Inspiration

I've been invited to exhibit in Bird's Gallery (seems like the perfect place for my work!) later this year and I'm starting to think what new work I could do.  I'd love to do more aquatint etchings but I just don't have the facilities at home, so I've been wondering about collographing. I saw Jo Horswill's beautiful collograph work on her blog earlier this week and it started me thinking. I love the textural nature of collographs and would love to make a highly textured range, yet still include my linear style. Here are a few prints from etsy I've been looking at for inspiration, some aquatint, some collographs, one quirky letterpress matchbook and a fish print, actually printed from a fish!



Now I need to go and research more about how to make collographs, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

The Currawongs

Ok, so, I charged up my camera battery and put it in, ready to take photos for new years eve and... my camera has finally died. I think it must be all the dropping of it. I've never been very good at holding on to it! So I went into town yesterday and simply had to buy a new one. So I'm all ready now and here we go...

My larger recent work.

I remember first hearing currawongs when I lived in Abbotsford. They actually say "currawong currawong." I think they are lovely looking birds, about the size of a crow but a little bit sleeker. Apparently they are a little bit evil and rather clever.

My original drawings of the currawongs were done with black ink and a brush (see above) and I wanted to recreate this effect in etching by using sugarlift. This process involves painting your image onto the plate with a sugar solution. You let it dry and then paint diluted bitumen over the top and let that dry. Then put the plate into warm water and the areas where the sugar solution was painted lifts off, exposing the copper plate below. An aquatint is then applied by dusting the plate (still with the bitumen covering the areas where the sugar solution was not lifted) with fine rosin grains and melting them with a flame. Aquatint creates texture on the surface of the plate so it picks up more ink and creates an even dark tone. Then place the plate into the acid for the desired length of time. When the plate is ready take it out of the acid, clean off the bitumen and melted aquatint grains and you are ready to ink up and print.