EDAM Week 5: Drawing Space and Light (2)

 Week  5  of Extended Drawing  for Artists and Makers   started with a recap of the previous week  where  we'd been drawing  space, through transparency.  Anne  had brought in one of her fragile artworks to show us, made from strips  of paper , asking us to compare it  with the very solid brown teapot  it was based on. This week we were looking at surfaces and the  way light  bends around the surface  and the  awareness of the sense of touch 

Anne Teahan 

Antony Gormley 

 We looked at 2 different art works  by  Antony Gormley  based on the human form with very different scales and approaches: ' Exposure' ( above ), a huge structure composed of space  and the small dense, dark,  form of 'Iron Baby'  cast from  his  daughter ( exhibited as part of 'Found' at the Foundling Museum)  

Antony Gormley 

Thinking of how you might  draw this sculpture, we looked at the drawings  of Georges Seurat  with their rich blacks of Conte  on  textured paper  built up of tone rather than line, his approach to curved surfaces.   (I rediscovered my 'World of Art' book on Seurat bought in 1980  when I got home - I've always preferred his drawings to his paintings) 

Georges Seurat 

Georges Seurat

Georges Seurat

In these portraits  by Chuck Close, he's used  clusters of fingerprints to create tone - using different pressures to create light and shade, using touch itself . 

Chuck Close

Chuck Close

So our drawing tasks for the morning  were  to draw from photo of  'Iron Baby'  with white chalk on black paper and  charcoal  on white paper   working directly  with our fingers and hands , feeling our way around the subject , working lightly to begin with.   

 We  set up a 'palette' on the corner of   the paper, rubbing the white chalk to create a  dense covering which we lifted off with fingers to draw/ smear on the paper, replenishing when  needed,  creating a tonal scale with white fingerprints down the edge.  Working outwards ,we  used an eraser  to remove some of the chalk marks, to  define shapes and lines ( trying to avoid using the chalk directly until working  on  the strongest  highlights)  

Introducing the  dense , velvety blacks of compressed charcoal was left to the end , using the same technique of  rubbing on the corner of the paper for a palette  and then applying fingerstrokes in the  very darkest parts of form 

 We then  repeated  the process  in reverse, using  willow charcoal  initially  before the compressed charcoal.   The results  were much better  ( and more interesting)  with white on black than black on white , partly because the subject was dark so didn't need as much of the chalk to  find and define  the form ( neither of the papers had much a  'tooth' to hold the pigment.), partly as  I was looking intently just at the areas of reflected light rather than the subject matter. It was quite magical gradually seeing the 'ghost' emerge, the trick was to put a bit more definition in certain areas - the fist, the line along the back 

 Having said I don't really like charcoal to draw with as it's messy  and dries out my skin, I rather went for it, with a bit of encouragement using the side of my hand to draw with ! I rather like the smudged  overlapping lines and marks   that you couldn't get any other way. 

 I couldn't resist taking   'selfies' of my hand ( but then I  have  used my 'inky digit'

 as inspiration, including the piece above for 'International Threads' )    

I then found   the work of Judith Ann Braun! 

Judith Ann Braun

Judith Ann Braun 

In the afternoon   we applied some of the techniques  to the  shiny black vessels or objects  we'd brought in ( in my case a coffee filter cone) , starting with charcoal on white paper 

'Spaceship Caffeine'

 ' Nul Points'  for  perspective  and elipses but  I had a wonderful time putting in the lines with the side of my hand  and some energetic mark making with my fingertips and an eraser.   I like   how the  history of  corrections  and  redrawing   adds to the richness if not the accuracy  

I  didn't have much time  for  doing the  white on black version  ( especially after all the hand washing to remove at least some of the charcoal) - a bit more accurate,  a lot less lively.

Next week  we're doing   one A1 drawing based on the combination of space ( transparency) and light( surfaces, touch). Lots to think about! 

Quilts on Display this Weekend

 

  This weekend I will have  at least 10 of my quilts on show at  2 different venues within Europe!
International Threads  ' Challenges' will be  in Munich  from 11.11 to 3.12.  Besides the 7 that have already toured  to several shows  I sent 2  new ones to Uta last week  which have arrived safely and will be used to refresh the collection and retire some pieces.   

'Signs and Symbols'

 'Green'

 

Then at the West Country Quilt and Textile Show  in Bristol, Cwilt  Cymru's exhibition on the theme 'Cynefin'    will be shown for the first time . Ian and I are travelling there on Saturday to help steward. And if that wasn't enough, my quilt 'Eroding Margins'  ( below)   will also be there as part of CQ 'On The Edge'  exhibition.  I've not been before but it looks like  it should be an interesting show,  with contemporary quilts well represented.  

All 5 of the quilts shown above were made this year - pretty good going considering   our move and Ian's op .

Green Quilts: I think I've Done Now.

'Lost in the Reeds

 Yesterday I finished my quilt on the theme of 'Green'  for International Threads  exhibiting group.  I think this  is the final piece in a fabric journey starting in 2003  with a weeks class in France at 'La Maison du Patchwork' near  Limoge with Alison Schwabe

It was a challenging  time for me - I'd just started on anti- depressants   and was finding it   difficult to adjust but being fed and watered in lovely surrounding with expert tuition from Alison was just what I needed. She taught  us a variety of piecing and design techniques - I still use her method of curved piecing and inserting strips  slightly adapted to incorporate those used by Charlotte Yde on a later workshop. I'd brought masses of green fabrics with the idea of making a double sized quilt and made  loads of blocks which I'd started to join together with Alison's help. I completed the top on my return  and layered it with wadding ready to quilt - then left it untouched until 2015!

