Wednesday Sustainable art practices Marc Hill
I have written about Marc before and there is little I can add. He
is a kind and gentle person, incredibly valuable when visiting exhibitions to
Te Papa. I used my time there painting a series combining my Friday class.
Starting the term with a lack of direction but finished it with another avenue
to explore.
Thursday Print Marci Tackett
What a challenge! The term was supposed to cover drypoint which is a
lot like sketching and is a way to use my visual diary drawings as a finished
work exploring the inks and paper associated with print. Woodcut that opened a
whole new world and screenprinting that I have tried before with Marci.
I
decided to have a crack at one particular type of woodcut for the term –
Reductive woodcut where you use the one plate to get different coloured layers
to a print by progressively destroying the woodcut as you go. So, never to go
backwards, starting with a white layer of your paper and build up your image by
carving away the plate (in my case MDF board) I choose a painting of mine a ‘Wet
Wellington Day’ I made 11 initial prints hoping to get at least one I liked. I
liked the fact I learnt a lot and the outcomes of some of the prints but did not
get one that satisfied me overall.
Registration, the squashing of the plate,
the application of the ink, the impressing of the press – all should be able to
be controlled but I’m messy, impatient and too much a perfectionist to fully
enjoy the process and it took me eight days (not counting the nights carving)
to get a less than satisfactory result.
Marci and the others in the class were
very encouraging and helpful even after they saw my bad mood side. I also had a
bit of fun repurposing a book that was to be thrown out, I cut, painted,
screwed and ‘waxed my book, highlighting words that mean something to me,
telling a story.
Friday Painting Sarah Brock
Sarah is a very generous tutor and the group we had this term was
small enough for all of us to be in the one room. (I did feel isolated last
term being in another space) I decided to explore a new way of applying paint
and I had to do this at home because of the unpleasant fumes I generated. I
threatened the life of our dogs and cockatiel, not to mention giving myself a
headache or two but was pleased with the outcome. I now have to find a less
smelly way of doing more next term.
