Upcoming Exhibition

 All things going well ( if these lockdowns ever end) I shall be having a small exhibition in the Sparc Gallery at ArcYinnar starting on the 9th of October until the 31st of October ( It was supposed to start this Saturday). I must admit to being less than enthused creating work until recently because I was not even sure the exhibition would happen and what is the point of creating new work when all it does is sit in the house until maybe, someone offers to buy something. I did have some booklets made entitled Morning Walks in the Pandemic- its a bit of a vanity project really- very limited print run which makes it on the expensive side. I walked most mornings during the reign of the Pandemic these last 18 months and I feel fortunate to have had access to such a wonderful little bushland reserve. I took lots of photos and also wrote down random thoughts when I got home from my walk which I have fashioned into a poem of sorts. I have also created new work in response to my walks, inspired by pickings and my photos. When my exhibition goes live I will also post on my blog with the sale prices of each piece. You will make an artist very very happy if you see something that catches your eye enough to want to make it yours. I will also sell some of the monoprinted and screen printed fabrics I have created especially for this exhibition. Again I shall post those on the 9th of October.

So I want to share some of the work I have been making. It is possible to purchase the booklet- which is 32 pages including covers and is A5 size and has been printed in full colour on quality satin finish paper. The booklet was designed by @s.galtrydesign. Here are some pages from the booklet. The price is $25 inclusive of postage to anywhere in the world. I have only had a limited number printed.

In a way the extra week before the opening of the exhibition has created the opportunity to  create more work, though the space is not large. I will give you a bit of a taster of some of the things that will be on display. But I will share the whole exhibition on the 9th of October.

The above is an A4 sized piece which has been monoprinted and machine stitched.

Forest pieces ( 85 cm x 83 cm) hand dyed forest fabric hand printed with bracken and gum leaves, machine stitched.

Screen printed onto khadi paper- nardoo from a photograph I took in the Bushland Reserve.

Mono printed on hand dyed khadi which had previously been printed with a linocut ( I didn't like the resulting linocut print too much- not enough graphic dynamic but the fabric was too nice not to do something with)

Monprinted A4 size- the one above has been entirely stitched by hand. Below is a monoprint before stitching. These have been printed onto hand dyed fabric.

There will be more works like this on display plus a few other inventions like pockets and a gum leaf free fall hanging. There will also be some hand made and printed concertina booklets and of course pods, pods, pods. It is possible to enroll for the Pods, Pods, Pods on-line class. You will find details for the class and payment button  in the link I have provided. I have decided that I will send out the notes and video when payment is made and then I will arrange a zoom session later in October ( that schedule depends a little on what happens with lockdowns). And yes pods are multiplying and accumulating.

I will also be commencing another Traveller's Blanket Class on 25 October- this will be the last class for this year as the course takes around 8 weeks though I keep the Facebook group open for longer as stitching a Traveller's Blanket takes time. If you look at my previous post which I have linked then you will find a bit of a description of this class as well as a Payment button.

Pods, Pods, Pods, and Mono Printing

 And so the lockdown continues- case numbers keep rising and it seems people are so doing the wrong thing. I am sick and tired of people who think they are above and beyond- get real people this is a panademic, not your unfriendly neighbourhood flu.

I have been trying to achieve some work but because of lockdown I am unable to get a hold of the fabric I normally use to dye, so I have had to be sparing with what I have. I doubt whether I will be able to get fabric in the near future as I get it in Melbourne and Melbourne is locked down for awhile yet.

I am supposed to be having a small exhibition at the small gallery at ArcYinnar starting in October but who knows, however work still has to be made in anticipation of it happening even if it doesn't. I thought I would make work inspired by walks in the Crinigan Bushland Reserve where I walk almost daily. 

I purchased a cold press laminator last year and it sat and stared at me in its box for quite some time. But I finally set it up a few months ago and have been having quite a bit of fun with it. It has been great for printing lino onto fabric. It is not any faster but the evenness of the pressure means to overall print is better. Then awhile ago Jennifer Nieuwenhof showed a video of her monoprinting technique on paper and I thought I might give that a try on fabric! I can only get two prints on fabric as the fabric absorbs the printing ink, and I am using textile printing inks- but am rather chuffed with the results. I have used things found on my morning walks in the bushland reserve so these will be great to use for my exhibition. I love that I have been able to use foliage from my morning walks. 

This is the cold press laminator and some of the prints I have  made. I am not sure what brand it is as the box does not say nor does the piece itself. But it has two orange rollers. The pressure is adjustable and it has a small hand crank. I am using a piece of wood ply as my bed and it is 65 cm wide. It was around $140 delivered- and with the fun I have been having with it I  think that is really good value!

The image above is the first print- so that the foliage creates the negative space.

This is the second print showing the shadowing of the first print and with the foliage inked again. I just love how the kangaroo grass comes out int he printing process.

The piece above has been hand stitched ( this is A4 size). The image below has been machine stitched.

And my Pods, Pods, Pods class is running again on 19 September. there is still plenty of time to join into the pod making fun ( i have become a bit obsessed and tend to stitch them whilst binge watching stuff on my laptop at night). Once you get the hand of them, they come together quite quickly and there are three variations on offer which include a pod, a pomegranate and an urchin.There is a button below the last photo for the class which costs $25 and consists of pdf notes, video and we will have a zoom session a week after instructions have been delivered so we can share and ask questions.

The photo below shows a detail of the dots and colonial knots of the sea urchin.