Shadow Play

 We had so much rain, and so many overcast days that when the sun came out again I was dazzled by the beauty of the light; and of course along came the shadows as well.

Here are a few images of shadow play of late.

The late afternoon sun on one of our baskets was so strikingly beautiful.  The shadow on the wall; and the detail of the basket highlighted in all of its intricate beauty.

This piece from several years with my calligraphy cut/etched into a composite panel which hangs outside our grocer.  It describes the walkway that B designed and the thinking behind it all.  The cut outs of the lomandra which feature in the roof of the walkway were dappling shadow over the work as I walked by the other day - a true delight!

Whilst waiting in the car for Barry...my drink bottle!

Glorious morning sun at the front of our house has brought some lovely moments too.

Through a sculpture onto a planter box.

The jagged edges of Ken's chair.

Our gorgeous little kite...

It is so, so good to have shadows again! The warmth of autumn days bring many gifts and these are some of them.

Colourful Capitals complete!

 I did find the time to finish off these fun capitals through the week and I am happy with how they came out. I feel quite scratchy with my calligraphy so its nice to have some time to spend on simple things to remember the how to s.

Once I was happy with the layout and design, I traced the letters.

Then I turned the paper over and rubbed my lead pencil along the lines.  Then I brought the tracing paper right way up again and drew over the original letter lines and transferred the image, right way up, onto the watercolour paper. The opposite to printmaking where thigns have to be back to front so that they print the right way.

The reveals...

I began colouring in the letters.

And then added water.

And in the case of the L; I let it dry and then drew over it with a black pen, then rubbed out the pencil marks.

And with the H I simply had to let it dry and then rub out the pencil marks.  I modified the colour placement in a few of the blocks as per my draft, and think it looks better than before.

And ta da, here they are together, ready to pack and pop in the post!

Truth be told, I had packed them up and sealed the envelope before I remembered that I hadn't actually photographed them finished. Typical. So the caption to this photo should probably read:

And ta da, here they are together, ready to pack again and pop in the post!

Thursday Thoughts...

"I walk into a poem and walk out someone else".

 Nayyirah Waheed

I love the simplicity of this thought - and how well it references the transformative nature of a poem (or a story, or a film, or an artwork...).

I really do think there are times when I have been changed by reading a poem.  When a new way of seeing or saying is presented and it touches something deep within, it opens something and lets a crack of light through.  There are so many bad descriptors I could use; but the bottom line is that sometimes the brevity and clarity of a poem can truly cut through and reach you in ways you weren't aware of.

As I hinted at, I think we can experience that sense of change, transformation, growth or insight in all forms of art (for some I imagine music moves them in a similar fashion; for others dance...). The ability of the arts to transform our thoughts and help us re-imagine ourselves and our world is one of its greatest strengths.

We need the arts. To uplift us, to enhance our understanding of ourselves and of others, and in order for us to thrive, not simply survive. 

Fiona Foley, Dispersed, 2008.

Playing with watercolour

 I have a small piece of work underway playing with a few initials. Here I am thinking  about how best to get the letter L into a square (kind of sort of).  I want to decorate the letter and give it a bit of 'zing'. Some attempts are better than others...

I went with the L on the right after consulting with B - he has an idea of who it is for - and so I transferred a version to watercolour paper to have a play with.

And the next letter to play with was H.  I wanted this to look different to the L, so began a bit of a grid and used a Charles Rennie Mackintosh style of lettering.

And then started to fill in around it - playing with blocks of anticipated colour.

Swatches begin to appear for the two letters.

One done and one coloured in.

Selecting the 7 colours?

Just add water they said.  The page begins to bubble with delight and vibrant colour.  I hand write notes to self before I start the final piece - like 'put green here'; and 'go hard on the pale pink'!

I had to leave it there for the moment; but hope to have it done by the weekend - finals shall be shared soon I hope.

Filing time and gazing...

Well I can never say that my art life isn't varied!  

This is some of the time consuming work I have been doing. I had planned that I might be able to use these aluminium plates to have prints in the Editions show which opens soon at Nambour; but to tell the truth I just didn't get far enough in the process and decided to pull back because I didn't think rushing was going to be a good thing.  I did manage to do the design; and to get it into the file type needed for the aluminium guy to be able to cut the plates for me. I did get the edges filed on one or two.

It takes quite a while just to sit there and file the edges so they don't rip or tear the paper. when they are pressed into it.

But you do get lovely piles of shiny stuff!

I also managed to do the designs; get them onto tracing paper to transfer them and then just stopped.  It was going to be tricky from that point on and I really need to take my time, so instead I decided to offer other things for the show and let these develop as they must. Slowly.

We have been wet for a few weeks and then on Thursday - brilliant sunshine!  We were able to sit on the deck as the sun set a couple of evenings and the bliss of it all was gorgeous.  It was so still. Not a breath of wind or breeze to shimmy the trees.

Lit by one of our wee concrete candle holders...

 And we sat until the first of the flying foxes (fruit bats) headed off in search of food.

Thursday Thoughts...

