Teapots

Screen print  I created from a photo I took of teapots in a window in Amsterdam...

And this was the photo...

And some shiny kitchen things in the adjoining window...

Age is just another number

One of my friends recently had a significant birthday and invited us all to contribute something to hang on a tree / washing line of life to celebrate. Here's my colourful creation, playing on the number picking game I used to play as a child. This time it has much bigger numbers and words of wisdom about age and life instead of the unkind things that kids used to put inside!

Hide and Seek

The other half of the group portrait project we did last term (see previous entry entitled The Portrait Challenge). This is the self portraits.

In the shadows

The Responses to Art group met at Bradford Industrial museum last month and I finally got to join them. Artist Steve Gumbley is currently exhibiting Shadow Machines and Singing Paintings there. He talked about his work with light and shadow, introducing us to his shadowgraph 'From Horse Power to Hydrogen Power', involving models of all manner of items relating to power, from cooling towers to bicycles, chimneys to galloping horses. He has assembled these on a large, slowly moving turntable with a small, low light source on one side, creating shadows on the far wall. Objects close to the light source project huge shadows, whilst those further away create smaller shadows. As the base revloves, the shadows move in relation to each other, growing and shrinking and interacting in different ways.


We had been briefed to bring with us small items which may create interesting shadows and there were boxes full of wire, paper, small toys and other ephemera for us to delve into as we then created our own shadowgraphs on themes such as Procession, Fairytale and Urban Landscape.  

We then went on to create individual pieces on the theme of power and energy to add, one by one, to Steve's big revolving shadowgraph. Using some of my weird but beautiful collection of hedgehog bones, a few feathers and the bird skull and dead bee that my sister gave me for my birthday (brilliant! Thank you Jo!) I created a fantasy flying creature.

Next Responses Art Group, for anyone who wants to get creative, is at Cartwright Hall this Thursday, 6th March 2014, 10.30am. It's a lovely building with some beautiful artworks. This session will be a response to some of the Indian silk paintings on display there. 

Chillies on a Plate

More mono-printing. This time based on a couple of shrivelled red chillies on one of my favourite plates.

Box of Bones

Many years ago I found the remains of a hedgehog in my garden, just the bones and spines. The rest had rotted away. They were so delicate and yet so strong and each one like a tiny sculptural object. I cleaned them up and put them in a box. 

In this lino print I worked on the different shapes of bones emphasised by the compartments of the box. 

I followed this with some mono-prints based on individual bones. These have a much more lost and other-worldly feel to them.

Hmmm...

Having spent the last few months renovating and decorating, my blog has been sadly neglected. Now I have just gone on to it and discovered that all my pictures have been replaced by no entry signs. Ho hum. Is that because I haven't written anything for so long or is it something more drastic? I need to investigate! Here's a test picture.

...and now, several days later, I have finally finished re-instating all the photos and must try not to delete them all again! Now to start on current work!