It's been a busy time of making in my little studio! I have a number of projects on the go - painting, linocut printmaking, letterpress, lesson prep and then I've had a couple of orders for flour sack cloths. I am very relieved I have moved on from the season of endless paperwork and can instead focus on getting my hands dirty every day!
I recently had to change suppliers for my flour sacks. Man, are these new ones ever nice! These are very thick and thirsty and they take the dye and ink beautifully. They are larger than my other flour sack cloths, they measure 30" x 36". Like any flour sack cloth, they get better and softer with age. These are heat treated so the ink is permanently bonded with the cloth. It's been neat that people have been ordering batches of these, a lot of them destined to be gifts. They are pretty versatile, they can be used as tea towels, receiving blankets, scarves or bread basket liners or whatever else you can think of! This batch was a mixture of deep blue, light blue, tan, orange, deep pink, and light pink (the 2 light pink ones are still available). I will be printing more deep blue, deep pink and tan ones in the coming weeks as well as dying some fresh batches (I just have to decide what my new favourite colours are!!) If you are interested in a custom order, just shoot me an email and I can let you know about price and shipping. Usually I can have an order ready to ship in a week or two depending on quantity and if you have specific colour/design requests. I could see this development coming for a long time. Discontent with the plates in my possession, at first I branched out to borrowing the plates of my friends and family. This worked for a while but lately, I could tell my eyes have been straying... I find myself building surreptitious stacks in thrift stores and sneakily taking pictures with my phone.
The arrangement in this painting is one of those fleeting encounters in the housewares department of a secondhand store. I was attracted by the different eras represented here. A classic fine china floral sandwich plate balanced on an 80's era dinner plate with punchy colourful fruit and leaf combination anchored by a graphic platter from the 60's or 70's in the prerequisite brown pattern of the day. I fiddled and played around with the composition for a few minutes under the quizzical eye of a staff member. I felt a little odd after I took my picture and returned the plates to their mates. I loved the image I captured though, it was worth the stares. Still working in my limited palette. I seemed to have dropped the cobalt blue in favour of only having phthalo blue to mix with. Old habits die hard and I find I don't have to think too deeply to mix what I am looking for. I could have used a magenta for the floral china though - the pinks are not as vibrant as the real thing but I am just fine with how it looks in the completed piece - I find magenta can easily look too harsh sometimes. I've been holding off on posting this piece for a while, but I am really excited to share it with you and announce that it has been selected for the Leighton Art Centre Juried Exhibition! I'm really stoked that they chose two pieces this year, the other piece is Turkish Cup.
This piece was a challenge (in a good way) to paint. The patterns are particularly mind boggling on these plates. Luckily, I've painted most of these plates before, so it was very much like visiting with old friends. It was so much fun to stretch the range I could get with my limited palette. Hopefully my joy in painting this extends to you, the viewer! You can see both pieces from May 6th - June 18th at the Leighton Art Centre in Calgary. More information can be found here. This is an awesome show to take time to come see, there are some amazing artists connected to the Leighton Art Centre. There are lots of fun shows, events and classes coming up in the next few months. Keep checking back as I have a few more things in the works that I will post as soon as dates and times are confirmed! I hope to see you at some of these things, I love it when there are familiar faces.
April 29th: Leighton Art Centre - Impress your Mother: Kid's Printmaking I love working with kids. In this afternoon workshop I will be leading kids through some neat ways they can make a masterpiece for someone special in their life! All supplies included and you can register here. Gallery 204, Langley BC - Printmaking Workshops - POSTPONED DATES TBA I have two workshops planned for my upcoming trip to Langley, BC: Saturday is a basic linocutting class for adults (you can register here) and Sunday's class is a Mother's Day themed printmaking class for kids. (you can register here) June 3rd/4th: Leighton Art Centre - Clothesline Festival Show I am really excited to have been invited to participate in this show and sale. It is a wonderful summer event that takes place on the scenic grounds of the Leighton Arts Centre. There is an amazing selection of work from several top notch Alberta artists, so to even be included in this group is a real privilege. There is more information here. June 24th - September 24th: Leighton Art Centre - Impressions Show This is another show that I am very thankful to be included in. It is a printmaking showcase and the first time that I will be exclusively be showing my prints in a gallery setting. Very exciting. There is more information here. July 22nd: Red Deer College - Printmaking Workshop This one day workshop will be all you need to know about basic linocut printmaking to get you up and running! We will cover carving, inking and pressing techniques to create beautiful one of a kind pieces of art. You can register here. August 7th - 11th: Alberta Printmakers - Getting Inky Kids Daycamp This will be a crazy fun week for our half day camp! I hope your kids will join me as we explore many forms of relief printmaking, use the presses and have our own gallery showing! Class size is limited and if your kid loves creating art, this is the camp for them! You can register here. August 13th: Opus Kelowna - Impressive Linocut Demonstration Join me for two fast paced and fun demonstrations that will cover all the ways you can use basic linocut printmaking! From craft to fine art and fabric, I will walk you through some the different types of tools and products to get you set up for your projects! You can register here. (as of posting, it hasn't appeared on their website) |
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