Textile Workshop

27th November

A little girl said to her teacher "I'm drawing a picture of God"' and her teacher said "but nobody knows what God looks like" and the child replied "well, they will in a minute".
Sir Ken Robinson.
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en#

This quote by Sir Ken Robinson, an English author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts, described my thoughts at the start of the Textile workshop with Sean; a feeling that something unique, new and unknown could be tangibly represented. 

linear study2

The evocative dye through mesh screen print technique used in textile print is similar in method to that of Silkscreen printing, although this process is specifically designed to transfer vibrant colour onto an organic surface which is then 'fixed'. 

linear study1

The concept of Organic surfaces interested me too and the variants of these eg. Cotton, wool, human skin and plaited hair. The possibility or impossibility perhaps of printing onto a human figure, the most complex, perfect organic surface imaginable; hence my reference to the Almighty. A child-like thought 'The Emperor's New Clothes'. 
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1620.html#andersen

I have known Mr. Sean Hennenbury, Textile guru at UWE, for as long as I've had my adult teeth and it was only right that he should be the facilitator into my quest for the divine. 
His jovial and relaxed approach to all things patterned, printed onto any cellulose and fibre based surface, along with his grasp of the chemical and practical 'making' process was inspirational and inherent in the processes he described so animatedly. 
There are obvious parallels between print on fabric and paper; whatever the surface you deal with 'spot' colours. The mantra in Textiles is 'Think HIGH CONTRAST'.

A variety of colour processes exist for adding dye to the fabric. These include Acid Disperse Direct to Thermochromic and Pigment and large format digital printing.

I never thought 'dyeing could be so much fun! 

This initial introduction was my epiphany, sparking the seed of an idea; to use  malleable, flexible cloth surfaces to create a series of textural, figurative studies. 
http://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/tate-papers/lightning-and-rain-phenomenology-psychoanalysis-and-matisses-hand


Becki, SeanShaunShawn's able assistant, discussed the merits of large format digital printing, which in conjunction with Photoshop, could be used to produce sophisticated, cost effective, time efficient designs; in contrast to the more simplistic linear form which has been the basis for some of my current work.  Could my attempt to replicate the essence of the human form printing onto 'skin like' soft fabric with my 'Matisse' inspired designs be perceived as celestial?
http://www.victoriagal.org.uk/exhibitions/future_exhibitions/modern_masters_in_print.aspx
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/8834443/Henri-Matisses-books.html?image=7

Stephen Callaghan, the Creative Director of Glasgow Arts Society, said in the 'British Catholic Observer' 24th November 2014, "Artistic treasures can bring us all a little closer to God".

Therefore, if we are all made in 'God's image'  with divine intervention I'm attempting to recreate a little magic on cloth and to the man in white robes, bare feet and the great big bushy beard, I say unto thee... 'He's not wearing any clothes'!

By the people...for the people

PbO: Letterpress Workshop

20th November 2014

It's amazing to think how Johannes Gutenberg - a German blacksmith, goldsmith and printer, changed the way in which the western world accessed information; sharing with us the ability to print whole actual books when all around everyone else was writing (if indeed they could write) with the thin end of a parsnip dipped in dung and ploughing fields with the arse bone of a giraffe.

http://www.gutenberg.de/english/erfindun.htm

http://bav.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/arch-b-b10

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6KmzuULPmQ
(Stephen Fry -The Machine that made us)

Today's workshop introduced by Phil Bowden (the Litho man) explored the inner sanctum of the complex, laborious but magical process that is LetterPress printing.

Phil is obviously a 'Cold Metal' man who is passionate and ingenuous about this process but he was also extremely patient with students like me whose hands immediately turned into pigs trotters the moment they touched a compositing stick! 

The discovery of 'moveable type' was hugely important. It was the beginning of mass production and propaganda publicity with religious doctrines being the first printed ephemera produced. The stem of Letterpress printing grew from Illuminated letterforms and with the Church being the pinnacle of wealth and power in medieval society it is no surprise that 'religious indulgences' were Gutenbergs' first printed documents for those who could read.

rolling up type on press

Metal type on press

Individual characters were cast in lead alloy and the first press was designed along the same lines as a wine press- the lead characters were set down onto the press bed, inked up and 'screwed down' onto parchment paper. The structure of this press moved on from this 'screwing' style press to the 'knuckle and joint' and then 'Albion press design.