 Grass Clippings at FoQ 2004

I did however get very excited and inspired by all the scraps left over from cutting down the blocks  and made 2  small quilts ' Grass Clippings' and 'Grass Cuttings'  . The first was accepted for   CQ  exhibition at the fabulous Nature in Art museum near Gloucester  and subsequently in a white gallery space at festival of quilts 2004( above) .  In 2006 it went on its travels to Japan when I went with Susan Briscoe along with 'Serifos Storm' my first indigo piece.

Grass Clippings in Japan 2006

Grass Cuttings  at work

When I changed desks at work and had space to display a quilt, I chose 'grass cuttings' as being appropriate - it was much admired and prompted conversations about what I was doing with textiles as well as plants.
When a colleague had his first child I had great fun making a baby quilt using the 'lego' piecing technique.  His second child arrived after I'd left Kew  last year and with most of my things in storage/packed up  as we were about to move  I wanted to do something that wouldn't require too much work. So  deciding that after 12 years I was unlikely to quilt my double green quilt, I   removed the wadding and backing ,  partially picked apart and reassembled a section of the top and quilted it - a suitable quilt for a botanists child!

Samuel's Quilt

I still had two-thirds of the quilt left and  for  Cwilt Cymru's  next exhibition 'Cynefin ' ( roughly translated as a sense of place, of belonging) I wanted to commemorate losing my wedding and engagement rings on Catfield Fen! Lots of cutting apart and reassembling  and insertion of strips of Jo Lovelocks dyed fabric as well as some photos printed on fabric of the Fen Orchid and its habitat.

Catfield Fen: Gifts to The Gods

For the theme 'Green' for International Threads, it seemed appropriate to use up what was left and try some slightly different ideas out for 'Lost in the Reeds' (below)

Besides using scraps for the Grass Cuttings/Clippings  quilts, I've made several Journal quilts /samples over the years

JQ  June 2003

JQ  September 2015

Gifts to the Gods Sample

Postcards

I've recently been posting postcards on Facebook 'sketchbooks and experiments for textiles 'group, zig-zagging together offcuts  when cutting  quilts down to size. I love playing with scraps! I still have a few bit left of blocks and trimmings  but I think I'm done with green now!

Journal Quilt Update

 I  like my Journal Quilts to reference  what I've been up to : classes I've taken or places I've been.
So June's  JQ  above is  based around techniques  learnt  on CQ Summer School with a combination of photos printed on silk ( lighter colour)  and on black t shirt transfer paper ( more intense colour)

July's JQ  is based on 'Reading a Paint Surface' course at City lit , with  photos of final piece printed on cotton.  I've got several of these fabric studies  on the design wall , mulling over ideas.

A journal quilt of sorts ( it's 12  x 12 inches), this is my contribution to the SAQA Benefit Auction. All are now listed on the site, such a variety, and I'm currently thinking about choosing 6  for my ' dream collection' . It's very gratifying to see my piece  included in a couple already!

 Ian is on the mend and I've set up my sewing machines and  fabric is strewn around my studio composing  a quilt on the theme 'green ' for International Threads. About time too! Looking forward to FoQ next week!!!

QGBI AGM in Llandudno

A week ago(!) I was in Llandudno  for the Quilters Guild of the British Isles AGM and conference.  A lovely venue and the Cwilt Cymru Connections quilts were beautifully displayed - I couldn't resist taking pictures of mine with the sea behind !  This was the final showing for these - they've recently been on tour with the Grosvenor Quilt shows. By coincidence, 7 other quilts of mine for 'International Threads'  were also on show - at Quilt Expo in Beaujolais.

It was a very good conference,  with interesting talks and workshops on offer   and most importantly lots of catching up with friends.

Sue and I were sharing a 'Premier Sea view'  room ' at the St George's Hotel  ( it was on a corner with view both ways) . There was a   very posh  dinner on in one of the function rooms the first night and we were entertained while having dinner in the terrace restaurant  watching the people arrive on the red carpet.

We walked along the pier, intrigued by an old metal structure behind the booths and kiosks.
A coach trip to Trefriw woollen mills was even more interesting than expected. Besides the fascinating tour of the processes involved, there was so much inspiration in the form of machinery and peeling corrugated iron. I took so many photos!!

 Mostly though I took lots of photos of the sea - I don't think I've stayed in a hotel so close to the sea since a Ramblers trip to Rovies on Evia  more than 20 years ago.  The windows  of the bedroom only opened a few inches ( probably to stop seagulls coming in - we  had a large one strutting on the windowsill outside) . So you have to imagine the contortions  we got into on Saturday morning after a storm overnight,  lining up our cameras  to avoid the rain drops on the window, while still in our nighties . Worth it for the spectacular sunrise though.
I also made a collection of sticks and stones  brought home in a basket from the African Fabric Shop.
Magie was kind enough to mention my 'Tunisian Door'  quilt in her moving talk and  of course I had to buy some more fabrics ( indigo from Guinea - the piece that's featured here)

 Definitely a place to come back to - straight forward journey by train   with the station within walking distance of front.