EDAM term 3: ''Meanwhile..." First explorations

  In the second session of EDAM this term looking  at theme of 'Meanwhile....', after  going through the slides of  different approaches by various artists to research ( see previous blogpost ), I had a discussion with Amanda  about  my initial thoughts and ideas .  After  taking lots of photos from the train and having an initial stab at a 'mindmap'  , I was in a lot better position to talk about it than the previous week.  As usual ,  too many ideas  but we discussed  what could be done at home and what to focus on  while in the class.  I  thought I'd like to do more monoprinting but that was something to do quietly at home ( or review what I had already) and what the classroom offered was opportunity to be messy with charcoal and  work large!   

 She suggested   working on a collaged  background  of maps / squared paper -   until I could get to the photocopier all that was available was copies of a map of India  but it served it's purpose  in combinations with sections of the rail timetable.  and I quickly  drew in charcoal over the top to indicate the seat and window and some of the   scenery flashing by

 At home, I   did some different versions  in Photoshop .  It occurs to me that the curves remind me of  the influence of  the catenary paintings of Jasper John  on my paintings based on collage .

After lunch and a session  with the photocopier  I used  collage of the map for the train route in combination with photos taken out of the window  with drawings in  ink of the seats and their reflections  in the window when in 'Tunnel Land' . Too much  going on  and I over-thought it  but it has possibilities  for further exploration , perhaps on a larger scale or cutting it up and reassembling ?

 I also had a go with tracing onto acetate   the section of the map around Gravesend and Ebbsfleet where the train goes under the Thames .I then used the overhead projector  to draw it A1  size ( below) , getting a different quality using graphite stick.  When I posted it  on Instagram , there was a comment    saying it looked like bones  and was I considering archaeology as part of the brief . So now I'm re-reading about the Ebbsfleet Elephant!  

I've scanned the acetate and been playing with different filters in Photoshop ( above) 

Also on acetate, I traced  on a different scale the  whole route from Faversham to St Pancras  ( above) and scanned the stitching  on acetate I'd done with Ruth ( below)  - I like how you can see  both the front and back at the same time. 

 I showed Amanda  the 2010 Moleskine 'Pocket Project Planner'  notebook I bought  cheaply in 2011  to modify as  a sketchbook (  realising the demand for such  items  they now  sell 'proper'  Japanese Accordion albums ). During  our discussions  we realised it's potential  with its printed details of charts  etc of  considering 'Time ' as one  aspect to consider  further - exciting!

  The  'Zine'  book I produced  using photocopies of monoprints   was something I wished to explore further  in any case.

After all this thinking and cogitatating , tomorrow I'm planning to have a 'play day'  in my studio sampling  different  approaches, including getting my sewing machine out! 

Sketchbook Project V14 : Thread Trails ( making pages)

 I've participated  several times with  the Sketchbook Project of Brooklyn Art Library ) most recently in the 'tiny Sketchbook project' )   and despite good intentions and ordering my sketchbook well in advance , I always seem to need a looming deadline to motivate me.

For volume 14 , I chose the theme 'stitch and story'  and after several  false starts , was inspired to use some of the monoprints  I'd done on fabric having reacquainted myself with them on EDAM book-making classes. When stitching , I'm always intrigued by  how different the  stitching can be on the backs , ' the unconscious  side'  so assembled several 'pages'  with different monoprints/ sheets of cotton organdie  glued together with bondaweb. I then had a fun time with them stitching on the train  ( above) and even at home (below) !   

These are the final 6 pages , front and back that made the  cut ( I did a few more that didn't  quite work ) . In the next post  I'll show how they work together   in the final  book format 

  

Festival of Quilts 2018 : Nancy Crow and Maria Harryman

The exhibition  of   75 monoprints   by Nancy Crow was by far the biggest  gallery at Festival of Quilts.  Knowing  how addictive  monoprinting is, the large  board  outside the gallery explaining her methods and process  was a fascinating insight  into her  work.   She has been so influential in  quiltmaking ,  I think she was very brave  to  show  her personal explorations in this medium, so different to her pieced works.  However  while I  am full of admiration  for the  scale of her vision, I didn't love it , the repetitions  and subtle changes  obviously mean a lot to her  but didn't excite me.  The most interesting parts for me was zooming  in on the details of some of the marks, particularly on the black and white pieces .

In contrast , my    favourite   work   at  FoQ  by far ,  were   2 pieces  by   Maria  Harryman,  ' Ubiquitous  1' in the Art Quilt section   (details above)   and 'Ubiquitous 3' in the  CQ West gallery ( below)  

In both pieces  I was drawn to their abstract compositions  of  painterly  layers of colour, with the subtle variations  in  hand stitch and  marks providing emphasis  in  key areas. It's so easy to go too far, I  really admire her constraint.  Then I discovered her website which I've spent  quite a while reading for her insights into  her work.  I too am inspired by  mussels and limpets  but  she's achieved  what I've so far failed to do in my own interpretations ,  producing masterly abstract compositions, successfully scaling up marks, textures  and colours, making the leap from observational drawings to large scale textile  works.    She's inspired me to go back to drawing my 'small treasures' and revisit my sketchbooks  and earlier explorations ( below) .  

