Diploma Module 1 Chapter 2 – Use of Sketchbook...yes, still visiting

This section resulted from what had appealed to me so far: neutral palette; non-symmetry; ripped and cut edges; layers; extended shape.  Using these I prepared a background (Image 156) just less than A4 size, made up of papers - gelli printed brown paper, gelli printed Anthropologie tissue, tea bag paper, mono-printed photocopy paper - all both ripped and cut and backed with iron-on vilene.

Rather than stitch straight in to this background, I scanned it and then made marks on the scans using Stabilo CarbOthello colours and came up with the following ideas for stitching:

Image 158 has blue gulls and stitching added.

Image 162 has a small amount of blue stitching added.

Image 164 was my last sample and my favourite.  The influence in most of these trials has been Boro textiles, the running/darning stitch marks both to apply additional parts to the design and as marks in their own right.  This one is the most pleasing to me.  Had I gone straight to stitch I doubt this would have been the result.

Image 165 - The stitched piece using the prepared background based on Image 164.  The white thread is flower thread and the blue is one strand of stranded cotton.  I used a sashiko needle for the first time and this coped with stitching through paper far better than any needle I had used previously, quite a revelation.  Once completed I gave the whole piece a coating of acrylic wax as I wanted to make the surface of the piece shine as though the cloth had been beaten in the traditional way (and yes, I did sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to see if I had achieved the desired outcome).
Note how the wax has given the teabags another dimension as it has made them translucent and picked up some of the colour underneath, not something that happened with the brown paper.  A similar result has been obtained using tissue paper previously.

Image 166 - we have no secrets: the back!

Image 167 - I seemed to be on a roll so I kept going...using the other half of the gelli printed brown paper similar papers were added, this time including the negative space from the previous cutouts. Once again the final image was waxed. I never cease to be amazed how this really brings out the colours.

Image 168 - the back.

Image 169 - the background was small pieces of blue paper ripped from the Autumn/Winter 2014 John Lewis Home Catalogue (now I can justify keeping it all this time).  The gulls were cut from a paper printout of a piece of indigo dyed fabric I made earlier. Everything was held in place by ironing on to light weight vilene.  Using a small piece of sponge I gave the surface a light coating of very dilute white acrylic and then covered it with heavy stitching in the style of kantha.  This image is before waxing.

Image 170 - above after covering with acrylic wax.

Image 171 - the back.  Note how you can see what was on the reverse  of the page.

Image 175 - I made a sheet of A4 paper in the Boro style and gave it a coat of Mod Podge to hold it all together. This I copied on an inkjet printer.

Image 176 - Taking half the copy from Image 175, I ripped the edges, ripped a large gull shape from the centre which was placed top right. I painted all the ripped edges with dilute brown ink.  Gelli printed paper was placed behind the gull-shaped hole and a small cut gull was added to the bottom right. Influenced by Peter Lanyon's 'Thermal', this was then dry sponged with acrylic paint (white, Payne's Grey and Ultramarine Blue) to give a sense of movement. Finally it was stitched and, to make the colours richer, given a coat of acrylic wax.

Image 177 - Just one more on this theme (as long as I can restrain myself as I love doing these) - took the idea to a fabric sample using scraps - and stitched a mini fabric boro.

Diploma Module 1 Chapter 2 – Use of Sketchbook...still visiting...extended stay

So armed with notebook lest I forget, I used some freeze frames from the latest BBC Icelandic offering - Trapped.  So much creative time has been lost in the need to concentrate on sub-titles it was time for the payback!  This also offered smaller, distant birds; less detail; opportunities for fast mark making.

Images 140-142 - brayered polyprop sheet with Seawhite's black water-based block printing ink (after quick dash down the M23) plus Golden Retarder.  Once sheet inked, swirled brayer round the plate to give background a sense of movement. Copy paper topped by brown paper on which drew gull shapes with biro.  Ghost print on tissue paper which was rolled with brayer to get better print.

Images 143-145 - similar to above but inked onto glass and different mark-making technique on drawing.

