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Amphora (left) and Pond Life #3(right) please click on image to view larger Inspired By Nature #s 1-4 please click on image to view larger Pond Life #s 1-2 please click on image to view larger Let's get right to it. I have made some work that I want to share so I will start with the middle pieces above, Inspired By Nature. I think I have come to the end of the "same size square" series. I liked the idea of using the same size pieces to showcase the different patterns. Seeing how that turned out was valuable; sort of like comparing apples to apples. I am always driven by what will happen to the larger printed pattern/color/value when I cut it down to another size and place it within the context of the larger collage. It's always a surprise. Sometimes I don't even care for the original print very much but once it is cut down I end up liking it. All of the prints have a job to do and I enjoy seeing just what that might be.
For the remaining pieces, (Amphora, Pond Life #3 and Pond Life #1), I am particularly pleased with the prints that I was able to make as well as being able to use some larger pieces within each collage. (I can get fiddly with things and use too many small pieces in an effort to use every print!) I have some general ideas about my environment, what it looks like, and how I can represent those ideas. For these pieces, I used colors such as blues, greens, and reds because these are colors that I see frequently when I am outside. Plants, seeds, stones, flowers, and general patterns all become useful fodder for design. I also incorporated the asemic writing because I know that people have been recording events in nature for millennia. And I want to point out that vase-like shape in Amphora. That shape and idea was not intentional but turned in to a happy accident. (I had been at a museum a week or so before and I think the pottery section and its shapes must have seeped into my unconscious.) The most important thing to me with all of the above pieces is the use of the materials. I am most proud of my new ability to make my own stencils. Now, these are not stencils designed by a computer program and then laser cut onto plastic (or whatever the process is for professionally made stencils). This is like grammar school art where you cut up folded paper to make snowflakes. These stencils give a clean edge to each shape which I really like. If I am careful, I can use them several times. (The acrylic paint in fact makes them a little stronger each time.) It's been fun to see how different folds and cuts affect the resulting patterns and then how those patterns turn into a print. The best part though was the discovery that I can add details to those printed stencil papers using Posca pens (acrylic pens). The resulting images remind me of a children's storybook illustration or maybe an old timey schoolbook or maybe even a block print of some sort. The pens help to adjust value and chroma in some cases or to add density to a print in other cases. And I have gained confidence with my drawing (not skill, mind you) enough so that I feel comfortable including my pen marks in my pieces. I think that is a big step. I have also been using my own stamps which utilize embroidered stitching with yarn. I poke holes in to cardboard with an awl in order to make a pattern. I then sew the pattern with yarn and glue that to several layers of cardboard, creating a "block". Paint is applied to the resulting block and I print the design onto the paper. And of course, I have also printed with found objects such as bottle caps and the bottoms of various pens; really anything that looks interesting. Scraping into the wet paint with a credit card also produces interesting effects. I feel that the gelli plate and the resulting prints are a kind of levelling tool in art; provided you have paint, paper and a roller, anyone can use the plate and get something to make art with. The art making is slow these days; not prolific but mostly steady. Sometimes it is just reading an art book or looking at images online and gathering pics on Pinterest. Other times, it might be going to a museum (with real art!). And on some days, it is going for a hike to really refuel. At the end of the day though, if I don't sit down and do something I don't have anything to show for my efforts do I? So, at some point I get going and make a collage or two. I always feel better when this happens. And it's just for me and I don't sell anything or show anywhere; this is all OK and perfectly normal. That's that. Thank you for reading. Emails are always welcomed. Libby [email protected] |
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June 2026
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