Love and kisses for a wedding

I spent ages looking for the 'right' card for a wedding we're going to this weekend, and then (eventually) it dawned on me - I'm a printmaker, so print one!

So, I got busy with my wooden type collection.

It's a small collection, with predominantly individual letters (I can see I'll have to haunt ebay for a bit to find the sizes I need) so simple seemed best.

No 'K' in the large type and only one 'S'. But in fact that turned out to be a good thing.

I couldn't resist making some rubber stamps, so immediate and so satisfying to do.

And, there you have it, one wedding card

Please, keep all your fingers and toes crossed for a fine sunny day on Saturday!

Free fall - or non print books

I've had time to relax post MA, and I've even tidied The Shed - so. . . . .

what's next?

As you can see here my MA work was pretty 'tight' n 'tidy' (I enjoyed making it, but I'm not sure that's really 'me'). I've thought about it very carefully in the last couple of weeks and I've come to realise I made the kind of work I presumed would fit the remit of the course, which amazed me, after all my years of experience I still tried to please the tutors rather than go my own way - and I thought I was of independent mind!

However, that doesn't mean I'm not pleased with what I did, or that I didn't learn a lot - so, it's all to the good.

To kick start me into my next two book projects, one for Al Mutanabbi street and the 2nd to be about being and having a Sister. I practiced working intuitively (disengaging conscious brain) while listening to music by Example and Oceanlab and made some books about the experience of walking through a landscape.

I made three books rapidly, not giving myself time to analyse, or print for that matter, so more akin to sketchbook work, but so very definitely not sketchbooks, each one of these is a unique artists book.

What I hope to do next is to blend the style of these books with the approach I used in my MA projects which was more measured and with a higher level of finish, and to include print techniques

By the way, your 'Sister' experiences, anecdotes and ideas very happily received.

Welcome to little Flynn Dog

This is Flynn our new Cavalier Spaniel puppy in my studio keeping me from working (it doesn't take much I know) - he arrived on Saturday!

He is 9 weeks old and completely adorable.

Today, for the first time, he decided to explore the garden on his own, bold, adventurous hound that he is,

and, to give an indication of his size here he is walking away from a dandelion (one that I missed earlier on) and my weeding bucket is 26cm high

Back into the studio for a rest, on the doormat rather than his blanket - ahhh.

Our MA show at UWE Bristol

Wow, I've not switched on my computer and hardly checked email for over a week! I feel it's a strange kind of freedom, although even now I'm being seduced back.

I got so much done in that time, perhaps there's a lesson for me in that.

Was it only a week ago that we were all putting the show up? In these photos every thing looks quiet and calm - serene even  

However . . . 

. . . . there was a distinct tension about getting it all up and just right.

P V Friday 10 from 6 -9pm

Trying to take a group photo was a little bit like herding cats, eventually most of us got together in Angie’s Sitting Room installation and smiled for the camera.

I shall be invigilating this Wednesday 15th from 12.30 until 5.30. I'll take my camera so that I can take lots of photographs of everyone's work to show you what we've created - there are some fabulous collections of work.

UWE MA Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking 2011

You are warmly invited to join us for the annual showcase of work by final year  MA Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking Students.

PRIVATE VIEW
Friday 10 June 6 -9pm

GENERAL OPENING
Saturday 11 June 10am - 6pm
Sunday 12 June 10am - 4pm
Monday 13 - Thursday 16 June 10am - 8pm

Bower Ashton Campus
Kennel Lodge Road
off Clanage Road
Bower Ashton
Bristol
BS3 2JT

Telephone: +44 (0) 117 32 84716
E-mail: sca.enquiries@uwe.ac.uk

15 days and counting!

My Masters is almost over, 15 days until hand in for our degree show. 

So - this can only be described as displacement activity - blogging in the middle of a print run. I just need to do something different for a short while, to clear my head a bit.

The work is, 'The Virtuous Weed, or Pages from a Herbal'. 

My Herbal will be a collection of images of wild plants found in my garden or around-abouts, and put together to show the forgotten medicinal and culinary uses of plants like, Plantain, Shepherd's Purse, and Dandelion. 

Today I'm working on a couple of poisonous plants with medicinal uses, Deadly Nightshade and Foxglove, and mixing up some fabulous murky colours for them.

So far I've completed 14 plates, only 4 to go . . . . . plus text for the prints, oh and the written work - arrghh!

The Froxfield Herbal. 

Here are two of examples of the work I took with me to BABE a couple of weekends ago, it was well organised and busy, and great fun too. 

Fowl Play

The Old Operating Theatre