Walking, drawing, etching - exhibition opens

My exhibition in Wotton-under-Edge opened last night with a sociable crowd of friendly arty faces. The Gallery was dressed and prepared beautifully by Gallery Managers Belinda and Cate; I am very grateful to them both. The detailing was superb, right down to the white jugs brought in with catkins to compliment the wintery monochromatic feel of my prints.

Wotton Gallery has a lovely ambiance and provides a warm welcome to all its visitors. Thank you to all who came last night and if you're planning to visit I hope you'll enjoy the show.

http://www.wottongallery.com
Wotton Gallery, 42 Long Street, Wotton-under- Edge, GL12 7BT
Opening Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm (closed Wednesday afternoon)
Tel: 01453 845286

Exhibition preparation

I've been so busy preparing for my exhibition at Wotton Gallery that I have rather neglected the blog.
I will have lots to show everyone soon though!

The poster was designed by the gallery manager with the help of her talented son, one of the students at my school. If you're in the area we will all be very pleased to see you.

Revisiting Tremenheere, Cornwall

We had a glorious week in Cornwall last week and eagerly whizzed back to Tremenheere Gardens (previous post 2 years ago), near Penzance. There is a wonderful new cafe, shop, and new sculptures including an understated line of grasses by Richard Long, beautifully positioned overlooking St Michaels Mount. This piece provides a deft take on his early work "a line made by walking".

The James Turrell skyspace has had an interior refit which enhances the experience wonderfully well.

I loved the camera obscura, the colours were beautiful, reminding me of faded photographs.

Another good tip if you are heading to Cornwall - Tate St Ives is open late on a Thursday evening. The idea hasn't properly taken off yet so the gallery is a calm quiet oasis after 6pm; its a great exhibition and so nice to look at great pieces in a peaceful environment.

Sketching weather

Are we seeing the first signs of good sketching weather, comfortable walking and not always wearing gloves? Lets hope so, its been a soggy winter.

sketchbook

I found this quote from Tim Ingold which sums up nicely an artist’s desire to both work in, and seek inspiration from, the landscape:

“Practitioners, I contend, are wanderers, wayfarers whose skill lies in their ability to find the grain of the world’s becoming and to follow its course while binding it to their evolving purpose”

Lets get out there!

October Walk

My new altered book project is providing the opportunity to follow up ideas, marks and themes tentatively explored in the past

 

 



Thinking as drawing, exploring and experimenting, thinking out on the page.

Wandering

Over the next few posts I'm going to introduce you properly to the three finished etchings which comprised my MA show.

The first of the series is "Wander":



'Wander' Etching 70 x 35 cm

 The series of etchings, as with other sketches I have shown are all from a short path that can be found in the heart of Silk Wood at Westonbirt Arboretum.
While I was preparing the plates for the series I went to a lovely talk given by Dr Suze Adams. She discussed her own work in some depth, she is a warm and fascinating speaker if ever you get a chance to hear her. She also referenced the writing of Edward Casey and in particular the book, “Getting back into Place”. Casey discusses the idea of lingering, tarrying, delaying and wandering linked to stasis and movement. I was inspired by this concept of activity and inactivity linked to the experience of place, and found that it brought a new meaning to my developing prints. The words are so evocative of the emotional investment in walking. I felt I needed to include the words and so used them to inspire the naming of the prints.

This first one is 'Wander' because it is the entrance to the path, an invitation to go for a wander. I think the curve of this path, directed by the lean of the trees draws the visitor into the path ... What is around that corner?

The print is achieved with the use of a lot of open bite mark making, a hint of aquatint and a trace of hard ground line.

I completed a drawing of this same scene before I made the print:

'Entrance to path' Graphite 70 x 35 cm

Its interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two pieces now. Drawing allows me to think through the process of the etching and the composition and emphasis of the print. I purposefully do not trace the drawing but make a free hand translation with sugar lift onto the etching plate to start me off. This way the etching takes on its own life as a new and independent piece of work.

Looking at these works again is making me wonder about the next place - more wandering needed!

Roundabout Lane Series

'rain washed sediment'

etching 70 x 25cm

This is the first etching in my new series of work

inspired by a footpath which we walk with our Border Collie.

The path is an interesting walk which takes us up out of the village of Avening

and onto a higher Costwold landscape. The land is farmed and the

lane is used by farmers who raise their cattle in some of the lower fields

and grow crops on the higher flatter land. Sharing these less well known

walks is a strong motivating factor for me in making this work.

This plate was a turning point for me, allowing

me to play with a whole new set of techniques.

I was really pleased with the result and went on

to create two more plates that complete a triptych.

'ground softens beneath my boot'

etching 25 x 70cm

The first image was close to the beginning of the walk,

in a steep uphill section.This is a central stage.

There is a stone stile to the left of the image

which gives the walker a choice at this point.

I followed the lane onwards to the final section below.

 'tyre chewed puddles'

etching 70 x 25cm

The landscape opens up and changes all along this

walk which provided an interesting set of challenges,

both in drawing these images and in translating

those images into etching.

Having made this dramatic turn in my work I decided

to make a completely new start with this blog and

some exhibiting events which I will let you know

about in the near future. I hope you will also enjoy my work.