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.

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

Workshop Preparation

I am teaching a workshop for Papermakers of Victoria this coming weekend on making Japanese style paper from kozo and making sculptural pieces using an armature so I've been busy last week and this preparing fibre, making armatures, sewing muslin on and trying out my sugeta that has sat in it's box for a few years. Here are a few images of works in progress. There is still some space in the workshop so if you are interested check out the Papermakers website. My stars last week had something about boiling and about cornucopia. I boiled up the kozo bark then have made a couple of cornucopia like pieces so hopefully the luck will come pouring in!

Some armatures with and without muslin ready for dipping in kozo.

Cornucopia made from Muehlenbeckia complex with roughly beaten kozo.

Some samples made a few years ago

My sugeta

 I have a busy few days ahead, straight after my workshop I will be in the city at Fed Square with Angela on Monday running a small workshop making bookmarks that will incorporate gelatine prints. If you are in the city come and say hi, we will be there from 12-2pm.

Workshop results and As If Women's Art Register members show

Since I got back from teaching in Ballarat I have made a bit of paper and done some batik dyeing. Women's Art Register is turning 40 this year and we have funding to put on a women's art festival in Melbourne this October. The theme for the Festival is As If : 40 Years and Beyond and it promises to be a great boost to the Register and to the women artists represented.

I am one of the curators and have made a couple of pieces for the show. Years ago, probably 1975, I made some batik Tshirts, several had the women's Liberation symbol and some had 'Shame, Frazer, Shame'. My sister still has one of the shame ones and is going to lend it to me but I was inspired to make another WL one for the members show but instead of using commercial dyes I went with indigo and rust. I also did some batik on a sheet of recycled paper and dyed that with indigo too.

I came back from the workshop with quite a lot of pulp even though I sent the participants home with some. I made some landscape concertinas and had a bit of a play with red and black pulp.

Here is a picture of my class on the final day with all the work produced on display, you can see that I had a very talented group.

Late in June the exhibition 'Pulp and Fiction' opened in Negev, Israel. Here are a couple of pictures of my work hanging in what looks like a fabulous space.