Week four

Wax resist ink drawings based on photos on branches in the snow taken in the brief window of white stuff on Sunday morning

Ink drawing of a Viburnum branch - colour rubbed from the actual berries and leaves

Collage of natural ink offcuts with drawings of fruit tree branches

A neater version of the stamped pattern I created a couple of weeks ago for covers on a coptic bound sketchbook. The linen thread is dyed with red onion - a perfect match for the ‘pear tart’ ink stamp pad

Experiment with stitching onto paper. Naturally dyed linen thread over the top of the corresponding homemade ink. From left to right: onion skins, hawthorn, holly berry and eucalyptus bark

A close up of the holly berry circle… this is my favourite ink so far - a really rich colour

Another productive week… my ‘garden residency’ seems to be balancing well with my day job so far - by doing something every day, I find I get into a rhythm of working and can maintain some momentum. This first month has been a lot of trying things out, but having just spent a day pulling everything together into a large scrapbook to record my progress, I’m happy with how it’s shaping up. Results have been a bit hit and miss, but I’ve learnt a lot and had fun getting back to playing again. It’s certainly been a welcome distraction in a particularly bleak January, and has left very little time for feeling bored or hemmed in at home.

Wish I was where?

From Eva Hejdstrom

From Cathey Webb

As part of the Collage Colloquium in August (see details in previous post), participants were asked to create a collage postcard to send on the them of ‘Wish I was where?’ I decided to use some of my treasured stash of letrafilm from my friend Eva to create an image of where I’d like to be camping this summer. Actually I’d like to be camping anywhere this summer, but a combination of Corona virus and the practicalities of an increasingly elderly dog have meant that I’ve had to forego the joys of sleeping under canvas this year. But had I been able to go, this would be as good a spot as any. Based loosely on a lovely campsite I once stayed at in Eype in South Devon, on the South West coast path overlooking West Bay. Not sure the sea was ever that blue, and the beach certainly isn’t that sandy, but that’s the beauty of the artistic license of collage. To make the most of the semi-transparent nature of the letrafilm, I punched out a hole for the sun, which then lights up when held up to the real-life sun.

I received two lovely collage postcards as part of this collaborative project - one of Gotland in Sweden from Eva, and also a gorgeous boat from Cathey Webb. Both propped up in my studio to make me think wistfully of alternative places to be spending this stay-at-home summer.

My miniature art gallery

The original pack of paper scraps supplied by Yvonne Foster

The leftovers

Welcome to #myminiatureartgallery - a tiny exhibition of tiny collages made from paper scraps generously provided by @yvonnejfoster ... I really enjoyed making these - working on a small scale and with (my own) limited rules:

1. use only scraps provided
2. they all must be 4cm square
3. each one to include two words (some more random than others)

What I found interesting was that I was more pleased with the final few collages made with dwindling supplies - I think limited resources make choices easier and focus the mind. The bottom picture shows what’s left - tempting to see if I can squeeze one final collage out of them! Many thanks again Yvonne for setting up this project...

Collage scraps

Finally getting back to working in my sketchbook… collaging scraps from monoprints.

Bits and bobs

Collaged bits and bobs from my typing experiments... they remind me of high-rise buildings... now thinking of a typed cityscape concertina book. . . 

Dwelling

The original package of letrafilm from Sweden

Tiny collages using the stash of letrafilm kindly gifted by Eva Hejdstrom. I’m enjoying working quickly and intuitively at this small scale.

Season's greetings

Winding down for a festive break at last. Thought I’d end the year as I started it with a final collage from the mouse-chewed magazine I found in my garage. Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas!

Day Pages

Overheard conversations from yesterday

Yesterday evening was the pinnacle of domestic excitement

An inventory of food and drink from yesterady

A very enjoyable day spent at a workshop run by artist Daniel Lehan - it was accompanying his exhibition 'DAY PAGES' which has just opened at UWE Bower Ashton Library, and inspired by his practice of keeping a daily diary comprising of collage and typewritten text. It was a great excuse to dust off my old typewriter, and also really inspiring to hear about the different ways he collects and creates content for both his diaries and books. The tapping of old typewriters was a soothing soundtrack to the day (not sure other people using the library agreed!)

One mouse-chewed magazine

Clearing out the garage over the festive break I came across a 1960's magazine which had been chewed by mice. As a spin-off from my recycling collage challenge, I decided to see how many different collages I could make from it. Some are in the square format as the recycling collages and others are in my sketchbook… amazing colours and typography. Very grateful to the mouse for giving me permission to chop up something I would otherwise have just filed away!

Collage challenge continues

swedish stamp, envelopes, a letter and a shopping list

an envelope, an old magazine and pattern from last year's calendar

A busy start to the year with work, so I'm a little behind with blog posts… I've been carrying on with making collages from paper rescued from each week's recycling box. It's turning into quite a mixed bag of a project so far...

Wrapping up for the year

Finally time for the festive holiday to start - looking forward to a couple of weeks off. Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2018!

Collage challenge

From an interior's catalogue and some offcuts of book pages from a papier mâché project

Paper culled from a free supermarket magazine

The ABC (Artists' Book Club) at UWE have a group project running this year to create books on the theme of 'found'. I've set myself a challenge to make at least one collage each week using only the paper I've salvaged from that week's recycling box. I'm not quite sure what form the book will take yet, but I'm enjoying playing around with collage and I'm surprised how different each one looks. My favourite thing about collage is the element of chance - I never know how the finished piece will work when I start working on it. Very liberating for a control freak...