Exhibition at Wirra Wirra

On Wednesday I hung some works at the cellar door of Wirra Wirra winery, McLaren Vale. If you are passing through during the festive season it's well worth checking out (and the wine is rather nice)!

The exhibition features some older works, as well as a couple of new prints that haven't been exhibited before. The exhibition will be on until December 31st. 

Playing Cards

For something different I decided recently to develop and print a pack of playing cards. I was heavily inspired by the masks and figurines in the Pacific Cultures Gallery at the South Australian Museum, and had a lot of fun designing the coloured cards and jokers! 

Jokers

Design from back of card 

I printed the cards from several lino blocks onto large sheets, then cut them into individual cards and hand coloured the Jacks, Queens, Kings and Jokers with watercolour.

 

For the final touch I wrapped up the packs in individual boxes, ready for giving as gifts. They are also available for purchase, so contact me if interested!

Styles and Methods: Part 3

Another printmaking process I like to experiment with is etching. It is a fairly process driven technique as there are a number of steps to achieve a satisfactory end result. 

Various metals can be used for the matrix plate, such as zinc, steel and aluminium, but I like copper the best for its ability to retain delicate lines and leave very little plate tone behind. (Unfortunately copper is also fairly expensive)! I begin with a sheet of copper, then bevel the edges so they are no longer sharp. I degrease the copper plate by rubbing it over with a mix of whiting powder, vinegar and water, wash it off, then cover the front and back in bitumen, (a kind of waxy resist), to protect the metal in the etching process. 

To create a line etching I use a variety of sharp tools (anything goes! needles, nails, skewers, steel wool etc) to carve into the bitumen, leaving areas of the copper exposed. Once I am happy with my design, I place the plate into a "bath" of ferric chloride to etch the exposed areas of the copper. The rest is safely protected with my bitumen layer. Different metals etch slightly differently, but for copper I check it fairly regularly and take it out to rinse off the build up of gunk which forms with etching. When I feel that my lines are deep enough, I take out the plate and remove the bitumen layer. I can now do a proof!  

After I have set up my printing press to the right height and placed my paper in a water bath, I use a piece of card to spread the ink over the entire surface of the plate, making sure I get into the etched lines. I take as much ink off the surface as possible, then use tarlatan scrunched into a ball to push the ink further into the grooves and take off the excess. I then use either my hand or thin paper such as leaves from a phone book to remove the rest of the excess ink on the surface of the plate, still making sure I leave the ink in the etched lines. I clean up the edges, then place the plate facing up on the bed of the press. My wet paper is patted dry, then placed over the plate. Felt blankets are placed on top as they are used in this printing process to help push the paper right into the grooves and pick up all the ink. Once run through the press I can now peel back the paper and see the results! 

If I am happy with my proof print, I can go ahead and print the edition. If I feel like I need to add something else, I begin the entire process again!

Hübbe Court, 2010
Etching on zinc (edition of 4)

The image above was the very first etching I ever made. Now that I have had lots of practise in between there are some things I would do differently, such as clean up the edges and have a more even plate tone. But I still remember the thrill of trying a new technique and the excitement of peeling back the paper for the first time!

Ghosts, 2011
Multiplate etching and aquatint on copper (uneditioned)

This image was created using two copper plates, one inked in blue and the other in black. The black fish were done using the line etching method I have described above, but the blue...I'll be getting to that...in the next blog!

Styles and Methods: Part 2

One of my favourite printmaking processes is lino printing. Lino printing (sometimes known more broadly as relief printing) is a reductive method. I begin with a flat piece of linoleum, then use special tools to carve out certain areas. When I have finished carving, I use a roller to roll ink over the surface. The ink sits on the surface, but doesn't go into the grooves created by the carving. I then place paper on top, and either run it through a printing press or print by hand, pressing down on the back of the paper until all the ink has transferred. One of my favourite moments in printing is peeling back the paper and seeing the image for the first time...voila! 

The three images below are all created using lino, with varying outcomes.

The Wild Woods, 2011
Linocut (edition of 4)

In The Wild Woods the white areas have been carved out, and the remaining surface area inked up with black ink and printed.