The operation of type manufacture in its inception went from hand carved wooden characters to basically slopping molten metal into casts in sand, moulding type shapes added to the individuality of each character and then using carved characters, which were 'punched' into brass moulds, cast each type form more accurately and uniformly.

metal type set and locked into press

Letterforms were cut from wood (skilful, lighter and more economical than metal type forms but more time consuming and less accurate than metal characters) latterly lead was the metal of choice. Unfortunately setting lead type was a perilous process, with Lead Oxide poisoning rife as the metal was unconsciously ingested due to poor hand hygiene. This insidious poisoning was often what 'carried off' the poor compositors in days of yore, their 'blue tongues' lolling like that of a Chow dog.

http://britishletterpress.co.uk/type-and-typography/woodletter-or-poster-types/

http://britishletterpress.co.uk/type-and-typography/finding-second-hand-type/

 

final print

 

 

The BookART Session

SARAH BODMAN

13th November 2014

Artists Books - Access.

TYPOGRAPHIC examples
http://wordsarepictures.co.uk
Craig Ward
https://www.behance.net/gallery/7616553/Book-Layout-Timothy-Samaras-20-Rules-of-Good-Design
Timothy Samara
http://www.gerardunger.com
Gerard Unger
http://elupton.com
Ellen Lupton

Sarah introduced us to a range of artists who produced beautiful art using the printed, the painted, the performance and the pixelated; work ranging from the aesthetic to the altruistic compiled in book form.  

I loved Tim Mosely's extremely personal 'Archipelago of Remnant Gardens' - a touchable http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/13brazil/brazilsbpics.pdf'tear n' share' book based on his childhood experiences and a response to his past and future printed on Rainforest ply. It was inconceivable to me that one could be allowed to touch, rip pages and in doing so actually become part of artist's finished work. 

The Enamelling Workshop

SiO2 & CuO ... the true method of knowledge is to experiment
William Blake

13th November 2014

... made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C (1,380 and 1,560 °F). The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating on metal, or on glass or ceramics.

http://www.janlyjaggard.com/
http://janinepartington.co.uk/view-enamels/copper-series/
http://www.daledevereuxbarker.co.uk/
http://www.swarez.co.uk/

See Colouring Light: Brian Clarke - an artist apart. BBC 4
http://www.brianclarke.co.uk/about


My preconception of enamelling was that it was a process for grown ups. I thought it exclusive and inflexible. I was first introduced to these shiny metallic slabs of 'abstract' gorgeousness in the early 90s following my Illustration degree by looking at the work of Elizabeth Turrell and Janly Jaggard, who were lecturing at the School of Art and Design in Bristol. Also looking at the intricate enamel pieces of the then new jewellery designer Kit Heath, in conjunction with Mappin and Webb Jewellers in London.  

Arriving at the Fabrication centre at 10am I was feeling slightly ruffled. Comme d'habitude, I did not have a clear direction - other than needing a Cornetto from the shop - having already been screen printing A2 'juicy landscapes' with the irrepressible Mr. Fortune and a series of anxious MA 'mini-printers' since 8.15am.
Rachel Merelie, our elegant enamelling tutor was inspiringly passionate about this process and my Cornetto hunger slowly evaporated, being replaced by 'Champleve, Cloisonné and Copper Oxide' cravings.
We were given instruction in the science of metal and glass fusion that is the Enamelling process and shown how to 'chop', 'nibble' and 'punch' our copper sheets to create a variety of marks before degreasing the metal and adding the 'counter glaze' to the underside of our copper. This metal was then fired in the kiln at a temperature of about 800 degrees from 30 seconds to 6 minutes depending on the size of the original piece of metal. Health and safety was paramount. I wore huge industrial gloves and welding goggles in order to put my work in and take it out of the kiln - bit of a Flash Dance vibe.

Once removed from the kiln and the metal had cooled,  the sooty black residue or 'Fire Scale' has to be scoured away before adding the next glaze.  Rachel was on hand with advice and I experimented with underglaze pencils (being impatient) tried  'under firing' my work which gives a greener tint to the white vitreous enamel.

I loved the red textures created by the chemical reaction of clear glaze on raw  metal with the application of heat and some of my first glazes were beautiful.. Martian landscapes in miniature and linked perfectly to the volcanic paintings of Cesar Manrique. My abstract textures and patterns evolved by trial and error and I loved the spontaneous nature of this process. I found Enamelling, although painful at times, a very satisfying and expressive process; a chaotic, but paradoxically, considered duality between two and three dimensions.  For me this evocation of texture is captured by Gerhard Richter and the huge painted textural responses by Anselm Kiefer to his past, present and future: 

" He is the most liberating painter since Jackson Pollock. Like Pollock, Kiefer transforms a painting from a picture to be contemplated into a fact that splashes out into the world. Pollock often left bits of rubbish on the surface of his paintings; cigarette butts that fell in the wet paint, for instance. And Kiefer, who includes Pollock-esque drips among the marks he makes, also leaves everything from woodcuts to organic matter encrusted on his art’s rich surfaces. But the effect is utterly different from the late American artist". Jonathan Jones-The Guardian September 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/sep/22/anselm-kiefer-royal-academy-of-arts-review

In the words of 'Forrest Gump' enamelling is like 'a box of chocolates .. you never really know what you're gonna get'.

