studio practice, performativity and the public gaze

Truth be told there has been some printmaking happening around here recently, but not a whole lot. I finally got to the studio last weekend to print some new drypoint etchings. But I'm not overly happy with the results (I messed up quite a few in my hurried attempt to do a lot in a short time) so will take a slightly different approach and print again from the same plates soon.

While the printmaking has been slow, there has been quite a bit of post-PhD-thesis-submission brain tinkering though. I've been thinking (and writing) a lot about the notion of creative practice and performativity, and how this becomes enhanced through the use of virtual tools such as blogs and Instagram to reveal studio practice. I am fascinated with the idea of the public gaze and what this might mean for how artists and designers think about their artist/designer identities.

More soon once I've finished the writing and (hopefully) get it published.

In the meantime, I'd be happy to hear any thoughts you have on this topic.

documenting the lives of creatives

Studio of Aysen Bayram. Photos by Paul Barbera from Whey They Create.

Something else that jumped out of me from Lucy's talk on image making and the new image economy (see previous post) is the beautiful documenting of creative work spaces that some are undertaking. One such person is Paul Barbera who produces Where They Create, a gorgeous image folio of people in their creative work environments from all over the world. Swoon!

Another production of a similar ilk is that of fvf who collect stories and images of creative folk in their work spaces from different parts of the globe in their series, workplaces. Ooo la la! Through their beautiful photography and text we can see the creative environments of people like artist, Jeongmoon Choi in Berlin or graphic designer, Etienne "Akroe" Bardelli in Paris. This particular collection tends to produce quite a bit from Europe giving those of us far, far away some insight into the creative working environments generated in that part of the world. I love this series and have been following it for a while. I also like the fvf series, interviews, which includes one of my favourites with 100 year old publisher and artist, Gisele d'Ailly van Waterschoot van der Gracht (an impressive name, non?) in Amsterdam.

What amazing and important projects! This documenting of artists, designers and makers in their work spaces and homes, along with interviews about their creative lives is a goldmine of inspiration and insight. Mine that gold, absorb it and share it around, I say.

studio practices

Hello. It's been a while. Summer is here and the days have been warm and delicious. The beach has been calling.

But there has been a little studio activity. Hurrah!

At the moment I'm playing with colour and trying to work up some sketches that I can use for a new series of etchings. Today felt fairly productive.

I've been observing a few things about my practice which some people find unusual. But really, I think anyone who uses social media (like blogs, instagram, twitter, flickr, tumblr) and has a creative practice won't be too surprised by my observations. What I've noticed is I've been increasingly using and finding support in a virtual side to my practice. That is, like many artists and designers I know (but not all, as I've learned when I try to explain this to some) I might work alone at home on studio work but while I'm working I document my practice and share what's happening (messy process, end results, inspirations - all find their way in). Sometimes I ask questions about colour or composition or tools or any number of things. This happens mostly on instagram and twitter, but in the past also a lot on flickr. And also here too, on this blog. Using hash tags like #printmaking #studio #illustration etc are great because you can find all kinds of people popping by to look and sometimes comment.

It sometimes gets tricky when I'm printing. Inky hands and the camera/phone don't make happy companions.

It's all very virtual and yet also very social.

Any yet it's different from when I'm printing or working alongside other printmakers in the same physical studio. I still document my work and share it digitally while I'm there. Yet what I experience with the virtual practices I've just described is different from the way I spend time, move around, practice, and observe others at work in a shared physical studio space.

And I'm trying to work out what is different and why I might experience it that way. 

I haven't joined all the dots together yet.

What about you? Any thoughts you'd like to share on the matter? What kind of digital/virtual studio practices do you use?

studio thoughts

2 plate etching

succulent blossom in sepia

etching press

APW studio

my work area - blood bath!

studio buddy's work area

drying rack

I've made my first use of the Australian Print Workshop's (APW) beautiful print studio. What a fun day! For me it was mostly about process and practice, and getting a better feel for the intaglio experience. As a relief printer and screen printer, intaglio is opening up a whole new, delicious world for me in printmaking. At the moment I'm just producing drypoint etchings. I have not worked up the courage to go near the acid bath and do anything that tricky.

Working in a communal print studio like APW's is a pretty wonderful experience. There was a collective buzz about the place as people went about their printing business, but also plenty of conversation and friendly advice for me when I asked questions. Mid morning an art tour group came through and watched us work. While that was a bit nerve-wracking it was also really good to talk to people who wanted to know more about printmaking.