Scarecrow in Field, 2011
Handcoloured linocut (uneditioned)

The above image was printed using black ink, then I added the colour using watercolour paint.

St Peters Bakehouse, 2011
Multiplate reduction linocut (edition of 4)

St Peters Bakehouse was a little more complicated to do, utilizing two separate lino blocks and four different colours. This method is called a reduction print, as I used the same block of lino to print the grey, beige and green. 

I started by carving out all the areas that would be white, then inked up the entire block and printed it in beige. I then took the same block and carved out everything that I wanted to keep beige, and printed the second layer in green. Carving out everything I wanted to keep green, I printed the third layer in grey. The fourth and final layer was printed in black using a second lino block (called the key block as it ties the whole image together).

This method can be tricky as essentially you are burning your bridges as you go. No coming back at a later date and re-printing the edition! When I use this method I always make sure I print more than I need in the edition, as it is also very easy to mis-register one of the layers and stuff the entire print up. Although some slippage can make the print look more lively, too much and you risk looking like you can't register at all!

Coincidentally, St Peters Bakehouse also serves the best coffee scrolls in town.

Styles and Methods: Part 1

Over the years of developing my artistic style, I have tried many different techniques. Although not all were for me, I do like to work in a variety of media and styles. Some of my work tends to be serious, while some is more whimsical and illustrative. 

Dead Albatross, 2011
Monoprint and collagraph with chine collé
Irregular edition of 6

Dead Albatross was inspired by media reports detailing the ongoing problem of pollution in our oceans and its effect on bird and marine life. It was also influenced by photographer Chris Jordan's images of dead birds from his Midway series. This work portrays an albatross whose death was caused by ingesting plastic in polluted waters. 

In 2012 this work was selected for inclusion in the Waterhouse Natural History Exhibition (in Adelaide), winning Third Prize in the Youth Section. 

The methods I have used are a combination of monoprinting and a collagraph with chine collé. This probably sounds like gobbledygook to most, so let me explain! 

Monoprinting is fairly straightforward and basically just what it sounds like: in fact, most people as kids have probably done some kind of monoprinting in the form of butterfly paintings (painting on one side of a piece of paper, then folding it in half to duplicate, forming a symmetrical pattern). To create this piece I painted on a piece of cardboard the sandy background colour using intaglio inks. Placing a piece of damp paper on top, I ran both through a printing press to transfer the ink to my damp paper.

The formation of a collagraph begins with making a collage of sorts. Different textural materials ranging from string and netting to carborundum grit, feathers and cardboard are glued onto a piece of cardboard, forming the matrix. (The matrix is not the end product, merely the block from which repeated prints can be pulled). The matrix is inked up using intaglio ink and dabbers, so the ink is pushed into all the cracks of the various textures. I wipe back any excess ink, and once again take my damp paper (already coloured with my monoprint) and place it on top. Put through the press, the ink from the matrix transfers, forming the most prominent layer of this print (the bird).

But what about those coloured bits? They were created using a technique called chine collé, which is where little bits of very thin paper are glued on one side and placed on the matrix plate of the collagraph. When the damp paper is placed on top and everything run through the press, the thin paper is transferred, along with the ink from the collagraph. 

The Beginning of Memory

The following two small works were inspired by American experimental performance artist, composer and musician Laurie Anderson's piece The Beginning of Memory, from her 2010 album Homeland. 

The piece is set in a time before there was any earth or land, just air and birds circling everywhere. In the story one of the birds is a lark, and one day her father dies. The lark has a problem as there is nowhere to bury the body. Finally she finds a solution. She buries the body in the back of her own head. 

And that is the beginning of memory.

The Beginning of Memory, 2011
Linocut

Flying Birds Everywhere, 2011
Multiplate etching and aquatint on copper

Old Works

To Freedom, 2010
Edition no. 2/4, linocut

When I studied printmaking at Adelaide College of the Arts, students were often given themes to work with while learning new techniques. The theme for this piece was "flight", and I chose to respond by depicting a boat of refugees fleeing to Australia. 

Home, 2010
Soft ground etching (image on right is also hand coloured)

These images were my first attempt at using soft ground for etching. Materials such as orange bag netting and string were used to create the textures seen in the ground.