On Being Mentored

2 weeks ago I was heading down to Eastbourne ( along with  thousands  of  of runners taking part in the Beachy Head Marathon/ 10K !)  for my mentoring session with Christine Chester at Studio 11.
I'd discussed  the possibility when I'd been there  for the excellent course with Alice Fox in June.
But after winning Fine Art Quilt Masters, booking onto the programme was the first thing I did when I got home , to help  me work out what to do next.

There was a lot of preparatory work:  a detailed questionnaire  on  ambitions, barriers to success , strengths and weaknesses, time available and  other relevant information;  'Pinterest' pinboards of an 'e-portfolio'   showcasing representative examples of my  work and of inspirations ( I did separate ones for art and textiles). This ' homework' in itself was a very useful process, to clarify  what was most important to me, what direction I wanted to pursue  and sadly what I was beginning to  acknowledge I had to let go in order to realise these.

In order to fit me in her  packed teaching schedule, we'd agreed that the tutorial session would be on the Saturday evening  after the 'Wild about Colour' course  had finished for the day before Strictly (  we're both fans, have to get priorities right!)

As I was free during the day, I  went to Worthing , about an hour by train,  to see the first exhibition by ' Curious Threads' , an interesting show in a lovely bright venue,  and then found some wonderfully weathered wooden breakwaters on the beach afterwards. A perfect day out ! 

I turned up at  Studio 11 as the class was packing up  to lay out the quilts I'd brought with me which along with the e-portfolio provided the basis of our initial discussions. 

Aside  from 'Birchington Breakwaters' and ' Eroding Margins' ( which I couldn't bring as they're currently on tour) , the pieces I like most  and represent the direction I wish to explore further are 'Red Flotsam' and 'Red Remnants'.  Red Flotsam in particular with its move towards abstraction ( I had help from the 'Quilt Doctors'!) , it's combination of direct painting  with acrylics and  monoprints  , repurposing an  old quilt  and the use of handstitch sum up all that I love best. 

I had a bit of an epiphany while doing the paper collage for Contemporary Painting Studio, that many of my textile pieces involve collaging fabrics. One of  Christine's suggestions was to  use this technique more as a design tool  for helping with abstraction and scaling up along with  mind-mapping to assist in developing more  abstract concepts.  

The mentoring programme  includes 2 days access to a print bench  and all materials and  equipment  so I  came prepared for monoprinting on acetate sheet using acrylics . I also brought my Gelli plate which I hadn't used since Rydal 2015 (  Christine also  had one available  but I didn't use it as it was the same size as mine) . Although I  have my painting easel in the 'kitchen studio' ,  I don't  have such good facilities  for wet work/printing as the conservatory in our previous house.

On the Sunday , the second session of ' Wild about Colour' was going on   so I was able to  watch  and hear  about what the participants were up to as well as getting on with some printing, mainly using blacks. It was useful to compare the acetate sheet with the Gelli Plate. Although you get very fine  subtle marks with the Gelli, particularly  in the 'ghost prints' of threads and feathers, and the build -up of paints and marks, its' much more of a  pain to clean and the size is limiting. 

  

On  the Monday , it was just me and Christine  and we spent the morning companionably , Christine making up dyes while I expanded over 5 print benches(!!!)  with monoprints  , colour matched with the red in 'Birchington Breakwaters'

I used the time profitably in a 'what if' session , observing marks made , exploring possibilities of  different fabrics and layering them, taking one idea and seeing how far I could push it.

In the afternoon  , we reviewed what I'd produced ( 65 monoprints!)  and talked about how I  could use them , making copies in paper  at quarter scale to work out compositions to generate ideas that could be scaled  up,  and the importance of  having bolder larger scale marks. 

  Appropriately ,I'd seen some giant scale mark-making on the beach that morning made by several large yellow earth-movers working on the sea defences! 

Most of the afternoon  however was spent in ' full and frank debate' about my work practices:   developing a professional approach , ideas about building a supportive network, reviewing and rebuilding my website as part of capitalising  on my 'brand' . This week I received  a detailed   summary and action plan based on our discussions and have a much clearer idea of  how to move forward. There will be a follow-up Skype discussion  about my progress in March. 

I enjoyed working with Christine very much. It was tough at times but  because I was prepared to be honest and open to ideas and a fresh approach I really benefited from the mentoring process. I appreciated Christine's insight  and felt privileged that she shared examples from her own experience and practice in response to my questions. Now it's up to me.