"Distant Conversations" - Covid-19 inspired Print Exchange

Linocut edition. Toni Hartill

The Covid-19 pandemic reached New Zealand in late February 2020. As NZ went into a nation-wide "lock-down" on the 26th March, in order to stop the spread of the disease, printmaker crony Celia Walker sent out a call to a group of 16 printmakers across the country to participate in a print exchange inspired by our experiences during our period of isolation.

EDIT: To view the final exhibition "Distant Conversations" see my later post here.


My print was inspired by the concept that was drummed into us on a daily basis on all media
"Stay in your bubble" and features NZ kauri snails, a favourite critter of mine.

Kauri snail linocut. Toni Hartill

My appreciation for snails began when I read the utterly charming book "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating" by Elizabeth Tova Bailey. I have not been able to squish a snail since!

And ever since I created a linocut kauri snail for the group exhibition "Forest has the Blues" I have become even more taken by snails. They have perhaps now been adopted as my totem animal.

"Snaily", aka "KS" traveled to Spain with me last year and has in fact become something of a celeb in his own right! Check out #snaily on Instagram and you'll find him there as you scroll down.

Snaily at Sergovia, Spain, 2019.

Snails also seemed to be a particularly apt symbol to use at this time representing adaptability, the need to slow down and make the most of what you have to hand.
The shell itself can symbolize safety, protection and self-reliance while the shell's spiral can represent growth, evolution, the cycles of nature, continuity, etc. Also the snail's habit of withdrawing into its shell when a threat is perceived, and its ability to seal itself away for long periods being completely self-reliant also seemed especially relevant.

At a time when we were confined to our homes and
our lives had to slow right down... well, you get the picture.

"Stick to your Bubble"

 

Paper size: 17.5 cm x 25 cm
Media: Linocut
Paper: Hahnemuhle Stella Matte, 230 gsm
Edition of 30



I have printed an edition of 30 prints,
allowing for 16 for the exchange and the remaining edition to be available for sale.


I am offering a limited number of prints 

for just $85 each.

 

Free shipping within our NZ bubble!

 

 EDIT: Currently available from my online shop: tonihartill.felt.co.nz

International shipping additional. 

Please inquire for price and policy

and to purchase. 

UPDATE: SOLD OUT!

Note: There are likely to still be delays 

in shipping internationally.

Toni Hartill

So, if you'd like a wee memento of our Covid-19NZ experience
please contact me directly if you are interested in purchasing a print.

Toni Hartill

Prints will be packed in a cellophane sleeve*, backed with card,
and wrapped with recycled cardboard to protect the print while in transit.



*Why a cellophane sleeve?
This protects the print from moisture and finger prints and means the print can be displayed and enjoyed until / instead of  having it framed.

Toni Hartill

The making of

 

Click on an image: it will enlarge on your screen and
you can then scroll through all of the images.

Or just continue scrolling here.

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

The progression of carving the lino

The quality of the pics in this video are not great - I snapped the pics at the end of each carving session as a record of WIP (work in progress) so the lighting is pretty dodgy I'm afraid. 

I chose to mix a dark, warm, mossy ink colour for this print,
so although it can appear black in the print, look closely, it's not quite.
(I actually seldom use a straight black ink.)

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

Toni Hartill

This was such fun to work on.
Its the first lino cutting I've done since last year as I've been fully immersed in learning to etch aluminium with copper sulphate. I've discovered a deep love for both techniques, which couldn't be more different, but I do so LOVE to carve lino, as this has reminded me. I have some new challenges set for myself to "up my game" so stay tuned.


I look forward to receiving the exchanged prints from the other artists in the group and I will share them in a new blog once they all arrive later in the year.


Many thanks to Celia Walker for organizing this welcomed diversion.

 

A delighted "Snaily" - sidekick of Toni Hartill

Snaily was certainly chuffed to feature!




Thanks for visiting!

The Making of "Vitamin Sea"

Artist Book "Vitamin Sea" in progress by Toni Hartill

The making of "Vitamin Sea" was a lengthy process requiring lots of problem solving and experimentation. Initial ideas came about as a result of a sense of play 

and perhaps a bit of a sense of humour...

Mini-Dioramas

The possibilities are endless! 

The hard part is making a choice and cutting into my stash 

of lovely textures and images. Its surprising (perhaps not) how long this process can take 

as it involves A LOT of dithering and fiddling with tiny details. 

Each diorama is made up of multiple pieces cut to fit the tin cans

and layered with tiny spacers. Fitting everything back in to the tins and gluing the pieces in place requires some needle-nose tweezers, a fair bit of patience... and strong specs!

Lining the inside of the "Cover"

 Perhaps this is like the End Papers of a book?
I used an old chart and overprinted it with various lino texture plates.

 

Creating the "Cover" Image

My initial inspiration for this "book" was the series of dioramas created in the food tins. 

I chose 7 tins to represent 7 days, or a week in time, to reference a daily log or diary of events.

I then wanted them to be contained in something so decided on the idea of a larger tin that they would stack inside of, hence the tube which acts as the cover of the book.

I therefore decided I wanted the cover to look like an old tin label extolling the virtues of its contents.

Carving the lino

Testing & Transferring to the 2nd Block

Carving the 2nd Block

 

Testing & Registration 

At about this point I went to Spain for a month so I wisely left my future self 

some very clear instructions about where I was up to.

My future, jet-lagged self was very grateful that I had!

Text

After some very unsuccessful experiments with drypoint 

I decided to use solar-plate to create the smaller text.

Testing Colour Combinations

Mixing Ink & Printing

  Labels for the Tins

Ready for Assembling the Cover

All the components are finally ready...

Now comes the scary bit! (Hence the spare prints!)

Firstly covering the outside... this involved several steps 

and a truck load of patience to avoid a gluey mess...

and LOTS of clamps.

All trussed up like Tom Kitten!

Ends folded in and glued in securely.

Last step: Gluing the map lining INSIDE the tube.

Things almost got really messy trying to get glue ONLY where it needed to be 

and NOT where it most definitely was NOT needed! 

Phew! All done!

Just the small matter of photographing it...

which of course became a whole day affair 

and included making stop motion movies!

To view final photos and "movies"

please visit my earlier blogpost here.

This "book" is exhibited as part of the  
PCANZ "Thinking_Unfolding" artist book exhibition 
which will travel to venues around New Zealand over the next 2 years.

Visit the PCANZ website to keep up to date with the latest venues.

 

 

Thanks for visiting!