PCA Print Exchange 2020

Prints for PCA Print Exchange 2020. Toni Hartill

As a member of the Print Council of Australia 

I am able to participate in their biennial Print Exchange 

so, for the first time, I decided I'd give it a go.

To participate an edition of 12 prints is sent. Ten prints will be randomly exchanged with other participants, one print will be archived and one print will be available for an online sale to raise funds for PCA.

"Keep Safe not Keepsake" (detail) Toni Hartill

I wanted to choose a theme with a New Zealand flavour but which is also meaningful in Australia. At the time that I first began working on the idea the Australian bush fires were still raging in their worst season ever. Huge areas of bush and wildlife were being lost every day and we wondered if it would ever stop. My thoughts were focused on the need to protect our treasured native plants (and animals), whichever side of "the ditch" we are on.

Aluminium plate. Toni Hartill

I chose to make use of the protective dome theme that has been a continuing focus this year, and to highlight the New Zealand kauri tree, agathis australis, a revered tree in our forests, which was decimated by logging 100 years ago and which is again under great threat today by the deadly kauri dieback disease.

(Now that we are currently living through the Covid-19 global pandemic the whole concept of a protective dome has taken on new meaning. And how do we feel now, now that WE are under threat from a pathogen!)



 
 You can see images and read about how these prints were made in my earlier post
"Getting to Grips with Copper Sulphate Etching -  Part1."

Work in progress. Toni Hartill

Print with aluminium plate. Toni Hartill

"Keep Safe not Keepsake" (detail) Toni Hartill

 "Keep Safe not Keepsake"

"Keep Safe not Keep Sake" Toni Hartill

Medium: Etched aluminium
Paper size: A4 / 297mm x 210mm
Paper: Hahnemuhle Etching, 230gsm 
Edition of 12


Artist Statement:

Kaitiakitanga, the protection and guardianship of our environment, and all that it contains, in perpetuity. Even the mighty kauri tree, a symbol of strength and protector of the forest, needs safe-keeping so that it remains a living treasure, not a memento of the past.

To find out more about the Print Council of Australia, to join,
and to take part in the print exchange yourself, visit their website:
https://www.printcouncil.org.au/ 


Deadline: works must arrive in Australia by 30 September, 2020.


I greatly look forward to receiving my collection
of exchanged prints later in the year!


I'll make sure I share them in a new post then.

"Keep Safe not Keepsake" (detail) Toni Hartill

Thanks for visiting!

PCANZ Small Print 2020 - Exhibition Rescheduled!

Etched aluminium plates. Toni Hartill

"The Small Print" exhibition is an unselected, traveling exhibition of A4 size prints by members of PCANZ (Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand.) This year's initial exhibition was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown of the country but now, as we are slowly opening up again, the exhibition has been rescheduled and will now open on

June 8, 2020

at Square Edge Community Arts Centre,
Palmerston North.

All prints are for sale for $100 each.

To see future venues and dates please visit the PCANZ website.



Members were invited to send in up to 4 prints to exhibit.

Below are the prints I submitted for the exhibition.

All are inspired by seedlings of the New Zealand kauri tree, agathis australis,
and are explorations into etching aluminium with copper sulphate.

These prints are made from plates shaped to reference protective glass domes as might be used by collectors or archivists to protect their treasures. I first used this concept last year for my print "Specimen: Manawa" and I made a conscious decision to continue to explore ideas that spring from this concept. (In light of the current pandemic, it seems a strangely apt concept for other reasons - who would have thought?!)

For these initial images of kauri seedlings I was thinking about the many threats the kauri tree faces particularly from Kauri Dieback Disease for which there is no known cure. It is a very scary prospect that we could lose more, or ALL, of our native taonga, this time to disease. Through education and awareness we can all do small things to help make a difference.

Pleases visit the Kauri Dieback website for information and resources
and visit their social media pages for updates.

Copper sulphate etching. Toni Hartill

Etched aluminium plates. Toni Hartill

To visit an earlier post about the making of these prints click here.

"Agathis Australis"

(2 prints submitted)

The celestial background of this print, created using multiple applications of spattered acrylic resist, evokes the night sky and therefore it seemed apt to link the title to the Latin name of the kauri tree, agathis australis; australis meaning south or southern and commonly used to name star clusters. The addition of 4 tiny gold leaf stars, to represent the Southern Cross, was the finishing touch. The ink is a deep, dark blue-black.

