and this week

This week we did lino cutting. I hated it! It totally divided the class into those who fell into a kind of dreamy right-side-of-the-brain absorption (most people), and those who moaned continually and felt no connection with the technique at all (me). I found the carving clumsy and effortful, and the results two-dimensional and uninspiring... but now I know a little bit more about what is 'me' and what not to bother with next time...! The drawing I used for inspiration is above, the resulting print is shown below.

 

carborundum prints

The second and third weeks of the printing course were spent learning how to make an image using two plates: one drypoint and one using carborundum grit. I loved this.

I took as my starting point the drawing below: it's one of a series of 'automatic' drawings/collages I did last spring. Not really being sure what I was doing or how it was going to turn out, I had a go at interpreting the darks and lights into drypoint, acrylic brushwork and carborundum grit, and you can see the results above. I was really pleased with it and feel there is a lot of potential for me here.

seaweed prints

I recently started a beginners printmaking course at a wonderful and friendly print studio and I have come to look forward very much to my Tuesday nights at this inspiring place.

Last week we were introduced to the process of drypoint printing, and I took along an ink drawing of some seaweed as my starting point.

 

First of all the image had to be scanned and reduced to fit the size of the perspex plate on which we were working.

 

Then the perspex plate was laid over the image and I carefully 'drew' over it using a drypoint needle, scratching the surface of the perspex to leave the characteristic 'burr' of raised perspex where the needle had been.

After bevelling the edges of the plate, it was then inked up using black intaglio ink which was pressed into the scratch marks with a piece of stiff card and then wiped off gently using scrim and tissue paper.

Then the plate was ready to print, made into a sandwich on the etching press with newsprint, soaked and blotted cartridge paper and heavy wool blankets. The action of rolling the plate through the press is physical and very satisfying.

And this was the result! I was delighted with the quality and expression of the line and the lovely indented plate mark on the paper, as well as the unexpected smudges and smears of ink that mark it out as a learner piece - but one that I was very pleased to produce.

 A closer view of the finished print:

Next week we are doing collograph, but I am going early to see how many more editions I can print from my seaweed plate before the burr deteriorates. I'm very excited by this new process and can already see all sorts of imaginary work in my head... as usual.

er...hi...

I feel a bit embarrassed walking in here as if everything was normal and I'd only popped out for a few minutes when in fact it's been nearly two months since my last post!

To make up for it I thought I'd share a couple of things that have inspired me recently: first of all the work of Rex Ray, and in particular this inspiring video about his working practices and perspective on life. I'm not so keen on his more psychedelic creations, but I do love those early collages, and I'm planning a therapeutic session of cutting and sticking myself this Easter weekend.

Secondly, I can't remember where I came across it, but this book of Indian spiritual drawings, some from the seventeenth century, is amazing. This New York Times article describes the work as 'seventeenth-century modernism' and it certainly causes you to consider the work of people like Patrick Heron, Sandra Blow and Ben Nicholson in a new way. There is a breathtaking simplicity that draws you deeper in these wonderful artworks.

I've signed up for a five-week beginners' printing course which starts on Tuesday, and so I hope to have a few bits and pieces to share with you over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, have a very happy Easter. In our house we have mini-eggs, a new baby Emma Bridgewater chick mug, a tiny fluffy lamb, a lemon cake, a 'make-your-own-Easter-balloon-kit' and a roast dinner to look forward to, as well as all that resurrection and new life, of course.

pinning matters

I recently started to feel uncomfortable about the whole image sharing thing that goes on between us all. Up to now, I'd kind of ignored it... we've all heard the appalling stories of how disreputable bloggers steal images and indeed whole creative identities, but well... that's the sort of thing that happens to other people, right?

Well... yes in that it hasn't happened to me yet, but a big 'no' in that we're all in this together, and that's why it's so enjoyable and rich and wonderful, and that's why it's not ok.

I came across this post recently and was inspired to learn more. I realised I knew next to nothing about creative commons or copyright issues or proper Pinterest etiquette, and more importantly, that my ignorance was adding to the problem. I love Pinterest, and really enjoy adding lovely images to my inspiration boards: beautiful homes, gardens, art, and tutorials for making pretty things that I might get round to one day. But I'm lazy about my pinning, and often don't make sure that the image links to its creator, or gives any information at all. This might be ok if it was just for my own personal use, but Pinterest is a social networking site, and when somebody else finds my pin, they have no idea where it came from or who owns it - none at all. That's not right.

So I decided to go through ALL my pins on Pinterest and check that they linked to the correct source. Lots didn't. If I couldn't find the source and add the right link, I deleted the pin. This meant lots of deletions, which made me sad, but it would make me a lot sadder to know that I was contributing to someone else's work being mis-attributed or stolen. I want to feel that the trail I leave on the web is as clean, transparent and responsible as the trail I leave anywhere else on this earth.

I would encourage you to do the same and to take steps to be a responsible pinner and sharer of images. I've found that Tumblr is one of the worst offenders for not providing links to sources. If you pin from a Tumblr blog, it's very likely that you won't pick up the right source html unless you're very careful to follow any link that's given and chase it up for yourself. That's what I've done for several of my pins, but it's not always possible, and I must admit that the thought of my own work getting lost and unattributed in this way makes me pretty anxious.

If you're feeling as muddled as I was, take a look at this post as well as the one I mentioned at the top, and there's tons of stuff on the Link with Love site. It is quite a lot to take in, but it really matters, so please sit down with a cup of tea and take the time to understand it all and form your own point of view.

You can find my Pinterest boards here if you're interested.

directions please!

Weathercock, originally uploaded by Sue McLoughlin.

I am not sure if this is going to work as planned because it's coming live from my new iPad... but that's really the point of this post...

Those of you with experience of this wonder-gadget, do you have any tips or advice on how to blog from it satisfactorily? I can't seem to access any photos (which is why I'm uploading this straight from Flickr on a teeny tiny screen that my middle-aged eyes do NOT like) and the Blogger app doesn't seem to get good reviews. I'd be really grateful for any input you might have.

Also, does anybody know of any killer apps I might be missing? I'd especially love to know about any gallery apps or ways to view art.

Thanks in advance!

yarn talkin'

So, I decided to blow the budget and splash out on the Rowan Felted Tweed. I'm so glad I did, it's a lovely lovely yarn which works up beautifully, even though it's a tiny bit hairy.

I played around with the design a bit more. Having made lots of patchwork blankets where each square is a different colour, this time I wanted a single background colour, and here I've chosen a putty grey for a nice old-fashioned feel. I toyed with the idea of using more than one colour on each square, but in the end settled for these simple stars... I just really like the uncluttered beauty of their shapes, and I love the way the negative space between each star creates a perfect circle.

The squares are really tiny and such a fiddle to make... I am going to be learning a lot of patience with this project! They are just under two inches or five centimetres, so this sample block is just under six inches. They are worked using a 4mm hook. I've never made a large piece using such a small hook before - I usually choose to use Aran weight for a blanket with a 7mm hook, but I wanted to set myself a challenge to make something really fine and beautiful. Also, the colours in the Felted Tweed Aran are just not as lovely as in the DK.

In case you're interested, then, the colours I've chosen, as laid out below are Rowan Felted Tweed DK in 145 Treacle, 175 Cinnamon, 173 Duck Egg, 161 Avocado, 170 Seafarer, 177 Clay, 159 Carbon, 154 Ginger and 172 Ancient.


The Ginger is not so 'red' in real life, and the Seafarer is a bit darker than it looks here. The Treacle is a gorgeous browny purple that I'm totally in love with.

Off to do some more!