Sunday, February 8, 2015

Purely Pencils

Here I sit, Sunday evening, glass of wine in hand, weary but reflecting on a fabulous weekend workshop I was fortunate to attend.

My good friend Gemma Black was hosted by The Calligraphy group at Buderim Craft Cottage and I was able to attend. Not only was it a great chance to catch up with friends, it was one of the best and most inspiring workshops I have done for ages.

I spent lots of time in a reverie, blissfully working my way through pencils, and watercolour pencils and graphite and water soluble graphite, deliciously discovering the things they can do. It was sublime.

I can't process the whole thing just yet, but here are some images of work from the first day.
We worked hard and there was always something go on with, something else to experiment with and try out.  My mind is still buzzing!

Gemma had asked us to bring something from our garden. In a sub-tropical climate like ours there were many beautiful and bight flowers and foliage.  I had asked Gemma on Friday when she popped over, if it was OK if I took some gravel.  We have lots of gravel around our house and it speaks to me more of home than many garden plants. She said yes, so I headed off with my gravel!

We investigated our objects in detail, looking to discover the many colours contained within them. We would then match these to watercolour pencils and do a 7cm x 7cm square letter - mine was G for gravel.

Here is my piece of gravel, my chosen pencils and the letter before it got wet.


Here is my letter after adding water to the watercolour pencils - still with my piece of gravel.



And my swatch - where I tested colours and then chose the ones I would finally use.


I have since rubbed out the pencil lines, but not yet photographed it as a finished piece sorry.

I think my biggest learning from this exercise was how you can't go wrong if you turn to nature for your palette.  Rather than accidentally choosing some random or clashing colours, by following what we found, each and every piece was harmonious and balanced.  A very good lesson!

I then had the most wonderful play with water-soluble graphite pencils - the swirls and the curls and the lovely lovely washes...


The hint of purple is a watercolour pencil.


Again, the pencil marks have been removed but no photographic evidence of that yet!

One of the exercises over the two days was to complete a graphite gradations chart - so we understood what each 'strength' of pencil would achieve.  I was getting a bit tired and wobbly by the time I reached 6B!


One of Gemma's own gs. Sigh.


And a detail.

We did loads more today but that will wait for another day - dinner beckons and an early night.

A huge thank you to the Buderim calligraphers for a fabulous workshop, time spent together and such wonderful sharing and learning. And to Gemma for her skills, knowledge, patience and generosity - I felt like I absorbed so much over the past two days that I'll keep going for weeks and months to come!

16 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful weekend Fiona, with lots of lovely techniques and inspiration to play around with.

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    1. It was great weekend Helen - and I am still a bit dazed to be honest! I think I can see my way forward from here in a few ways, or at least things to try! Go well.

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  2. What exquisite work. I would love to be able to attend a workshop like that. What a treat!

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    1. Oh Gina - it was wonderful. I know Gemma will be over your way later in the year, but I'm not sure exactly where! I am quite stunned when I look back and think "I did that???" A great way to be. Go well.

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  3. How beautifully delicate and inspiring these are. I feel moved to reach for my watercolour pencils again - something I haven't touched for a while. I have yet to try water-soluble graphite pencils but your lovely experiment makes me want to rush to our local art shop immediately.
    Gosh how I wish I could find workshops close by that would inspire me as much!

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    1. I was so fortunate that Gemma was able to make the long trek from Tasmania to teach us - it was a real gem of a workshop. Somewhat now enamoured with pencils I can only encourage you to go forth and purchase then play!

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  4. the water soluble graphite looks very exciting Fiona!

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    1. It is simply divine Mo - that was a 4B and I'm sure things will look differently with different pencils - must go try it!

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  5. Hi Fiona, can you tell me about the beads in the photo? Did you make those?

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    1. Hi Jill - no I didn't but Gemma did. I think they are paper beads and I might be able to get you some shots of them being made .... stay tuned.

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  6. Lovely post with some great pics Fiona - I'm feeling a bit weary too, but so keen to do more: how many more nature inspired palettes can I find today? Great to catch up again!

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    1. It was lovely to catch up Barb! Like you I am feeling inspired and keen to keep going - almost feel like sitting down with the pencils this afternoon if I can sneak it in. More photos to follow I hope.

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  7. Lovely palette and lots of interesting ideas to play with, I like the use of negative space to define the letter/shapes

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    1. Thanks Jac - the colours worked really well and I am now wandering around looking at all sorts of things to find the colours within. I love the negative space too!

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    1. Thanks J - I do look at a few of the pieces think wow, I did that?!?! Shows what a good teacher can do hey? Go well.

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