"Agathis Australis" by Toni Hartill
Aluminium etching, gold leaf
 Edition of 5, 297mm x 210mm, Hahnemuhle 230gsm

"Agathis Australis" (detail) by Toni Hartill

"Agathis Australis" by Toni Hartill

"Protector of Forests"

The Kauri tree is known to Maori as Te Whakaruruhau - the great protector of the forest - referring to the many species of flora and fauna that shelter beneath the canopy and could not survive without its protection. In this print the title refers both to the mighty kauri as "The Protector" and to the protective dome used to shield the seedling so that it can grow to become a forest giant. "Guilding" the leaves seemed an appropriate mark of respect. This time black ink was used.

"Protector of Forests" by Toni Hartill
Aluminium etching, metallic paint,
Edition of 4, 297mm x 210mm, Hahnemuhle 230gsm

"Protector of Forests" (detail) by Toni Hartill

"Protector of Forests" (detail) by Toni Hartill

"Specimen I"

This was the first image of the series created using the kauri seedling as a protected specimen. Black ink was used and warmth was added to the soil with the application of a little watercolour.

"Specimen I" by Toni Hartill
Aluminium etching, handcolouring.
Edition of 2, 297mm x 210mm, Hahnemuhle 230gsm

"Specimen I" (detail) by Toni Hartill

"Specimen I" (detail) by Toni Hartill

"Specimen I" (detail) by Toni Hartill

If you are in the area I hope you can pop in to view the exhibition
or do visit the PCANZ website to see if it will be coming to a gallery near you.

Alternatively, you can contact me direct if you are interested in either of my prints.
I have a limited number of extra prints available of each.



Thanks for visiting!

Getting to grips with Copper Sulphate Etching - Part 2

Kauri Snail by Toni Hartill

Continuing on while I'm on a roll, in this post I'll share with you the next series of aluminium plates I etched earlier this year as I have been focused on getting to grips with this etching process - a way of working I have never previously explored and which has fast become my next favourite thing. 

 

Click here to view my earlier post "Getting to Grips with Copper Sulphate - Part 1".

Auckland Gecko 

 

From a simplified drawing, through multiple visits to the etching bath and finally printing and embellishing with silver leaf. Again, many small discoveries were made which I followed up and retested in subsequent plates, each time challenging myself with the addition of more detail and more purposeful markmaking. The challenge of this plate was to include smaller details and to begin to play with highlights to add depth to the foreground.

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

 

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

An unexpected bonus with this wee chap is the "scaliness" of his skin. 

Something to remember and play with further.

Toni Hartill

NZ Morepork - Ruru

The challenge in this plate was to create a more "painterly" abstract background that "read" as foliage to try get a sense of depth into the background of the image. This required, again, multiple reapplications of resists to gradually build up the deeper tones and patterning. Scary, worrying about ruining what's already there, knowing when to stop!

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

I was really delighted to see the wee ruru even managed to have a hint of a tiny glint in his eye! 

Bless his fluffy wee pompomness!

Toni Hartill

And another small edition while I'm in the "zone".

Toni Hartill

And Snaily makes Three!

 

 This time I wanted to put some of the things I had learnt to the test and include even more detail: lots of linework in the foreground, a "painterly" background and I wanted to try to achieve some interesting textures for the Kauri trunk and ol' Snaily's complexion.

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

I needed to tweak some details so they read better against the background. 

Takes a bit of fiddle and concentration! Good to know its possible to be this exacting though.

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

 And a final test print.

Toni Hartill

These 3 images are destined for a project which, in light of the current Covid-19 situation, is still scheduled to happen but at a slightly delayed date. Check back for updates. 

I have editioned both Gecko and Ruru but I am holding off editioning Snaily til I have replenished my ink supplies. Especially as I am now trying to work towards a closer deadline of a group show in June, and hence I am feeling "frozen" about using up my precious supplies when I need plenty to "play" with. While others were out panic buying toilet paper and flour I should have been hoarding INK and PAPER!

Toni Hartill

I have since prepped another batch of plates but they will have to wait while I am tinkering and attempting to generate new ideas for work for my group show. This work so far is completely different, inspired by our current predicament of being in "lockdown"and so tuning my outlook to what is close to hand. Its raising interesting thoughts and ideas... 

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Check back later for a new post about my progress 

or follow me on Instagram 

or Facebook 

for more regular "work in progress" shots.

Thanks for visiting!

Stay safe and well

Arohanui