“What I’m experiencing in these moments is bleedover, collateral aggravation from the personal consumer choices of others. Living in metropolitan areas, we all experience bleedover. To drown it out, I’ll put on my own headphones, perhaps creating the same problem for others — and so on, in a domino effect of disturbed privacies. This minor incident, which we might pass over in silence as a mere inconvenience of modern life, in fact indicates a disturbing aspect of our culture. This is the ubiquity of private noise, the way we use sound to be alone.” 

From The Atlantic’s “The Sound of Solitude ” by Brian Patrick Eha.

This quote has been in my pile for a VERY long time.  It appears on page 28 of what has now become a 105 page document, so I scrolled way back this morning and was interested that I chose it (at last).

I chose it (I think) because we have moved from our block into town. We kind of jumped from a large solitary space to living more closely and alongside folk.  I would have to say my deepest fear was noise.  I live quietly, I adore silence, I am startled by loud noises, I despair at repetitive deep bass thrumming, and I just generally am no fan of noise.

For the record it has been a great move and I always say to people - it's so quiet!  Yay.  

I loved the phrasing here of "a domino effect of disturbed privacies". It was so evocative and accurate. I could imagine the additional hum and buzz that each set of headphones added as we try to be alone in our bubble of noise. Headphones signal to others that we are occupied and unavailable for disturbance or interaction.  So I wonder is it about the noise or is it about not having to engage with people?

The ubiquity of private noise? Or the need to be alone? 

I quite like a bit of background noise as I potter - podcasts are great for listening along to; and in some circumstances I may use that listening as companionship; whilst also as a warning to others in diffenret setting.  The same way I use the reading of a book in public to indicate I'm not up for conversation.  So many funny things to think about in this one quote and I daresay I have done none of them justice!

Detail of our final Pas de Deux collaborative book - Silence. Calligraphy by Fiona and Etching by Susan.

Mixing the old with the new

 It has been a long time since we visited the cottage in the Scottish Highlands.  We miss it so, and try not to think too long or too hard about when we might get back; and are forever grateful that we have kind neighbours and friends caring for it in our absence.

This work takes me back to when we were last there.

Back here, I chose the typeface, but was still struggling with the 'how to print'.  Eventually we got there.  I dreamed up weird and wonderful notions through the night; I woke with another way of maybe getting there; and so it went.  

Barry and I teamed up to do it - worked out how to ensure we were at the right place and that the paper would be straight and wouldn't move.

It meant that the two of us worked on each print (there were 10 of them), so Barry patiently worked away and I interrupted him to come and help after I had set each line of type.

The type had to be fairly high up in the chase. There was only one print per image, so it was changed after each print.

You can see how much the paper was draped over the top - this was the main risk. It could slip or just get dirty as it swayed through the printing process.

We did a lot of proofing to make sure it was straight, and centred. Each line of type was a different length of course.

The good paper and the good image go in. Barry resting the ruler on a metal bar, Fiona lining the paper up with a line drawn on the paper on the left.

And once again, hi tech attachment using scraps of painter's tape!

The first impression.

And here are a few of them.

This was a trial (and it worked out pretty well, just not quite centred as well as it might have been) along with the original I had printed a home on my little old Canon back in January last year.

Up close the combination of detailed, crisp, digital printing and the deeper impression of hand-inked traditional metal type letterpress printing on an 1890 press works well.  I have enjoyed bringing the two eras together and seeing if they can make something beautiful.

I am selecting the top 3 and getting them into frames this week.  Then hopefully they will head to the Editions printmakers' show at Nambour later this month. Unless I change my mind and include something else instead...

As ever, here is the proof that we really do need to proof!

February - tick! March begins...

 Well, I managed to finish my February hankie this week; so am now officially only a full month behind.  I am taking this as a sign of it is what it is, and I shall get through them as I get through them.  The important things is to record the small daily changes; and stitching them can take the time it takes.

And so, to February

February details over January

As ever, I am in love with the folds and the edges..

And then to choosing which hankie for March.  I realised March has a lot of stitching in it, so went with a hankie with a sturdier weave. I am sure it will hold the stitches well, but it does make for trickier tracing of the words. They are barely visible through the hankie.

Here is my hi-tech approach to handwriting transfer.

All transferred, with one error to fix.

First stitch made! I have begun!

Thursday Thoughts...

“Do not hunt for subjects, let them choose you, not you them. Only do that which insists on being done and runs right up against you, hitting you in the eye until you do it.” 

Samuel Butler

This is one of those circular type questions for me.  I certainly can't agree with the ONLY do that which insists on being done, although I know I spend a lot of time doing just that.

When the quiet voice suggests or guides me; when the gnawing sense of injustice explodes into particles that need to be gathered.  At these times, I know I need to make the work I need to make.

At other times, if those voices have quieted, I can find myself adrift, unsettled, fragmented and distracted.  At these times I find it helps to make for something; towards something; along the lines of something.

I struggle at times to make work for exhibitions - within the guidelines and with some notions of limitations.  At other times I find limitations fabulous for creativity and working within some tight lines can create magic.

I am clearly ambivalent about the ways of working; yet as I critique my own work and my own working life as an artist, I do know for sure that I can only make MY work - never anybody else's; and if my work is niche, or a bit off to the side, so be it.