Sketchbook Work

This is one of a few Batik works I've done from compositions of photographs that I've taken.  I have faintly sketched the image I wanted on to silk.  I then added hot wax to the areas I wanted to keep white.  This drys quite quickly.  I selected a limited palette of red, pink

This and the two images below were all manipulated in Photoshop using the inverted tool in images.  I've also used hue/saturation tool too to alter the colour combinations.  I love how an image can look different just by changing the colours.  I think in this case it has worked best on the two abstract images of a Cyclamen as it compliments the compositions.

Recycled art work for Greeting Cards

These two images are prints I created last year as part of a project I did after a field trip to Barcelona January 2012.  It was inspired by Antoni Gaudi a Barcelonian architectand famous for his as yet Sagrada Familia and Ernst Hundertvasser and Austrian artist and architect.  the were both inspired and influenced by nature, particularly spirals and the undulating movement of the ocean.  

On the 28th January 2013 StudioFour Gallery, which I share with  Louise Knight, Carol Newton and Michelle Stringer had our own stall on Macclesfield's Treacle Market.  We have all been very busy with finishing deadlines for our Foundation Degree Creative Arts for Employment course and we were panicing a bit about whether we would have enough small sellable work to out on the stall.  I used these two images to create some greetings cards.  I cut them up into squares and rectangles in varying sizes and stuck them to prpeared card, with envelopes.  I had also created some textured back grounds, using tissue paper and water colour paints, which when dried I used in the same way as stated above.  These have created some lively cards that I hope will sell.  I enjoyed doing practicle work after so much writing for my course.  It reminded me why I enjoy being a mixed media artist. 

 

I will be posting some of my cards soon and sections of the background I created.  So watch this space.

Clay Postcard Project Final Product

 Here we have the end product of my clay postcard.  I'm really pleased with how this piece of work has turned out.  I like the way the colours have turned out after it had been glaze fired and I feel that this piece reflects each individual artists' work, texture and colour, which was the original intention.

 This is a close up of Louise's section.   I feel that the various applications of body stains have allowed the illusion of depth in this scene.  I have used a clay knife which is very thin and fairly sharp to show the buildings and a plaster mould for the sun.  

 A close up of Michelle's part showing the different textures I've applied.  Texture is important to Michelle's work and I wanted to reflect this on this postcard.  I have used a variety of tools with which to impress the various textures from earrings to netting.

 I enjoyed creating Carol's part trying to think of ways to express her textile artwork.  I have tried to emulate French knots,  hearts,buttons and patterns in relief and imprinted into the clay.  Hearts are a re-occurring theme in her work and the lines on the edges reflect her stitch  work.

 This is my section and I'm not as pleased with it as I am with the other parts of the piece as I had to rush it due to the session finishing  and I wanted to have it bisque fired for the following week.  Although it shows aspects of my work such as a flower and a partial landscape scene the lettering isn't as good as the others on this postcard.

I like the texture on the center of my postcard and by rubbing some of the black body stain off before applying the transparent glaze has helped to add depth to the background.  I could've spent a bit longer cleaning up the lettering to make the words stand out more.

In this image I have scanned the postcard onto an Apple Mac and then using Photoshop I have altered the hue and vibrance, which has given a purple/blue/ yellow/green/pink hue.  I quite like the colours, but I would probably tone down the intensity so that the colour doesn't detract from the textures, scenes and patterns.

Creative Enterprise Project

 This is the development of a Creative Enterprise Project.  I had decided to create a banner for our studio (StudioFour Gallery) that I share with three friends, Louise knight, Carol Newton and Michelle Stringer.  I wanted to use the medium of Batik to create it.  The above image is the sketched out letters after I had measured the proportions of the material.  Being satisfied with the size and look of my lettering I then added hot wax as a protection against the ink I was going to apply to the rest of the material.  This is not as easy as I remembered as the wax seeped onto areas I wanted coloured.

 The image above is where I've started to apply the inks.  The cotton is very receptive to the ink and the colours bleed naturally, which is the look I was aiming for.

 Here the image shows that the piece is almost finished.  I added water to parts to thin the depth of colour so that a variety of tones was achieved.

 The image above shows the finished piece as far as the inking was concerned.  I had used a hairdryer to dry it off before using some newsprint in layers to iron off the wax.  It was at this point I realised that some of the ink had leaked onto the lettering, which I quite like the effect of.  All I needed to do now was to scan this piece onto an Apple Mac so that I can add the text New Exhibition, which means that as it's an open statement can be used whenever we like.

 A cropped version of the finished article.

 On the above image I have altered the hue and vibrance on Photoshop to create a different look.

This is how the final product looks with the text added.  For some reason I couldn't find the original scanned image, so a photograph had to be stretched and shaped in Photoshop, which has left the lettering looking not quite straight.  Although the letting I have done isn't perfect and accurate sizes, I wanted a looser look to the overall effect making it look more original and it also has a personal feel to it.  The bold text stands out in its own right.  On the whole I'm pleased with this project.  It was easy to do, but I feel effective.