It never ceases to amaze me what a beautiful piece of software Photoshop is. I don't even know a fraction of what it can really do for me but the fact that I can take some rough hand drawn patterns like these dashes of mine and then make a variety of repeats in different colourways like this just fills me with joy. Is that nerdy or what?
I don't know where these headless dresses are going, do you? I've been drawing these for the last few weeks and they keep multiplying.
And this is a close up of one panel out of a set of four purchased from Spacecraft in Gertrude St at their recent sale. Black, grey and white wild fennel screen printed on canvas. To go above our bed. Looks like that wall isn't going to be wallpapered after all. But am I complaining?
white paper dresses
produce
I have this thick, white, textural washi paper I purchased a while ago in Japan. It's been staring at me for too long and so this morning I pulled it out. I would really love a shirt or a dress made from this paper. I have always loved full sized paper clothing but I think this is as close as I'll get to having any. There's another here too.
Studio day. Playing with shapes and patterns with my new sumi ink. Brush work can be so relaxing.
Bright red covered chiyogami paper on the bottom and then textured, white Japanese paper on the top. Then my little monk woodblock print on top of that. I lightly lacquered the whole thing to protect the paper from wear and tear. But I didn't like the paleness of the lid so I started playing with it again and put some more chiyogami paper on it to lift the monk print out a bit.
and this:
I'm much happier with it now. I've also bought some plain coloured paper to experiment with more lids to work in combination with some other amazing chiyogami patterned paper I have from Japan. I bought a huge stash just before I left and then rolled it up and tucked it inside one of my large rolls of printmaking paper. And just the other day I re-discovered it again accidentally while rummaging through my paper collection. I had completely forgotten about it!
Spring is definitely here now the wisteria is in flower. This gorgeous one is in our back garden and because we're moving soon (when?) I was motivated to take some photos of it this week. Anyone who has ever had wisteria in their garden knows it's an amazingly fast grower with strong winding branches that get so thick that they can start to pull part of your house down - true! I've been vicious about chopping this one back every winter. And it still gets up the strength to flower like this every September.
On a printmaking note, I've just changed my mind about European printing papers. I'm pretty much a paper snob and until now have only really liked to print on good quality Japanese paper. But because I don't live there anymore and my Japanese paper supplies are starting to dwindle, I've decided to investigate and try out some of the European papers available in Melbourne art shops. Tonight I printed my little blue dragonfly print on thick, white paper from Italy and I think I like the way it worked out. It had this lovely way of merging with the block while I was printing. So I think I'm going to lose some of my paper snobbery and try some Stonehenge paper I bought yesterday and see how that turns out too.
People often ask me questions about the kind of paper I use for my larger sized woodblock prints. In response I find myself going down a detailed conversational path about the wonders of washi, or Japanese handmade paper. There's an informative piece about washi on the website for an amazing looking shop called the Japanese Paper Place in Toronto. I really hope to be able go there some day and look at their collection of paper. So have a read of the washi article and discover how it's made, who uses it and why it's so strong. Even Japanese money (the notes) are made from washi! If you're ever in Kyoto there are washi shops around the centre of the city that you can visit. There's one on old Teramachi Dori and another near the corner of Shijo and Karasuma Dori. The paper in these places is so beautiful it will make you weep!