Images 146 - 149 - brayered polyprop sheet with Seawhite's black water-based block printing ink plus Golden Retarder.  Drew directly on plate with rubber tipped tool.  First print on photocopy paper, second print on tissue and third print on photocopy paper. Carefully re-inked plate and fourth print on photocopy paper.

Images 150 - 151 - as above but on glass rather than polyprop.  More interesting pull marks made with brayer in ink.  Also, as draw can pull ink to get more texture. Image 152 comparison drawn on polyprop plate.

Images 153 - 154 - similar process but on gelli plate.  Much flatter.  Less interesting, particularly background.

Image 155 - permanent marker on acetate.  This very early quick experiment with light and shadow has come out of 'the heap' and is included here for completeness.  It seems to add a little something to the drawings in this section and indicated how they might be interpreted later, perhaps on sheers, to add layers and depth to my work.

Diploma Module 1 Chapter 2 – Use of Sketchbook - revisited

Following very helpful feedback from Sian, I am going to linger a little on this chapter to look at birds in flight.  Using the YouTube video Seagulls in flight, as Sian suggested, I paused it when I saw an interesting shape.  Then using monoprint and monotype techniques, which necessitate quick drawings, I made some prints.  Some were more successful than others!  I was hoping the initial, together with the ghost prints, might give me something useful for shadows. As this is normally an oil-based printing ink technique, there was some trial and lots of error, but it began to work with acrylic paint when I used retarder.  To slow the drying of acrylics while working I normally use a couple of drops of clear washing up liquid but either the stove was making the acrylics dry too quickly, or I was working too slowly, I had to resort to retarder.

Now I also have to admit, when I came to write up my blog, I wasn't sure how I made one of the prints (Images 135)...and I only did them yesterday! Senior moment!  Let's just hope I don't have to repeat it.  This brings the realisation of how important it is to write things down as you work, particularly on these quick print sessions, as speed is of the essence before the media dry out...and one does forget.

Image 122 - Drawing with Intense Blocks on clear Polyprop print sheet and given fine spray of water.

Image 123 - I tried to get a print of this...unsuccessfully!  The tissue disintegrated and two pieces of photocopy paper lifted nothing except a swirly black mess.  In hindsight, rather than spray the drawing I might have been better trying to lift the image onto a damp piece of heavy sketchbook paper as I seem guilty of over-watering. Decided to try another approach.

Image 124 - Using a home-made gelli plate about A5 size - gelli plate recipe - I inked the plate with Payne's Grey acrylic with Golden Retarder.  The drawing into the acrylic was done with a cotton bud and a print lifted on photocopy paper.

Image 125 - Transfer Drawing Monotype overlay sketch in biro (this was used again for tracing in Images 128 and 129).  The glass plate underneath was inked with Payne's Grey acrylic, rather too thickly as it turned out.

Image 126 - first print from above.

Image 127 - second print

Image 128 - using the sketch produced in Image 125 another series of prints was made, again inking the plate with Payne's Grey acrylic and this time adding Golden Retarder to slow down the drying time whilst spreading the paint thinner on the plate.

Image 129 - second print from above

Image 130 - Transfer Drawing Monotype overlay sketch in biro, on glass plate inked with Payne's Grey acrylic but without retarder.  Paint drying before print produced.  Also forgot to put another piece of paper under the paper I was drawing on with the biro so the printed image is on the reverse of the biro sketch.  Whoops!

Image 131 - Print from above.

Image 132 - Ghost print from above.

Image 133 - Plate from above after images taken.

Image 134 - Transfer Drawing Monotype overlay sketch in biro on glass plate inked with Payne's Grey acrylic without retarder.

Image 135 - Print from above.  Again paint drying out before image could be produced on paper beneath.

Image 136 - Gelli print.  Plate inked with Payne's Grey acrylic plus Golden Retarder.  Image drawn with cotton bud.

Image 137 - Ghost print from Image 136.

Image 138 - Gelli print.  Plate inked with Golden Open Acrylic (blue) and Golden Retarder.  Image drawn with pointed rubber tipped tool.  Converted to black and white in Photoshop.

Image 139 - Ghost print from Image 138.  Spooky!