Sister project - update

Still awaiting lino delivery. It was ordered last week and a parcel arrived the very next day, the only problem - not my order. I had received someone else's parcel, urrrrgh!

I had a chat with a very nice guy, James, who assured me he would deal with it 'straight away' . . . . ho-hum. Anyhow, it should now arrive on Thursday.

The upside is I have plenty of time to plan - not something I do as often as I should. This means I've spent time today planning my block. 

An old photo of me in a kimono (from the 70's) inspired the patterns for the 'dress'. Perhaps that explains the look of the print, it's not art nouveau, it's a 70's vibe!!

I've re-drawn yesterdays work, making the women less twins like, and it feels as if I'm getting somewhere. I'm working with black and white in mind, so I'm just blocking out areas at the moment, the detail will go in at the cutting and proofing stages.

The start of this piece was a quick thumbnail sketch. And I imagine (as usual) there will be many changes, even after I start cutting the block.

Sister project

I've mentioned already that my project about sister/sister relationships furnished me with many and varied responses. 

Some more positive than others. . . . 

But mostly, none of us really has much to say when life is sweetly straightforward, it is only when there are strong emotions that we need to speak out. So just now I'm working up some ideas relating to the darker side of family connections.

I like the graphic qualities of Fowl Play, a book I made a while back. And I think that this format lends itself well to text.

I've a way to go yet before I start cutting lino, not least because I'm waiting for some that's wide enough to arrive in the post!! 

I plan to work on a lino size of 50 x 35cm. Here's a quick peep of my initial drawings, started today. I do expect this to change as work progresses . . . . perhaps a little less art nouveau?

By the way the text is a track from Scaffold - Buttons of Your Mind

Entwinement . . . .

Test block for text and entwined shapes is finished. I can see I'll need to be careful with the shapes I choose, this is very much a love heart but I didn't really see that until it was printed!

It's such a dull overcast afternoon here that I'm having difficulty in getting motivated but I do think I should try out at least a couple more colours, black? blue? green? turquiose? 

Sisters (no matter what)

I'm working on a project about sibling relationships. And as the sister of a sister I've chosen to focus on what it means to be the 'sister of a sister' - not sure what my brothers will think about this, probably being High and Mighty again, as in days of yore!? 

Once a big sister etc. etc. . . .

It's estimated that 80% of human beings have at least one sibling. And our sibling relationships are very often the longest lasting relationships that we experience, therefore the potential for influence is huge. 

Involving a high degree of familiarity sibling relationships can be emotionally uninhibited, and often, very intense, which can bring both problems and advantages. For many of us sibling relationships have a profound effect on our lives, whether we love our brothers and sisters or find them almost impossible to get along with.

'Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply'  Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, (1974/1814, p223).

Deciding that if I used only my own point of view the resulting work would be somewhat skewed (and possibly too judgemental), I emailed friends and family for their opinions and what taken aback by the weight of replies.

I have opened a whole can of worms!

So I did what I always do when I'm feeling baffled, put my head in a book - I've collected a few over the years. For reference and work of course.

I needed some entwined forms (can of worms) so unearthed this little beauty. And I rather wanted to look at 'love knots' because it seems that whatever the relationship between siblings, even dislike and misunderstanding, the connection is infrangible and tangled.

Working out a few ideas, they will grow and change as work progresses.

Wanting to see how long cutting a piece of text takes and how it prints. Wondering, would I be able to keep the letters uniform? 

I take a small piece of lino for a test block.

Drinking coffee (again!) and cutting text.

First proof. This will form part of a larger piece but I think it's starting to work, yippee!

Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail

Friday was the most gorgeous day, frosty and bright, too good to waste so we made an impromptu decision to revisit the Forest of Dean sculpture trail.

We'd last been there in early June 2008 and I hoped to see some new work as well as old favourites. Very much a managed space, on arrival we could hear the sound of heavy machinery indicating men working. The kind of noise that if I didn't know better I'd imagine it was the Iron Man from Ted Hughes' novel. 

The Heart of Stone

Tim Lees 1988

The fish-like shape touches on the geographic location of the forest, which is sited between the rivers Wye and Severn.

Heart of Stone with Mr B to give a sense of scale (2008)

Black Dome

David Nash 1986

Originally a dome made by packing together nearly 1000 pieces of charred larch, this work is slowly returning to the forest floor, crushed by the many feet that have climbed over it.

As you can see it was quite a different prospect on our last visit, in fact that time we very carefully walked around it. This time however it has almost completely melted into the earth, the larch vanished and looking much like a mini slag heap, soon there will be nothing to show that Black Dome was ever here.

Fire and Water Boats

David Nash 1986

Resembling canoes, these charred boat shapes hewn by hand from single pieces of wood, look abandoned and forlorn.

Iron Road

Keir Smith 1986

Twenty carved jarrah wood railway sleepers sit atop the embankment that in previous years carried the trains taking coal and iron from the forest.

Each sleeper illustrating some aspect of the forests past, from smelting to hunting to writing.

Ridiculously I forgot to bring my camera so I'm trying to take photos with my phone. This isn't usual for me and I spent as much time grumbling about the shortcomings of the phone's camera as I did in taking photographs. Stupid really, as phone photos are more than good enough for snapshots.

Iron Road appears remarkably unchanged with the passing of time.

The woods held in the cold air, and the deeper we went the quieter it became. Apart from bird song of course. 

House

Miles Davies 1988

A house for tiny, tiny people, a house as tall as the trees!

You can see that House is set among trees and I think I prefer this sculpture in the winter months when it settles into and becomes a part of the surrounding woodland.

Observatory

Bruce Allan 1988

This is one of my favourites, although I'm not sure I see it as an art work. Of all the sculptures this is the most 'man-made' (I know House is rusted, constructed metal, but somehow it blends with its surroundings) this is so very geometric and structured in shape, dominating the woodland that it sits in, looking like a piece of architectural salvage that may have just dropped right out of the sky.

A stairway leading to a dead-end. A stairway to the trees, from where you can contemplate the forest floor and the pond below allowing views otherwise hidden from us. 

I like the sense incompleteness. In our normal lives stairways always take us somewhere, this doesn't, it just is - it could be a part of a dream.

Raw

Neville Gabie 2001

Timber planted in the 1800's for warships was felled to reveal a glade in the woodland.

Taking a single oak and cutting it into cubes, using as much as possible from the tree, a solid large cube is constructed. Now occupying the place once occupied by the tree.

Echo

Annie Cattrell 2008

Cast from the face of the quarry in which it sits Echo attempts to provide a snapshot in time.

Cathedral

Kevin Atherton 1986

Tall trees in forest and woodland are often referred to as 'cathedral like' conjuring up a sense of wonder from outside of ourselves. This huge stained glass window alludes to that idea.

Although due to close at 4pm the friendly staff in the cafe provided us with tea and humungous pieces of cake at 5 minutes to 4, allowing us eat and drink in the relaxing warmth of a sunny window and not shooing us outside into the cold.

The sculpture trail is open year round, with a pay and display car park, loos, cafe and visitor information.