The Silkscreen Sessions

I print, therefore I am...

6th November 2014

After the excitement of the Marvellous Manrique I was looking forward to producing work which could be inspired by his vibrant textural colour paintings and large scale mosaics eg. volcanic oil studies and garden sculptures; combining this with my own fine linear drawing. I wanted to use silkscreen and lithography for these initial studies as I thought the processes would produce the most effective results for both fine line and textured block abstracts on a smooth photo plate or thin grade paper.  

Abstrakter Bild - Richter

I loved Manriques' Miro-esque collages, metal figurative garden sculptures and the limited colour palette and patterns contained within his oily mixed media canvasses which evoked the landscape he loved. (See Kyffin Williams, Kurt Jackson and Gerhard Richter whose visual work is also suggestive of rough textural planes but especially the tactile quality of a surface). 

https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/
http://kurtjackson.com/
http://www.kyffinwilliams.info/oriel-kyffin-williams.html

I love the autumn for its sense of melancholy... There is poetry in the dying of the year and mystery as well.' Kyffin Williams

Skeisse zu Parkstuck - Richter

The starting point for this print work was my own sketchbook studies of the rugged island seascapes; cliffs and rocks, undulating and folding, simplistic yet extremely complex in its composition. 

Once the right sketches were chosen and I had scanned, re-touched and tweaked them, the structural landscapes were transferred onto acetate by the enigmatic Ben (a lovely male Mona Lisa). 
I used one of these A2 positives as the base for a range of experiments. However, time was not on my side. I attempted several mono prints as a basis for the keyline work and then also block textured transparent shapes to accentuate and define solid areas. This was supplemented by adding collage and drawing directly onto the screen and also onto the wet silkscreen prints. 

This exploratory work is ongoing, rather haphazard and to be continued ... Less Descartes more Des O'Connor, rather like me. 

yo te acuerda oh mi corazon 

Cesar Manrique 

29th October 2014

The integration of architecture and art in harmony, embedded in a love of his home and country is a synthesis of the 'Manrique' experience.

http://patternity.org/news/patterniquote-cesar-manrique-the-explorer/
http://www.cesarmanrique.com/juguetes_i.htm

In an attempt to quantify a definitive reason and perhaps a direction behind my artistic  outpourings (ugh) and to demystify the Aristotelian quote 'misfortune shows those who are not friends',  I abandoned my university chums and spent a little time soaking up creative 'atmos' in the orbit of that late visionary artist, architect and aesthete Cesar Manrique on the island of Lanzarote. 

A strange landscape of extremes; fecund yet barren -  where the tattoo rubs shoulders with the Tintoretto, Manrique's eclectic range of work from the silkscreen print to the sculpture, takes its inspiration directly from his Spanish roots. He uses the volcanic heat, vibrant colours and unusual textures found on this rugged island as the thread running through all the work he ever produced. This obvious passion for and direct link with his country and his life; this sense of 'who you are' through a combination of the tactile and the visual, I found overwhelmingly inspirational. 

Manriques' collection of art work is diverse and he uses his home as a gallery space as if as an 'aide memoir' showcasing his own work and taking inspiration from that of his friends; images of abstracted beauty ranging from Francisco Farreras to Gerardo Rueda, Jean Miro to Pablo Picasso. 

The backdrop to this as one meanders through the subterranean labyrinth that makes up his cool underground home, is the sound of trickling water and the sudden burst of cerelean and white as the obsidian lava bursts open to reveal a vast canvas of sky.

http://www.fcmanrique.org/recursos/publicacion/cesarmanrique1950-57.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r49JUDF07O8


The realisation for me was that creativity is life affirming and paradoxically transient yet constant. The textural content of the paintings and the colours in the landscape affected me like the metallic tang of ozone; sharp and tangible. The tactile abstraction of nature combined with mouthwatering colour is something I aspire to create with print - juicy silkscreen, fine lithography or crumbling, shiny enamels.
However small the beginnings, whatever direction you take, there is no 'wrong', there is acceptance and unusually large amounts of genitalia shaped cacti.