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The making of a 3D rockpool by Toni Hartill.
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This is a project that evolved from an earlier, smaller rockpool and I felt like I had unfinished business, to push my idea further. There were a great many stages and this is often what puts me off such a project - I have big ideas that then require a lot of planning and experimentation and then I doubt myself and.... well, often projects are set aside to languish in drawers perhaps until I get "brave" again and steel myself to have faith that it WILL work, probably, maybe... or not.
In the end I did manage to plod on to see this project through to a finished piece and I was very pleased, honoured and relieved, when it was accepted in to the exhibition. The minute a work is completed and couriered off to its destination its so easy to forget the many hours and steps it took to create so here is a pictorial short version of the process showing most, but not all, of the steps.
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| A lengthy drawing and planning process |
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| Cutting tools used included gouges, dremel and knife. |
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| Testing progress by doing regular pencil rubbings. |
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| Inking up for the first proofing - exciting! |
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| First proof, checking details. |
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Creating colour and pattern under-layers using
lino blocks and acetate stencils. |
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| The deep teal rockpool lino block is printed over the under-layers. |
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| The final black lino block is printed. |
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| Detail of rockpool final print. |
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| The backs of each print is inked with multiple layers of black. |
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| Cutting and assemblage - nerve-wracking! |
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| Final gluing - no turning back! |
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| Glued and clamped. |
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| Multiple crocheted supports were constructed til the fit was just right. |
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| The finished crocheted support ready to attach. |
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| Final fitting. |
Creating a box to transport it safely was a sculptural
project in itself.
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| All set to go! |
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| "There be Treasure" linocut by Toni Hartill |
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| "There be Treasure" detail, linocut by Toni Hartill |
Artist
Statement: Pop-up theatres,
shoe-box dioramas and press-and-fold paper toys all spark the nostalgia of
childhood memories, of the magic of taking a two dimensional image and
transforming it into a three dimensional "world". Through a
combination of techniques including monotype, caustic etch, linocut, and
old-school paper craft, I venture to reignite the viewer's magical childhood
powers of imagination to step through the looking glass and enter the
Lilliputian world of this rocky pool.
A 2d image holds the viewer at arm's length, as a spectator, viewing the work
from a single perspective. Transforming the image into 3 dimensions the
viewer's perception and involvement changes. The transition becomes easier, for
the viewer, to cross the divide between impartial spectator and engaged
participant as they alter position to peer into the depths to see what is
hidden and to view the changing vista.
Inspired by the natural environment I am drawn to look for beauty in unexpected
places and I endeavour to draw the viewer in to share in my experiences. My
often visited theme of rockpools stems from my fascination since childhood of
these mini microcosms abundant along our shores, each one unique in its
inhabitants and ecology, tiny treasure chests of the sea.
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| Participants in the Boundless exhibition at Pataka Art + Museum, 2017. |
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Boundless - Beyond the Frame
printmaking exhibition at Pataka Art + Museum, 2017. |
Thank you for visiting.
I hope this gives you an insight into the many hours of work that an artwork can entail.
What you don't see here are the many hours of experiments and tangents one goes on in trying to work out how to proceed next.
Hmmm... now what am I working on next?
