From Ashfield Sydney to Seelands Grafton

Early morn shot of the local marsupials!

I'm sitting by the clarence river as I write this, the sun dapples through the grapevine and prettily on the river.  I have 2 kangaroos chewing the cud in front of me and a cat lazy and fast asleep beside me.  What a rural change from the city pace.


I really enjoyed my time in Sydney particularly socially.... meeting lots of lovely people at the workshops and the tennis club, Anthia and Gerard, a special thanks for their hard work at the council  and sipping wine at the art galleries with new friend and colleague Sandra Winkworth.  Will post the final finished drawings from the residency.  Have another on its way inspired by my time there and changes here. 

Wrap up party... and some of my etchings...

I'm getting into the rural lifestyle with a veggie patch on its way... doesnt look much right now...

weeds dug out and some herbs and veges planted

The last workshop

Elizabeth printing up a block

Lots of activity on the weekend as the last collagraph workshop of my residency was fully booked with a long queue of a variety of collagraph blocks.  Such an interesting process.... you collage all manner of textures to make a picture, which you then ink up and print.  They always produce a surprise result!!  I've tried snake skin, bandaids, egg shells, sandpaper, as well as a variety of fabrics and papers.  These guys had lots of successes!! 

Long view of studio room an my etching press

Joy of Dance- a preview

a preview of drawing in progress

I have always enjoyed Picasso's work... his overlaying of textures like newspaper to stand in for the act of reading, the texture of the tablecloth or perhaps the wallpaper.  When I saw his etchings and a couple of very small paintings in the NSW Art gallery, I felt a resonance with his work Two women running on the beach, 1922.  He captured that joy of the body and movement that I am trying to explore in my work.  So I started another drawing, here is its beginning..... I am going to leave open spaces in this work.  The oval drawings are a series that have a more baroque looking glass feel. 

Etching and Aquatint

A new aquatint box!! does that delicious rich velvety blacks that are such an intrinsic part of etching..... and made by eldest highly talented son Victor... of Volpe's Cabinetmaking... Cromer.



Laundry has become my extended studio!

I've got the rose plate back to speed.... the darks in the aquatint had a breaking down issue.... gave me a chance to get the box going with rich dark results...



1min 50sec bite with good boost of rosin for rich covering.

 

Domestic detruitus put to work

Two very inspired and inspiring women have given me a lovely reminder of my residency here with a bag made by Bharti and printed by Bharti and Kavitha. 

It is a collagraph block that Bharti made in one of the workshops.  It has a stencil that blocked out areas of the collagraph to form the image of a butterfly.  She is a daub hand at sewing too. 

Below we are standing in front of a display of some women's work that they made whilst in my workshops. 


Bharti at International Women's Day Ashfield



Collagraphs and etchings by International Womens Day female workshop artists

She's Dancing House

How can 2 months of this residency have passed already... so much more to do.  I need my quiet time- and drawing with pencil and paper- does it for me.  Still a work in progress, this drawing is coming along quite nicely.  Dorothea Tanning's soft scultpure work in particular the Hôtel du Pavot, Chambre 202   which I saw at the Pompidou Centre, several years ago, has never left my imagination.  Right now my female protagonist cant quite get out of the domestic.... so she is dancing house instead!

She's Dancing House

Drypoint etching at the Villa

It is an amazing space here visually with surroundings of sport, open grass, and this heritage villa.  I have met some lovely people and having my etching press was worth the effort of getting it to Sydney.  It has opened up some great opportunities for the locals here.

Bharti designed her image and tested it on fabric with great success!

The classes on drypoint etching are fun for everyone as they can design an image, scratch and mark a plate and then ink it up with some lovely results in a day.



Kavitha was using traditional Indian designs to inspire her imagery!



Jenny scratching in designs that abstracted from nature!

Our next workshops are for International Womens Day which is celebrated on the 8th March.  I'm looking forward to the breakfast and our exhibition at the Ashfield Council.  More pics coming!!