honeysuckle....Vessels

Work ongoing on the honeysuckle frame; printed paper; stitched together and onto the frame. It's tough on the fingers. I use a thimble. I need to bind the frame together with less 'twist' in the honeysuckle. It has a tendency to pull in different directions, which makes the stitching even harder. More thought needs to go into the initial frame. A steep learning curve!

collography print experiments...

I used water-colour paint on this print. Brushed it on; the varnish repelled the water, and left some interesting pointillist marks.

 This was acrylic paint.

This was using textile paint; much thicker, denser colour. Each print has different qualities. I used the same paper for each print. I'm looking now, at printing on top of them, using different colour/s. Maybe the same plate?

Maybe a different one?  

And this is the 'plate' I printed from. On a piece of A4 card, I mixed a printing medium with P.V.A and tried to build up layers and marks, to see how it might be manipulated. To finish up, I varnished over it, and once it was dry, did some prints. My next printing plate is a metal can, with a mix of tile grout, and P.V.A. dripped onto it. I think I'll use the same approach (different paint mediums, on the same paper) to see how that comes out. It's great when mates who are printmakers, give me tips on how to work with materials. Lovely!

No fabric printed yet with this plate; though once the process is underway, ideas flow, as to how I might develop it. 



20:20 Print Exchange

Last week was the final date to hand in the prints for the 20:20 Print Exchange. Despite all the upheaval I've experienced with mum's death, then Ann dying, both happening suddenly and unexpectedly, I managed to complete this.
The prints were collographs; done in my home studio; I got them to the Arthouse. Before the final hand-in date. I surprised myself. I did wonder at more than one point, if I was going to make it. But I did.

The prints are on paper. And they have each got a small stitch, and a length of thread, within the print.

collography and stirch #2

Above is one of the collography prints on paper; in Textiles yesterday I used the sewing machine, and stitched into it. I used a 'foot' that creates loops of stitches. Gives a gorgeous textured surface to the paper!
Below is the plate I printed from; nylon rope pieces, and some lace/net.

The Pinafore of Self-Esteem

The pinny of self-esteem is created out of flip chart paper used in  a self esteem course.
From the angle of this photo it has a look of a boat, complete with sail. I like that association; especially after the origami boats I created for the March ArtWalk.

Fire & Fleet & Candleleet

 Before the dark fell, the boats could be seen in daylight, floating in the bowl. As the sun dropped, the tea-lights began to glow more evocatively, and crowded together, surface tension making them hug the edge of the bowl.

The weekend after the ArtWalk, we took the remaining boats up to the lagoon near where I live, and lit the tea-lights again, setting them sail with our wishes, and casting off those things which are no longer relevant to our lives.

We said our goodbyes to the tiny boats, and the wishes they carried.

Dyed Paper

This is some paper I dyed by steeping it in rainwater with onion skins. The paper is hand made Indian paper, from a lovely sketchbook/notebook I was bought a few xmases ago.
The black edgings are from the small metallic bulldog clips I used to hold the folded paper together in the dye-pot.
My very first go with dye-ing using plants!