Toni Hartill Art: monotype

Showing posts with label monotype. Show all posts

Thursday, 14 June 2018

"Print Matters - Works on Paper"- a selected exhibition

by Toni Hartill

Friday sees the opening of this much anticipated PCANZ exhibition:

"Print Matters - Works on Paper"

opens Friday 15 June, 2018 at 5.30pm

ArtPost Galleries, Hamilton, NZ.

Open June 15th - July 16th.

Selected by Mark Graver.

With my main focus this year being to work towards the "Forest has the Blues" print installation, which opens in less than a month's time, I have been working in series on a number of works on the theme of the disappearance of the Kahikatea forests in New Zealand. You can read more about the background of this theme in a previous blog post here.

"Forgotten Roots" (detail) Linocut by Toni Hartill

When I work on an idea or theme I prefer to work in series, ie. on a number of works, either simultaneously or consecutively, to allow my ideas to develop more fully, to push my skills to new levels and to go in directions I hadn't foreseen at the start.

Rather than coming up with a completely new theme for Works on Paper, I tried to "let go" and produce a couple works that were more loose in their creation, breaking away from the colour palette of the previous works and being more spontaneous and loose.

Multi-layered construction of linoprint works by Toni Hartill

I had been experimenting with an unusual format for my series, playing with a multi-layered approach, almost book-like in its construction (a whole new head-ache in itself. I'll write more about this in another blog.)

Detail showing translucent paper overlay by Toni Hartill

For the sake of speed with a fast-approaching deadline, and to avoid hanging complications, I decided to keep the construction of these 2 works simpler but I still added in the use of tracing paper which, well, I'm totally not sure if that's a wise material choice but, I like the translucent quality and wanted to continue with the ghost-like layering so... hopefully it'll stand up to the humidity changes in the gallery... time will tell... gulp!)

(If anyone has suggestions for an alternate

or more archival translucent paper I'd love to hear from you!)

Lino blocks by Toni Hartill

Lino prints - experimentation by Toni Hartill

Linocut by Toni Hartill

Etched lino by Toni Hartill

So, with a growing collection of lino blocks, including etched lino patterns and textures, I set to slinging the ink around and cranking the works through the press multiple times - I lost count how many times actually. Works like this are fun to produce as I work quickly and spontaneously, although tinged with a smattering of stress as to whether or not I'm going to mess it up at any moment!

Detail by Toni Hartill

I was very happy and honoured to hear my works were selected for this show and am looking forward to attending the talks and catching up with the other artists this weekend.


"Where Once a forest - Waipu and Waikato" Linocut and monoprint by Toni Hartill

"Where Once a Forest"

"These works have been created as part of a series of works

focusing on the disappearance of New Zealand’s Kahikatea forests,

particularly in the Waikato and Waipu regions.

It is reported that New Zealand has lost up to 98% of the original Kahikatea forests

nationally and what remains is unlikely to ever recover

due to its location on fertile farming land."

Exhibiting artists include:

Elle Anderson, Jacqueline Aust, Hilary K Batt-Ramage, Kathy Boyle,

Marion Bright, Ingrid Buedenbender, Wayne Churcher, Deborah Crowe, Sally-Ann Davies, Maggie Dawson, Julia Ellery, Jo Giddens, Esther Hansen, Diane Harries, Toni Hartill, Susanne Khouri, Catherine McDonald, Prue MacDougall, Emma McLellan, Stephanie Mclellan, Susan Marshall, Janice Meadows, Rosemary Mortimer, Antonia O’Mahony, Shin-Young Shin-young Park, Trevor Parker, Terri Reddish, Sue Roots, Carole Shepheard, Basia Smolnicki, Michaela Stoneman, Marci Tackett, Rosalie Thompson, Robyn Tillman, Celia Walker, Jill Webster, Christine Anne Wylie.

Floor talks Saturday 16th June:

11am - 12 noon at ArtsPost Galleries by "Print Matters" selector Mark Graver.

2pm at Waikato Museum, Te Whare Taonga o Waikato (next door) exhibition selector Carole Shepheard will give a talk about 'Boundless: Printmaking (further) beyond the frame.'

"Where Once a Forest" and "There Be Treasure" marquette

Lino cut prints by Toni Hartill

Endnote: I thought I was stepping away from my usual colour palette after working on previous works in this series, which are all more earthy in tone with some veering towards mauves and greys. Feeling quite chuffed with myself for supposedly breaking the mould, I took my works upstairs to package them. The first thing I noticed on seeing my marquette hanging on my pinboard- they almost perfectly matched the colours of my 3D rockpool "There be Treasure" which is hanging in the "Boundless" exhibition at the Waikato Museum gallery next door to ArtPost!

aargh!

