A very enjoyable afternoon spent monoprinting with my gelli plate and collection of found objects (most picked up from pavements on my dog walks). Decided to keep my colour palette a little more neutral this time in an attempt to wean myself fluorescent paint colours. Printing onto old book pages (from a library discard) added to the pleasing build up of pattern and texture. Many of the prints need more layers, but some of the early trimmings escaped the bin and made it into my sketchbook as collages.
F is for Farggläd
The latest rubber stamp illustration in my collaboration with Swedish artist Eva Hejdström: F is for Farggläd (Swedish for colourful).
Playing with stitch
Found some monoprints I had digitally printed onto fabric in the second year of my MA, and decided to make a small book cover from one of them. Ironing a sandwich of the fabric, bondaweb and tissue paper makes a passable book cloth to cover a board. The pink spine/endpaper was a colour catcher used in the washing machine (nice colour thanks to a leaky red duvet cover). Needs some refining, but I like the idea of bringing more stitch into my work.
A rare treat
Lucky enough to see one of these rather special chaps last week when one flew into my neighbour's kitchen - amazing colours, and a real treat to see one up close.
E word
Better late than never, my 'E' word for my collaboration with Swedish book artist Eva Hejdström: Enmesh – to become entangled in something. This was a bit experimental - playing around with layers of rubber stamp stencils, and also stamping over a taped 'net' of threads.
Medieval stitchery
A few sneak peeks at my most ambitious project to date. An embroidered Medieval book for a competition set by the Bodleian Library in Oxford. No such thing as fast hand-embroidery. It takes as long as it takes. But the deadline is the end of August so I'd better get a wiggle on…
You take the high road...
A week in the Scottish Highlands… my absolutely most favourite place to be in the whole wide world. Lots of time for walking, reading, sketching and really important things like painting on shells.
BS9 Art Trail
Taking part in the BS9 Arts Trail this weekend (10/11 June) - I'll be at Stoke Bishop Scout Hut (between 15 and 17 Kewstoke Road)… come along and say hello if you're in that neck of the woods in Bristol. New for this year's art trail are prints of Bristol Terraces, beetle mini prints, handmade wooden print stands and lots of new books.
Sketchbook update
Rubber stamp stencil prints
1950's vases and vessels
Sketching from a book called 'Indian Birds'
Sketching from a 1950's wildflower book
Small gouache painting of flowers on my kitchen table
Since joining Instagram (@corinne_welch_) I have been neglecting this blog a little, lured by the instant gratification of regular, quick posts. However, I have been busy - getting ready for the BS9 Arts Trail in Bristol on 10/11 June. And also making the most of some time in the evenings to start developing new ideas in my sketchbook. Some recent pages featured here...
BOOK ISH NESS
World Book Night is here again (23 April) and this year's collaborative project organised by Sarah Bodman at UWE is all about the Loch Ness Monster. A field trip in March and contributions from artists all over the world has resulted in a wonderful publication produced by Sarah called BOOKISHNESS. It contains photos of 'sightings' of the monster and some wonderful book covers designed on this theme. A copy of the publication was sent to each contributor, the remaining 40 copies are available to purchase at £5 each including postage, email Sarah for details at: Sarah.Bodman@uwe.ac.uk. As always, it was really fun to be involved, and I'm thrilled to see my photo-bombing Nessie in print!
Belated BABE wrap up
I had a quick dash round before opening on the Sunday and bought a small stash of bookish treasures.
The Bristol Artist's Book Event (BABE) at the Arnolfini in Bristol on 1/2 April was an amazing weekend. Beautiful sunny weather certainly brought the crowds out, and there was barely a quiet moment for the whole two days. It was fantastic to meet so many people interested in artists' books and to spend a blissful weekend talking about books and printmaking (instead of Trump and other depressing political nonsense). I'd almost lost my voice by the saturday evening… talking that much is unusual for a hermit like me. Lots of sales and positive feedback, and a strengthened resolve to continue making more books. Just two years to prepare for the next one...
Countdown to BABE
Final couple of days of preparation for the Bristol Artists' Book Event (BABE) at the Arnolfini in Bristol this weekend (1 and 2 April). I've been busy making for months but still seem to take it up to the wire and will only just be ready on time. Lots of new books, cards and a fresh batch of hand-stamped notebooks will be on sale, alongside 79 other stalls of bookish loveliness. Hope to see you there!
The evolution of a new book
Photos show the stages of creating a new mini concertina book – 'Bristol Terrace'. I started by drawing the row of colourful terrace houses above the harbour, then made a gouache painting. I scanned this to create digital artwork, which was then printed (3 up on an SRA3 sheet) by printed.com. After chopping the pages down and folding the concertinas, I made covers in four different colourways and then bound the books. After trying a few different options, I finally decided upon plain grey endpapers… my preference is for patterned endpapers but everything I tried distracted from the houses. Also in the production line are some smart wooden bases for these books to stand on… to be unveiled at BABE (Bristol Artists' Book Event) at the Arnolfini on 1 and 2 April, and then available in my online shop soon after.
Sketchbook glimpses
Since June last year I've been keeping a regular sketchbook - I've enjoyed working on a small scale (A6) and without the intention of anything being preparatory. Quite liberating, and the first time I've done this since before I started my MA in 2011. When left to my own devices, I revert to pattern and collage, and it's been fun to start painting again. Some pages above from the past few weeks...
B & C
B is for BRUKSANVISNING (a user manual)
C is for COCK-A-HOOP (extremely and obviously pleased)
The latest illustrations in my collaboration with Swedish book artist Eva Hejdström.
New year, new sketchbook
And a chance to try out my new Chromacolour paints...
Season's Greetings
Have been a little quiet posting on here recently, but will dust off my blogging trousers again in the new year. In the meantime, wishing you a very happy Christmas and a sparkly 2017!
Late to the party
Notoriously slow in engaging with social media, I've finally got round to posting on instagram. You can follow me @corinne_welch_