Freda Du Faur

https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/project-follows-spirit-du-faur

Mixed Media Class at the Wanaka Autumn Arts School 2016

Gelli print by Claire

I was thrilled to return to teach at the  Autumn Arts School in Wanaka for a week of print based mixed media explorations.  The aim was to be involved in pursuing individual artistic vision through reinterpreting traditional methods of working, considering ways to structure a project/theme and seeing ourselves as artist inventors/experimenters. Sometimes it is easier to take a risk and make discoveries in a workshop situation!

One of our first activities was offering up work we had previously made that we considered a 'failure'. Everything was up for grabs and students could take whatever they wanted to create a new artwork. It can be less threatening and easier to be more objective about someone else's work.  Having a wide selection of visual source material makes the reinterpreting/collating/design process hands on and full of choice and the interventions of what was offered combined with what participants brought to the work was very interesting. 

Participants brought art 'fails' with them

Ann's Collage

One of the initial solutions 

Prue's collage relating to her
 quatrefoil research

We did make art journals but rather than aiming to make a finished product over the week we got into a variety of interventions on paper and fabric towards creating a collection of layered surfaces, textures and experimental samples. We used printmaking techniques that lend themselves towards abstract and painterly effects through mono printing, rusting, collagraph and gelli prints. Some collagraph plates were gorgeous in their own right.

Belinda's collagraph plate

Rusting & Gesso

Claire's interventions of rust and print

Gesso texture through plastic lace by Jahn

One of the most fluid ways of working was, rather than making a collagraph plate where materials are glued down and sealed,  to print things directly from an inked up flat of colour.  Janet's threads form a perfect example of this.

plate on left, print on right

We made relief and intaglio solar prints as a way to process  graphic, photographic and text plates. 

Belinda exposing a solar plate in the sun

Kay's relief solar print from a photo

Vic's solar print

The same image which Vic is now stitching into
 the lining of a jacket.

More stitching....

Jahn's beautiful stitched response to a vintage pattern.

A stitched /dyed muslin page in Karen's art journal. 

Printed and stitched leaves by Corry

Reverse of Corry's stitching - the embossing is visible

Ann - printed stitching. India theme.

Here we are at work. Someone came in and described our room as the Industrial Revolution and indeed it was always abuzz. Printing! Stitching! Glueing!  Thinking! I wanted t cry when we had to pack up and finish - we all wanted to keep going .

Karen at her desk

 Sandy re purposing scrapbooking tools 
(We were lucky to have access to Barbara MacKenzie's
Big Shot and Jenny Sutherland's industrial AccuCut and dies.)  

Sandy using the die cut 'negative' as frames over prints

Some more lovely examples from the week....

Kay's moth - print,chine colle and walnut ink

Art journals by Megan

Claire's blue grey palette of gelli prints

Corry's art journal

Corry's solar print of Mt Aspiring

Pam's dressmaking themed work

Pam's work - on her second theme of hiking

Janet's stitching 

Vic's ratty - combining the abject with  beautiful lace

Rolled music - Janet

A clever idea -  don't you love this as a way to store and travel with your paintbrushes.

Somehow we still fitted in time for bubbles and I got treated to a most delicious, memorable breakfast from Megan, Ulva and Janet before driving home on Saturday.

https://www.facebook.com/BubbleOnNZ/

Yum - thank you - loved the pancakes Megan!

Special thanks to The Upper Clutha Community Arts Council, Robyn van Reenen, Dennis and Susan Manson (check out her business Fully Wooly below)

http://wanakartsociety.co.nz/upper-clutha-community-arts-council/

http://www.autumnartschool.net.nz/wp/ 

https://www.facebook.com/FullyWoolly/?fref=ts

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Reclaiming Book Pages

I got inspired by a pin by Janina on Pinterest which links to her blog -http://janinascasa.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/guest-list.html.  Yes!  Altering the pages of old National Geographics. 

 Scoring magazines was the easy part - plenty in N.Z op shops. However I could not find a stockist for  Citrasolve. I tried Desolve it, also a citrus based cleaner, but it was not strong enough. I could not stop there so Googled and found another citrus based product d-Limonene.

selection of altered pages

 Sometimes small 
areas of text show through.

Ordered it, tried it - found it really hard to wait the 30 minutes for the reaction to process and I could not find a sponge brush. Some success though - but on my trial ones I  found the intensity of the marbling and colour a bit full on for my intent. Instead I came up with this method which appeals to me greatly - the pages create beautiful backgrounds which will work well interleaved into pages of a tactile sketchbook.It was an enjoyable process to do - creating a process sense of under erasure/ the palimpsest. 

5 hole Pamphlet stitch Mini Journals

I took two one day workshops to accompany the Poems In The Waiting Room exhibition 'A Palette of Poetry'. https://www.facebook.com/apaletteofpoetry

Book/print classes take a lot pf preparation and on this occasion I was happy to have Vivienne, one of the participants, come out to my house a night or two prior to the class and gesso over many book pages. These pages were then dry and ready to be reclaimed into found poems. In an added bonus Vivienne  introduced us to the erasure poems of Mary Ruefle, perfect!  http://www.maryruefle.com/ . Thank you Vivienne! Other pages were covered in gesso and used as base pages to assemble poems and print on.

Everyone made their own 'words' and images out of solar plate - the UV bulb was running hot both days. These were printed on an etching press - something visitors to the gallery enjoyed seeing in action. Towards the end of the class we sewed up selected pages into small 5 hole pamphlet stitch books - this is simple bookbinding but effective for holding about ten pages together. One of the delights of bookbinding for me is seeing the way new readings are created when different pages juxtapose and everyone did a fantastic job of selecting, editing and arranging pages to maximise this.

Just the best - a table full of 'stuff'.

Briar did these beautiful poetic pages with gesso and shellac.

Enough writing - the photos tell the real story.

Some pages were so delicious they were  kept as full
sheets rather than folded into a book.

Individual themes quickly emerged

I photographed this upside down - but a good design looks good
from any angle.

Gill made and printed a map of her hometown.

Covers - embossed cardboard and ink - love them!

Covers made from  old books or painted cardboard. Since I
only had blue buckram (book cloth) I painted some with acrylic
 test pots to have a more interesting colour range.

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