Pear Prints

I just noted that it is almost a year since I posted so thought it was time for another. It isn't that I haven't done anything in a year but there have been a few changes around here, the biggest is that my partner has retired. Last year I taught a few workshops and spent quite a bit of time making preparations and samples for these. So far this year I have three workshops scheduled the first was last weekend and it was making paper from denim and making books based on the accordion or concertina structure. In preparation I made quite a lot of denim pulp and a blank accordion that I thought I should add some prints to. I pulled out some old lino and MDF cuts and printed them onto some 300 gsm hahnemuhle that I had left over from another project.

I had a whole set of pear prints but at the same time we had lots of pears on our tree and the lorikeets were really getting stuck into them so we picked them all even though they were very green. I figured I'd try cutting one in half and printing from it and I had a lovely time and was pretty pleased with the results.

Then I made some collages and made some cards with pear prints.

My first accordion I filled with collages and pear prints.

The next two are blank inside and have pear prints and collage on the covers.

Cards and workshop

There are still a few spaces left in the Beginners Papermaking workshop that I am running for Papermakers of Victoria next week.
You can still enrol at the papermakers website.
As part of the class I'll be teaching basic recycling and will cover fibre selection, pulp making, sizing, sheet forming, pressing and drying. In addition we will emboss paper, make paper with various inclusions and do a small bit of pulp painting. Participants will come away with around 30 sheets of beautiful paper.

I have been having a lovely time lately making gelatine prints and making cards from them, I've been really happy with some of the effects I've been getting.
I have added some to my Etsy shop and there will also me some for sale at the Alcove Art Shop and Open Drawer.

Website updated

After quite a hiatus and a lot of mucking around with iprimus and dreamweaver I have finally updated my website.
Also we had the opening of the Papermakers exhibition Paper is that is on at Mont de Lancey in Wandin yesterday, it rained most of the day so not a great day for an opening however we had quite a good turn out. Last Monday I decided that my leaves would look better green so I got out the paper dyes and turned them green, I think they look much better.

Paper is: Leaves

Paper is: Leaves

I have been having a great time with some abaca that I beat in the valley beater for 7 hours. It took two trips to Bundoora but it is such a wonderful fibre. This particular piece uses wire embedded between two sheets of fibre. The longer you beat the pulp the more the paper shrinks. The area braced by the wire becomes taut while the rest shrivels.

Paper is: Circulation

I have nearly finished my most ambitious piece for the exhibition next month at Mont de Lancey in Wandin. I've called it Paper is: Circulation playing on the title of the exhibition and on newspapers and the spots and other circular imagery in my spherical books.

When I took these photos I had made six books with cases but decided it looked better with an extra three so I have now made nine books and have nearly finished the cases and I've used each of the colours of the hemp paper that came from Bangladesh and has been living in my studio for around a year.

Herring Island Summer Arts Festival

 Each year a small group of volunteers puts on an arts festival on Herring Island, a lovely bushy island in the middle of the Yarra River. The first two for the year were Association of Sculptors and Basketmakers of Victoria and next up is the Contemporary Art Society of Victoria followed by A4 Art. I usually enter both Contemporary by Nature and A4 Art however this year I've just entered the first show and for the first time instead of framed wall hanging pieces I have entered these two artist books. The first I did some time ago after a workshop with Glen Skien and the second more recently.

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Spore mixed media, collage, print and handmade mushroom paper

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Circularity handmade paper pulp painting and gelatine print

Second box

My second box also incorporates the well beaten abaca plus the hemp that used to be my Christmas tree. 

I made a drum from a cardboard cylinder with abaca and hemp. I made the string from a mix of the two fibres and the bits on the end from hemp pulp. The abaca worked beautifully as the drum surface.  It makes a lovely sound, I made a video but unfortunately had the sound turned off.

I cut all the musical symbols out of abaca.

One Black Box down

As part of our Paper is exhibition we have a black box challenge where we make a work to fit inside the box. My first piece is done.
After two trips over to Bundoora and 7 hours in the valley beater I have some abaca that I am loving. It stretches beautifully over armatures and is almost like velum in appearance and feel.

This piece is Paper is Light and although you can't see in the picture a small battery operated tea light sits inside.

The green in the background and on the wires of the armature is hemp that was my Christmas tree this year.

Back on Board

First post for the year and it is almost 7 months since the last. I had a fabulous trip away last September and October travelling to South America, mainly for the IAPMA congress in Brasilia but also to visit Iguassu falls and Machu Picchu among others then it was off to the US to attend a wedding in Boise Idaho. While in the US we visited Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, The Grand Canyon (only for about an hour, not nearly long enough), three other parks and Las Vegas (about 4 days - too long!)

At the moment I am preparing some works for our Papermakers of Victoria exhibition that is very nearly upon us. As I complete works I'll try to post some images.

Fibre Arts Australia Winter School Collage Workshop

It seems like forever ago but at the start of this month I was fortunate to spend a week working with a group of talented artists from around the world. Our teacher was Cordula Kagemann from Germany and the class was collage diptychs, triptychs and installations (including polyptychs !) 

It was wonderful to have five full days devoted to making art and playing, thank you Cordula and Glenys and team from Fibre Arts Australia.

My works found a home in a corner of our living room

I also needed to find room for the print I got from This Wild Song
a project of Ilona Nelson interviewing and photographing Australian women artists.
My portrait is of Polixeni Papapetrou

My pieces in progress

Cordula with our thank you gift

The class on the final night

Each of the eight classes displayed their work on the final night, it was a great display and these are what our class produced.

Top Anne bottom Jeann

Anne's work

Christine's work

my work

Jeann's work

Kaye's work

Lyn's work

Nancy's work

Pamela's work

April and workshop prep

My gelatine printing workshop that is happening in May is already full so we are scheduling another one for August. Check the Papermakers of Victoria website for details. I am also teaching a beginners paper making workshop on the 24th April.

As a result of our T'Arts meeting last month thanks to Lin, I have been trying out some new ideas and have had a lovely play today with some new tools and ideas for gelatine printing.

letter stencil

Cake decorating stencil

Print on greaseproof paper, text written in reverse with shaper tool, spiral cut from laminated paper, pastry brush and picture cut from magazine.

After my last workshop I had a couple of armatures that I had made but instead of covering with gauze and dipping in kozo I decided to use some paper that I made from the hemp and cotton that came from Bangladesh. I love this fibre it recycles so well and the resultant paper is extremely strong.

Bowl1

Bowl with balls (work in progress)

Close up of the balls, each will open to reveal a book.

Book pages to be, pulp painted, the colour is from the coloured sheets

The hemp and cotton paper from Bangladesh thanks to Liz

Other side of the first of the book pages gelatine printed