"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries." A.A.Milne
Gearing up (in more ways than one) for 5 days of wax next week at Warringah Printmakers Studio with Angela Noble. There will be two two day workshops, Encaustic Basics and Printmaking and Encaustic, and a ‘free’ day for participants to use our equipment and the studio space to develop their work. Should be hectic, exhausting and loads of fun!
Gotta love those colours!
My work for the Sydney Printmakers Exhibition at the Ewart Gallery, Workshop Arts Centre, Willoughby. ‘Falling Softly’, rust on paper, 62cm W X 96cm H.
Please come along to the Opening and drinks with the artists on Friday 12th April from 6 to 8pm, at the Ewart Gallery, 33 Laurel Street, Willoughby.
I haven’t had time to photograph the work properly, but here’s a small taste. One work leads on to another, and it is quite addictive.
Paula’s demonstration piece.
Long scrolls from Achsah O’Donovan, myself and Angela Noble, reading from left to right.
Gayle Childress’s work.
Some more of Gayle’s work.
This is just a fraction of the beautiful work which was created yesterday. I was so busy making that I didn’t get the chance to record much of the work. I will try and rectify that tomorrow.
Yesterday was the first day of Paula’s workshop. We began by making long scroll forms using brush and ink. Firstly we followed our breath, and then we used our gloved hands to work on the surface. iIt was a very direct and intimate way of making marks on the surface of the paper.
Here is my breath piece:
And here are some of our scrolls hanging together:
My scroll made by directly drawing on the paper with my hands is on the extreme right, next to the breath scroll.
Later we may add colour to this work, or cut it up for a book. We also made smaller pieces, exploring the variety of marks we could make.
This is a desert environment. Here are some photos of desert plants:
We’re here in Santa Fe on the last leg of our journey, to take the mark making workshop with Paula Roland. The differences between the three places we have visited are quite striking – they could be three different countries, not just three different states.
Santa Fe is high desert country, and it is also having a drought at the moment. The landscape is
arid, bare, dotted with juniper. Such grass as is there is bleached like straw. At night you can hear the coyotes howl.
The rolling hills give way to mountains capped with drifts of snow.
This landscape has captivated artists for generations. The shifting patterns of light on the mountains, the extraordinary skies, and the sense of intimacy and space could be the stuff of endless interpretation. I wish I had brought my long lens!
And the culture and architecture are completely different, too, and fit so well into the landscape you couldn’t imagine them elsewhere.
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Here are some results from my last day with Elise and Jane at Atelier Meridian. The printing is not too good, I’m afraid. I have a lot of trouble making the Akua colours behave, but it must be me – Angela had some brilliant results.
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And here's a photo of Jane with the huge roller that Barbara found for her.
We spent today at Atelier Meridian, printing the plates we made yesterday at Elise Wagners studio. tomorrow will also be spent printing.
Those bad women Elise and Jane had bought us some voodoo donuts for breakfast. Words fail me!
Let this photograph speak instead:
Enough said!
The Atelier is a large space, with three beautiful etching presses, including a big Takach, and a letterpress. There is also a Lino press. Full membership of the atelier is $125 a month, and gives you unlimited access 24/7!
I will show you more of my results tomorrow, but here is a print from one of my plates.
We finished the afternoon with a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers. Very civilised!
Barbara Mason, Elise Wagner and Jane Pagliarulo.
We have arrived in Portland, Oregon, to take a three day Encaustic Collagraph workshop with Elise Wagner. We are staying with Barbara Mason. Barbara is a printmaker of many years standing. I met her more than a decade ago, when I taught a workshop for her here in Portland.
Elise works together with Jane Pagliarulo, who, together with Barbara, founded a Print Studio called Atelier Meridian.
Here are some shots of Elise’s Studio. Brittany, Jane’s intern, is in the second shot. All the work on the walls is by Elise Wagner.
And here are some of the plates I made. Tomorrow we spend the day printing at the Atelier, and I will see what I can do with my plates. The scraper above the plates is used to carve the wax down.
We will be using Akua Inks.
Here’s some shots from San Francisco. We went to the Ferry Building, which is a foodie’s paradise.
Yesterday, Angela and I went to the De Young museum with Eileen Goldenberg and Helen Dannelly as their guests. After a beautiful lunch, we did a quick whizz around some of the museum’s collection. Here are some highlights:
BOX OF BIRDS 