Friday 26 February 2016

Year of Printmaking: March Daffodils





 

For March there can only be Daffodils, or the hope of them arriving & with them SPRING! which means so much after a long UK winter. So here's a linocut of them, I've printed it with my own mixed green ink & the yellow is handpainted.

 

Can't believe it's March already, have a look at my JanuaryFebruary prints, a quarter of my calendar is already done!



Tuesday 23 February 2016

Friday 19 February 2016

Year of Printmaking: Moby Dick

https://www.etsy.com/listing/268743473/moby-dick-waves-linocut-print-herman?ref=shop_home_active_1 

A few weeks ago I did a quick sketch of a whale & thought it would make a great print; so here's Moby riding the waves for this weeks Year of Printmaking & he's now swum over into my etsy shop (he's there as a card too!)


Tuesday 16 February 2016

No Feeling is Final


Rainer Maria Rilke's famous quote also working as 4 individual ones reminding me in tough times that everything changes, it's all in a state of flux, nothing stays the same, the world is constantly turning, everything ages and seasons come and go, everything flows, things transition and end up faraway from where they started and No Feeling is Final. . . .



Friday 12 February 2016

Year of Printmaking: Whale Book Print



A started this mini book print a while ago and have finally got the right blue ink for my whale! I wonder what whale it is? Moby Dick of course!

I think I'll have to develop this print into my business card and make a few more tiny prints to go into the book that represent classic books over the coming year as they're so cute and quick to do. The challenge comes in creating tiny simple images that represent complex stories. What book to do next?





Tuesday 9 February 2016

Manchester Art Trip

 

Last week I took a trip to Manchester to see some exhibitions; First off I walked down Oxford Road to get to the Whitworth Art Gallery to see Art_Textiles

 
"Our Freedom Can't Wait" & "I Did Not Join the Struggle to be Poor' by Lawrence Lemaoana

 
Faith Wilding's 'Crocheted Environment' or (Womb Room)
 
It was okay with a few stand out pieces but lots of more interesting contemporary artists who work with textiles were missing like Sheila Hicks & Tim Davies or Kai Chan & Rebecca Medel

 

 Next I popped into the Manchester Museum to see 'Gifts for the Gods: Animal Mummies Revealed' an exhibition of animal mummies: mainly crocodiles, ibis, hawks and cats. The main Egyptian part of the Manchester Museum is always good to see (even if it's always crowded) they used to have an unwrapped mummy in its own dark room and the energy of it along with its simple display always used to make my spine tingle (I think it's been changed now though). It's such a key to another world where these animals were revered enough to be preserved and taken care of in the after life & to think they have survived all this time, it's absolutely incredible.

I then went to the Manchester Art Gallery where I wanted to see the reopening of the craft gallery; seeing as it had been closed for over a year you would've thought that something major would've changed but no, it looks like the same cases and a lot of the same objects were just trans-placed into the Modern Japanese Design exhibition. But it was still a great display: I love these unusual architectural jewellery pieces by Mariko Sumioka.


I also loved the playfulness of the inverted handle jug & the comfy/sexy rose chair along with beautiful sculptural paper lights by Issey Miyake.

 "We find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates...Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty" - Junichiro Tanizaki
 
'Hunacturing' by Lore Langendries (photo from Manchester Evening News)
& Silhouette Cameos by Tore Svensson (photo from Tore Svensson)
 
There was also beautiful black jewellery in their 'Black on Black' jewellery exhibition. Black used to be saved to be worn while in mourning, while now these contemporary makers limited palette allows them to focus on blacks melancholic & sinister properties to make beautiful meaningful works focusing on touch & nature, Lore Langendries uses Springbuck hide & leather to make tactile hairy brooches. While Tore Svensson remakes Victorian cameo brooches into ghostly silhouettes full of character.

  
As it's nearly Chinese New Year there was lots of Chinese Lanterns hanging in the trees looking beautifully festive in the bare trees against the grey winter sky.

Next to see in Manchester is 'Freedom or Death? The Women's Suffrage Movement' at the John Rylands Library and 'Fashion & Freedom' at Manchester Art Gallery


Friday 5 February 2016

Year of Printmaking: Colour Monoprint Experiments


This week I did a quick series of colour monoprints to try out this quick method; painting onto a sheet of glass then laying your paper on top to get the print. After each print I added something (either another colour, water or new layer) while the first colours were gradually fading away. Like life really,  always in a constant state of flux with things arriving and leaving.

I started out with an interior of cabinets & furniture as inspiration and added plants & shapes. I like the immediacy of created a monoprint and the fast way you have to work before the ink dries and how the colours drastically change between prints making each one unique.





Monday 1 February 2016

January Drawing & Films

 
  

To get myself drawing more I'm joining in with 'Yay everyday 2016' a drawing project which details a different prompt for each day. While I can't do it everyday, I'm just focusing on ones I find interesting & have a quick idea for; these are what I did in January. I post them to my instagram & all are at #yayeveryday2016. Here's the prompts for February if you fancy joining in.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422720/?ref_=nv_sr_1 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2043933/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0842926/?ref_=nv_sr_1 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2379318/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
 {posters from imdb}

I've also pledged to do a campaign called '52 Women in Film' where you watch a film created by a woman every week for 2016. It's a fun little project started by Women in Film to bring more attention and therefore opportunity to women in film.

I found out about this late so watched two films in my first week: Marie Antoniette directed by Sofia Coppola & Night Moves by Kelly Reichardt, I then watched The Kids Are All Right by Lisa Chodolenko & Les Beaux Jours by Marion Vernoux. 

Next on my list to watch is Frida by Julie Taymor. What will you watch?