One woman in the tour group asked me if working in a communal print studio had any benefits to working alone. Without a doubt I said yes. For example, yesterday I worked next to a monoprinter. I haven't done mono prints since high school, so for me to work next to my studio buddy all day was a wonderful way to revisit that process. And boy could she produce fantastic Goya-esque monoprints! There were other etching artists working there too so I was able to bug them with questions throughout the day about materials and process. And I got to see their prints together with mine on the drying boards. It was a lot of fun to see what concepts people are working with and how they resolve into prints.

One special treat I had was to work with an ancient etching press [pic 3 above] all day. What a beauty that old lady is! She's hard work to pull a print through but in many ways working like that is also very satisfying.

As you can see by the prints I made above I'm still working with botanical images, specifically succulent flowers. I'm a bit obsessed with the process and evolution of life at the moment and botanicals is the way I want to communicate the ideas I have about this. So there will be more to come!

etching class with Bridget Farmer

some of the work I made at Bridget's studio

Fruiting Habit

The lovely Daylesford sky

After spending 2 days in Bridget Farmer's gorgeous print studio near Daylesford I feel very inspired and energised.
Bridget taught me the ins and outs of drypoint etching and I seriously think I've found a new printmaking addiction. Bridget's work alone is inspiring enough. Take a look at this gallery of some of her gorgeous bird etchings. Oooh la la! Aren't they just divine?

Bridget's originally from Northern Ireland but has lived in Australia for a few years now. Her current home is the gorgeous bushland near Daylesford which is where you'll also find her peaceful printmaking studio. And I can vouch that Bridget knows her birds! Her studio has several enormous windows looking onto the bush and while we chatted over lunch and cups of tea she regularly pointed out various little feathered beauties as they perched in tree branches nearby. I was impressed. My own bird naming knowledge doesn't extend much beyond knowing what galahs, lorikeets, cockatoos and the occasional magpie look like.

And the printmaking! What fun! Working in the etching medium allowed me to unleash my passion for linear forms, something that is quite hard to portray through relief printing, like woodblock or lino. So based on my botanical sketches I printed up a storm of various botanical inspired etchings and got to experiment with colour and shading under Bridget's support and guidance. I can't speak highly enough of the soft and gentle approach Bridget has towards teaching what she knows about etching. It was a really magical couple of days for me.

The good news is Bridget's running classes. So you too can learn about various kinds of etching processes in the peace and quiet of Bridget's lovely bushland studio.

inside a Kyoto print studio

Here's a bit of nostalgia I've been meaning to share.

I took these photos in about 2003 when I was living in Kyoto, Japan. This is the inside of a traditional Japanese woodblock printing studio in the centre of Kyoto. I was very priviledged to go with my woodblock printing sensei (teacher) to meet Sato-san whose studio this is. I spent the morning there watching everyone work. Incredibly, there were 5 people working together in this intimate little studio. It was amazing to watch. Every square inch was crammed with materials and yet people seemed to be very happy and calm as they worked together printing woodblocks. The skill level was phenomenally high, leaving me feeling like a lazy printmaker when I left.

The quality of these photos isn't great - I had to scan them as this was pre-digital camera for me.

You can see more recent photos of Sato-san printing here on Annie's blog.

25 seconds in my work room

repetition

Studio day. Playing with shapes and patterns with my new sumi ink. Brush work can be so relaxing.

paper madness

There's been a bit of madness going on here today. I got so excited about it being my first studio day in my new work routine for 08 that I gave my self a headache by about 11am and had to go and have a cuppa with friend to calm down! Funny huh? I'll have to do things in a more measured, sensible fashion or I'll never last the day out :)

The other madness I have to share is a big beautiful book about chiyogami I treated myself to buying just before I left Japan (in 2005). The photo above is of the cover and the ones below are some inside shots. Basically every page (and this is a big book!) has a different chiyogami pattern on it and then some tiny little story in Japanese about the pattern's origin and symbolism and then some cute little manga type figures. I LOVE this book.

crappy things and good

This is a bit of sad blog. Our 3 year old cat, Sumi, has been missing for 3 days now and it's making me unbearably weepy and very anxious. She's a cute little grey blossom of a thing. We've just moved house and while she seemed ok for the first 2 weeks, something has spooked her and set her off. I'm hoping that she'll turn up at any moment but the days of looking for her are long and hard.

On a happier note, we are online again at home (yay!) after the move. It's been really challenging to maintain my etsy shop during the transition but somehow I've managed. The best thing about the move has been setting up the studio (photos to come). That's been very exciting. The studio has three long windows so there's plenty of light. It's at the front of the house facing the street so I can watch people walk by. In a matter of days I'll be using it more often and then the real fun will start!