I DO hate to be

predictable and

matchy-matchy!

Thanks for visiting!

Monday, 16 October 2017

First Impressions III: National Printmaking Exhibition

Exhibition opened Wednesday 4th October, 2017

On show until Friday 20th October.

This is the third "First Impressions" exhibition and the second time I have taken part. The previous time I entered was in October 2013, when I was very new to printmaking. This time I had two works selected.

These works were something of a trial to create in that I had decided that I was going to push my comfort boundaries to create works that are bigger than I have previously worked in printmaking, and involved multiple experimental processes. I didn't have a particular image in mind from the start (a very new way for me to work), just a sense of trying to capture a place, (a real place: Karangahake Mountain), from my mind's eye and the accompanying emotion to communicate the message I was seeking to convey.

This theme came about as a result of another research-based project I have been involved with this year and which I will write about at a later date although this link will provide some context for my inspiration and why it has moved me to create this work. If you would like to add your voice to this very real and current concern, please visit the link to Protect Karangahake.

Working to this size is now possible because I bought a larger press! This one is actually a "real" etching press which allows me to do things I can't do with my mangle - a) because its bigger! and b) because the rollers can be raised or lowered, allowing for finer control of pressure. (This does not mean I will be parting with my beloved mangle any time soon though... just in case you were wondering.)

I worked on 4 prints simultaneously, building layers and responding to the marks as they were appearing. By working on 4 sheets of paper I was more able to be patient and to not overwork one piece for too long in a session. I was stressing the paper progressively by applying multiple layers of inks which needed time to be absorbed by the paper and so needed to dry between layers. As I discovered in a previous trial print, too much ink and the paper would stick to the printing matrix and begin to delaminate! It was a very fine line! It was constantly possible that I could ruin the image for any of a number of reasons, at any time. I worked hard to try to feel the fear and just go for it! Each print went through the press at least a dozen times.

I used a combination of collograph plates, caustic etched lino plates, lino cut textures and monotype processes. The result is a more painterly approach to printmaking, a direction I have been endeavouring to explore for a while now and which I will continue to develop. I especially enjoy the effects that can be achieved with many layers of translucent inks creating a variety of sheens across the surfaces. They really need to be viewed up close to be able to see all the textures, colours and layers. It was therefore great that this exhibition stipulated for unframed works although photographing the works was a real challenge. As printmakers know, it can be very frustrating peering at a print under glass, trying to decipher what the processes may include.

Below are my two entries to the exhibition.

There was a LOT of dithering, (one of my greatest talents)

trying to decide which of the four prints I should enter.

"Tears of Hinemuri - When is enough enough?"
Monotype, collograph, linocut by Toni Hartill, unique.

"Tears of Hinemuri - When is enough enough?"
Monotype, collograph, linocut by Toni Hartill, unique (detail)

"Tears of Hinemuri - (When) is it too late?"
Monotype, collograph, linocut by Toni Hartill, unique

My statement for both works

Ohinemuri is the river, Karangahake is the mountain. The people of Karangahake are fighting for their mountain’s protection from mining, again. This is conservation land that is still recovering from the goldmining of the last century when the government declared the river a “sludge canal”. The river and the mountain are under renewed threat as New Talisman Gold Mines have consent to sample mine and are doing so right now. We do not need to search far to find many rivers and many mountains that are under similar, or worse, stresses.

According to Maori legends many of our nation’s rivers were formed from the tears of ancestors. These tears are joined by the tears of many as our waterways are continually under stress despite the cry that enough is enough.

Inspired by trying to capture the emotion of the tears, these images are built up from many, many layers of texture and colour, each layer responding to the layer before, each layer a risk-taking moment where full control is not possible due to the nature of the processes. How much ink can the paper absorb? How much stress can the paper endure? How do I know when to stop? How much is too much?

When is enough enough?

(When) is it too late?

Following are imagesof the exhibition in the two gallery spaces.
Steve Lovett and Emma McLellan were on the selection panel
and the winning works were judged by Dr Carole Shepheard.

There were 70 works entered and 49 works exhibited.

Premier Winner: Jacqueline Aust
Merit Award winners: Suzette van Dorsser and Hamish Oakley-Brown.

The exhibition is hosted by Mairangi Arts Centre and runs until Friday October 20th.

Photo supplied by MAC

Below is a video provided by Mairangi Arts Centre.
It shows an overview of the exhibition.

To hang these works we were required to attach paper tabs to the backs of the works.
I explain how I did it HERE.

Hmmm, now where to present the other two prints?

