layers - day 2

Day 2 of workshop - more layering of the prints we started on day 1. It was really freeing and playful to work like this. No plans, no expectations, just experimentation with a range of stencils we'd cut.Day 2 repeat print - when I signed up for the workshop I decided that I needed to loosen up my usual design style a bit and that this would be a good chance to work quite differently. Get out of my comfort zone if you will. I usually work quite tightly and on a fairly small scale. So working with the banksia ink drawings I'd done on day 1 I decided to design a fairly loose abstract repeat pattern print with some of those ideas. I used a cotton base cloth that was 'stone' in colour. Choosing and mixing the right coloured ink to print with was challenging though. I think the colour I made was too light in the end - a pale pistachio. It think this design might look quite different if printed in black.

I can't recommend this 2 day workshop enough. It's run by Harvest Textiles and they're just so lovely. Lara, our teacher for the weekend was as patient and knowledgeable about printmaking as they come. And we got such a buzz from being a small group of people doing this together. If you want to learn some basics about textile printing then this is the place to do it.

layers

Layers of screen printing on fabric. Screens made from hand cut stencils while at day 1 of the wonderful Harvest Textiles 2 day printing workshop. The deep red coloured design was inspired by banksia pods. It was so lovely to be in the beautiful Ink & Spindle studio all day today printing these. More printing tomorrow too :)

emma morrison: figments

Speaking of figs, this little exhibition, figments, is just wonderful. Emma Morrison's prints and paintings at Sixtynine Smith Street Gallery, Collingwood. Her fig etchings are really extraordinary, such wonderful small scale lines and tones. It's on until 14th March and is a real treat for the eyes. Queen is right next door if you need another excuse to pop by and then there are all those little Japanese eateries north of Gertrude on Smith that are also so worth stopping in to enjoy.

the art of figgery

Some good honest figgery went on in our neighbourhood last night. What's that you say? Haven't heard of figgery before? That's because I made up the word just now.

figgery (n) - the art of pilfering ripe figs from neighbourhood trees, preferably those that hang over onto public land.

We managed a colander full but there were thousands on the tree we were figgering. No need to be greedy is there? And you have to leave some for the birds and bats.

I'm making a fig cake with these this morning. Kind of like apple cake but with fresh figs instead. It will be our second fig cake this week. It's wonderful served with cream.

With last week's figgery bounty I cut them into halves and stuff them with blue cheese, drizzled with olive oil and put them under the grill. Once cooled I tossed them with rocket, more olive oil and a little lemon juice. Wonderful, end of summer goodness.

blossoms in repeat

Succulent blossom repeat in gorgeous blue

Succulent blossom repeat in rust red

Succulent blossom repeat in teal-grey

You might already know that I'm a bit obssessed with the weird and wacky shapes of succulent blossoms. Recently I designed a repeat pattern based on one of my favourite blossoms. I've been playing with colours and when I repair my large, but very broken screen I hope to screen print these onto fabric. Which of these three colours do you prefer?

the lacuna

About a week ago I finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's new novel, The Lacuna, and I was left feeling quite bereft. It was such a good read that I didn't want it to end. A friend who was reading it at the same time said she felt the same way. But it did eventually end (like all good things, hey?) but I can live in hope that Ms Kingsolver will keep pumping out great novels like she has so far (think The Poisonwood Bible). If you love Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera's work then you'll be entranced by this story. It's a good long 507 pages if you buy the hard back version like I did. I suggest the paper back version if you like carrying your books around with you. My copy was like carrying a large brick. But a very fascinating, wonderful large brick at that.

hozuki cushion

All finished as of this morning: hozuki screen print cushion cover. Printed on a natural cotton/linen blend fabric. I know the hozuki pattern is quite bold and might not be to everyone's liking but it sure does give that old green arm chair of ours a lift. We've been meaning to get that chair (and its pair) recovered for several years now. See this previous post for an explanation of hozuki.