleasing to the eye than others but there is always some aspect of a print that I think can be used for some purpose, like a special card for a friend.  Not every print has to be a work of art to be framed.

I also learnt a valuable lesson this week about press maintenance.   During the first workshop, Thumper the press stopped rolling smoothly and the handle was difficult to turn.  After some diagnosing and consulting with Kay (another printmaker) we established that the problem was the top roller.  It turns out that the original grease in the bearings had worn away and dried up, so had lost its lubrication necessary for the roller to move.   My partner Craig performed surgery on Thumper, cleaned up the old grease and reapplied new oil.  Thumper is now working perfectly and I need to remember to oil Thumper every time I use him.   Its so easy to forget that Thumper needs regular TLC to keep the rollers turning...... sorry Thumper!

Completed monoprints laid out on a pew

Working with Thumper the press

Prints in progress

Thumper in pieces, the top roller removed,
whilst he was being 'maintained'!

Creative Books workshop @ Treeline

Eco-dyed papers - gold, orange and black colours

These photos are from my latest workshop that I ran on Wednesday in conjunction with the Treeline 2012 event run by Sunshine Coast Regional Council.

The workshop was held at the lovely Maroochydore Botanic Gardens, I highly recommend a visit to see the sculpture gardens set amongst the native bushland.

We had a great day of eco-dyeing and coptic stitching.  I tried out a new brew based on bracken fern with a pinch of alum, which produced beautiful bright gold colours.  Combined with the onion skins, eucalypt leaves and metal fragments, the results were just stunning.

The bundles ready to go into the pot

Unwrapping the bundles to reveal the eco-dyed books

Spread the word

Just a quick blog today .....!

I've had to run a few extra workshops in the coming months due to increased interest from my exhibition in May.

I've also been asked to run another Creative Artist Books workshops for the Treeline 2012 event, its on Friday 6th July.

Check out my latest workshop schedule on my website www.sandrapearce.com.au.

Know of anyone who needs a creative holiday for a day ???

Fold and Stitch

What a busy month I've had!  My solo exhibition was no sooner over than I launched myself into a week of intensive bookbinding with visiting American artists Keith Smith and Scott McCarney at the State Library Queensland.

Keith and Scott covered many different book structures, most of which I was already familiar with, but I still picked up plenty of new ideas and concepts. 

We were also spoilt with artist book viewing from the SLQ collection every afternoon, thanks to Librarian Helen Cole.  We were able to closely examine and touch (white gloves on, of course) an extensive selection of artists books.  Its a pleasure to see such a variety of structures, themes and techniques.  It was a great way to finish off a day of bookbinding.  The other great thrill was to see my 2 artists books, Lost and Found, on display, now part of the collection.

This workshop has given me the impetus to focus more on printmaking for artists books, as I've always thought that many of my monoprints would suit the book format better than being framed on the wall.  To me, artist books are more intimate and allow the viewer a closer connection with the image as well as allowing me to add text.  The book format will allow me to introduce some simple 'haiku' poetry that I had been experimenting with.

Watch this space!

I enjoyed the daily walk from the city over the Kurilpa Bridge
 to the SLQ precinct

Scott McCarney and Keith Smith, our tutors

Me, enjoying a week of playing with paper!

One of Keith's drawings....simple really.....!

The Ficus Screen - its story

The Ficus Screen in-situ at my exhibition

Today I unearthed some photographs I had taken during the process of creating my large 3-panel paper screen.  The screen was on display at my 'Conservation of the Species' exhibition last week.

The photos show the process of creating and printing the paper.... from mulberry fibre to inking the ficus leaves. 

The process started with creating several 2.4metre long sheets of paper from mulberry fibre (imported from Italy).  This was done on a vacuum table at Dion Channer's studio in April (see previous blogs).   After the paper was dried and ironed, I took it to the Impress Printmakers Studio and inked some large ficus leaves.  The leaves were printed onto the paper using the biggest etching press at Impress.  The paper was too long for the press bed, so I had to print one end of the paper, then turn it around and do the other end.  No room for error!

The wooden frame for the 1.8metre high screen was made by my partner Craig, and prior to attaching the paper, I applied a lime stain to tie the wood in with the paleness of the mulberry fibre.

I hope the screen gives lots of pleasure to its new owner.... as much pleasure as I had creating it, from paper pulp to printing to attaching it to the frame.

Creating the paper at Dion's studio

Inking up a ficus leaf at the Impress Studio

One of the ficus leaves - HUGE!

Rolling the paper and leaves through the press

Printing in progress

Conservation of the Species

I've just had the BEST 5 days of my life!  My solo exhibition, 'Conservation of the Species' finished today, with over 400 visitors and some great sales.  And most importantly, wonderful feedback from everyone, including the many walk-in visitors to the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens where the exhibition was held.

I'd like to thank all of my friends and family who dropped in to see my artworks.  I am particularly grateful for my wonderful Mum, Jan, who worked tirelessly as my sales agent, and a big thanks also goes to my partner Craig who spent most of the weekend at the gallery serving up drinks and food, and running the EFTPOS machine out to the carpark to get mobile network reception!

Inconjunction with the exhibition, I ran 2 workshops at the gallery.  A great time was had by all, and it generated lots of interest in future workshops which will keep me very busy.  Its wonderful that so many people were inspired by my colourful prints and are now keen to explore their creativity.

So now I need a few days to recuperate, unpack the car and put EVERYTHING back into my studio in a place where I can find it..... that will be the tricky bit!

My 3-panel screen, made from mulberry fibre and
printed with large ficus leaves

Kudusama flowers on display

 

The 'sales table' filled with goodies - an opportunity for everyone
to take home something small -
VERY popular!

My handmade paper artwork 'Flow', flanked by
my monoprints

Gelli-plate Monoprint books

Some of the display

Mum and I at the gallery

Some of the girls at the Art Journal workshop,
examining their completed journals

Handmade paper and rusted paper,
part of the Art Journal workshop

Beautiful, expressive sewing on the student's art journals

Sun printing in progress - part of the Art Journal workshop.
Thankfully the sun stayed out for us!

Monoprinting workshop, with keen participants!