Saturday 13 December 2014

Gelli Monoprints

I have been working with a gelli plate, this is about 1/2 " thick clear rubberised plate that can be used for mono printing and provides a much cleaner and sharper image. I began with by using a home-made one made with gelatine & glycerin which works to a degree and and with these I printed lots of surfaces and then made collages from them





I decided to buy one as a birthday present to myself and have been using it at the studio.  I wasn't entirely convinced of the success of the images. However towards the end of the day I began to discover that images were emerging and developed better when worked back into or collaged. I was quite pleased with these three pieces.





Saturday 18 October 2014

Cormorant - September - October 2014

Certain images from I-Spy at the Seaside re-occur throughout the work - the Cormorant is one of these and acts as a vehicle to be reinterpreted.

Using photocopies have allowed me to alter the scale, but I've also wanted to explore other processes that would alter the nature and origin of these images.  Printmaking has been an ideal transition, from simple monoprints and press prints to drypoint. 










Tuesday 30 September 2014

New Studio

At the end of August I moved back into Rogue Studios after about 12 years gap.  The new studio is on the 4th floor right at the back and looks out over Ancoats.



This gave me enough time to prepare for open studios.  It was lovely to have the opportunity to talk to people about my work. I found as I talked that I understood more about what I was doing and what I want to achieve.  I also felt like I had come home - here were a group of people with similar aesthetics and concerns.






Thursday 10 April 2014

Double Page Spreads

Whilst the altered books have been a mainstay to my work I have not used them for awhile.  I realised that all my energy  and attention was going into them; preventing me developing individual  pieces.
In reviewing  the work recently, I returned to them, revisiting some pieces  and developing double page spreads. Here are some recent developments - although not all of it is recent work.






Saturday 8 March 2014

Reworkings

Text and Image remain significant throughout the work.  I have begun to develop work in series of connected ideas and revisit previous pieces.

Where and Which Way

I want  explore images from the original altered books and also combine them with motifs developed over the last 3 years. 


February 2014







Portrait Postcards 

On a recent trip to Kendal I found some portrait postcards which have fueled another direction. I like the random nature of the found portrait.


February / March 2014



The Knitted Helmets

This is part of a series began last summer and developed mostly in "The Complete Book of Handcrafts" altered book after I purchased a knitting pattern for balaclavas


Summer 2013

March 2014 


Absence 

The found portraits postcards  have provided another direction and in the same way that I look for artifacts with the previous owners markings so here are a sense of the absent figure