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Sunday, January 18, 2015

A random record of the weekend

It's been a hot weekend here on the mountain and I have jumped from this to that and over there as I haven't been able to sit still and concentrate for too long.

I was showing somebody some folded books that had been used in a display a year or so ago, and found that a few of them were no longer in pristine condition, so I thought I'd popped them in the garden. With the pumpkins. It will be interesting to record the changes over time - no rain on them yet, just scorching sun.



The pumpkin patch has gone completely wild again and is rambling all over the block...

Looking from the studio shed,



Looking up to the studio shed it has clambered through the hedge and is rolling on down through the coffee bushes.


And there are a few pumpkins here and there.


On a completely separate note (I did mention random!) I have been pondering dry point etching on copper plates - I have this image in my head that I think drypoint can help create.  I like the notion of drypoint because it doesn't involve the use of acid, and is possibly easier to control and/or amend.

Over the years I have purchased a range of sharp tools that can be used to scratch into copper, creating lines and marks and I thought before I even begin, I should really try and work out what each tool will do and how it will do it, so I made myself a little sampler so to speak.

But first the tools - pointy!


I inked up the copper sampler and printed it using different inks, all on BFK Rives paper.

First using Aqua Charbonnels


Then Charbonnel oil-based inks - my first attempt with the oil-based inks was barely there I had wiped the plate so clean, hence the note about less aggressive wiping.



My third run saw me trying to make other marks as well and it is this one which shows some promise I think.


And then as we sat down to dinner on Saturday night - the sky offered us this. Stunning.


Life is random, but good.

10 comments:

  1. Looks interesting. I like the round platemark.

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    1. thanks Jac - I think it was probably a jewellery piece for enamelling maybe? Bought in a jewellery supply shop anyway - nice copper! There might be something lurking there that I can develop...

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  2. Is there a hint of the pumpkin patterns on your third run - maybe not so random after all?

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    1. I hadn't seen it until you mentioned it Margaret/Charlton, but there it is! So funny how things are connected and related...

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  3. Sounds like the pumpkins have too much nitrogen. I grew up on a farm. We planted seeds on the manure pile one year. We had 5 pumpkins and very beautiful manure pile!
    Also, do you transfer the pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers? sometimes more success at getting more pumpkins that just relying on insects.
    Look forward to seeing the results of the dry point etching on copper plates.
    Sandy in the UK

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    1. Could be the nitrogen Sandy, I'll check; could also be the sub-tropics where you can hear things growing they grow so lush and fast! When they are starting out I do do the pollination thing - helping things along; but by this stage they seem robust enough and busy enough with bees that I stop and let them do their own thing. If I don't hear or see the bees I will always step in and facilitate things! Your manure sounds wonderfully rich - these pumpkins just pop up out of our compost as well and we transplant them where they can run wild. Go well - I'll let you know how the drypoint goes!

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  4. I love random, and your post Fiona, and it's always nice to take randomness into art - you never know what might emerge! Nice set of tools and tests... that sunset is a stunner too... Happy 2015

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    1. Random is just the way of the world at the moment Kim - its good to go with it! The sunset was amazing and I do love where random can take you - hope 2015 is a great one for you too.

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  5. It's always nice to see a little of this & a little of that (I think)... And that sunset - what a way to end a day (and a blog post).
    I'm sensing a future post entitled "Books and Pumpkins" - and maybe a new weekly or monthly series: Random Record - ?!

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    1. I love the notion of 'Random Record' Lisa - it wold suit me down to a T - my head is ever so random most of the time!

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