Friday, 1 July 2016

Playing at creating "books"

Background papers - monoprint layers
by Toni Hartill

An ongoing project I am working on is playing around with constructing little "books", along a theme looking at mangrove environments. I say "books" because I have no formal skills in bookmaking - don't look too close! I'm approaching it from a printmaking point of view of trying to express ideas through the use of printmaking processes and book-like constructions - although again I'm probably breaking all the rules of book construction.

But, yes, it's fun.

Good to take time to "play"

and to try not to be too precious!

And to see where it leads me....

Assorted play using drypoint, monoprint and collograph.
by Toni Hartill

Long drypoint plate
by Toni Hartill

Drypoint layer
by Toni Hartill

Monoprint layers added for fold out "logbooks"
by Toni Hartill

Close up of cover - layers of collograph
and monoprint were used to create a leather-like effect.
by Toni Hartill

Papers are printed on both sides - in this case
with a tissue collograph plate.
by Toni Hartill

The landscape folds out of the book. The format
is inspired by the old log books my
grandfather, a surveyor, kept with all his field notes.
by Toni Hartill

I have quite a little collection amassing so I hope to exhibit them somewhere,
once I have worked through my many ideas.

Early days yet...

Wednesday, 9 March 2016

Why collaborative projects are good for your growth as an artist

I have recently participated in another couple of collaborative print projects and I wanted to share what I think are some of the benefits of taking part in these sorts of events.

Firstly, here is an outline of the projects I have been involved with recently:

SGCI Themed portfolio

Last year I took part in a collaborative project which involved creating a portfolio of works that have been sent to the SGCI Conference -FLUX, in Portland, Oregon, The conference is taking place March 30- April 2nd this year. You can read more about this project here.

50 hour Print Marathon

to celebrate 50 years of the Print Council of Australia.

This was organised in New Zealand by Toni Mosley of Blue Bathtub Press in collaboration with Simone Tippett of Union Street Printmakers in Adelaide and took place over 50 consecutive hours at Nathan Homestead, NZ and at four locations in Adelaide, Australia.

Each group produced 50 themed monoprints. Participants dropped in during the 50 hours and worked on parts of several prints at a time.

The focus was on building communities, having fun, experimentation, play, and collaboration.

25 prints from each city will be swapped with the other and, later in the year, each city will exhibit their 25 prints alongside the other city's prints. All prints will be for sale and commemorative zines will also be available.

Several members of my print group,Waitakere Printers Ink, went along to take part and it was fun working alongside, sharing ideas and freaking out at the challenge of working on top of someone else's work, while in full view of others! No hiding behind closed doors or chucking your cock ups in the bin!

Toni Mosley (right) of Blue Bathtub Press

A selection of some of the prints.

50 printmakers produce 5 collaborative prints

also to celebrate 50 years of the Australian Print Council.

For this project there are 5 groups of 10 printmakers.

Each group will produce an edition of 12-14 prints.

Each printmaker will receive a final print that their group has produced.

One print from each group will be sent to the Print Council of Australia to be exhibited under the umbrella of the Print Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.

I have just completed my part in this (phew) and so now I can rest easy and watch as it moves around the country, being added to by 7 more printmakers.

So, why do I think collaborative projects are good for your growth as an artist, and why should you participate if you get the chance?

meet other like-minded artists - you may meet people who will become life-long friends, mentors or even fans of your work!
build communities of like-minded artists for support, inspiration and future opportunities,
share knowledge and ideas - see how others work and have the opportunity to discuss ideas for ways of working or approaching problems. I've learnt new tricks and tips that I can add to my arsenal and I love to share what I've learnt along the way,
have the opportunity to work in a way that you wouldn't normally work - it opens you up to try new things and explore new ideas,
share the trials and the tribulations of a project - you may think that you are the only one fretting over what you will do and how you will achieve it but, actually, you're not alone - even the artists you look up to are probably quietly fretting over the same things: will I stuff it up?, what if no-one likes what I've done?, what if I leave smudges?....
let go of your ego - there's no room for ego in a collaborative project - it's about a shared experience, mutual respect for everyone involved and mutual reward for the results. This can be a freeing, and at times, challenging experience,
because you don't have control of the project (no-one does) you never know where it will end up and what will be revealed along the way - I find this really exciting and completely different from how I used to work where everything was preplanned within an inch of it's life!
learn to embrace the "happy accident" and the imperfect - it doesn't have to be perfect (sez me and I'm known as a perfectionist!), and it never WILL BE. In fact I'm learning to embrace the Japanese aesthetic of Wabi Sabi centred on the acceptance of transience and imperfection - perfect for collaborative projects!

For a bit more reading on the topic of collaborative art projects read this article here.

So, give it a go next time an opportunity arises,

or go in search of an opportunity

or create the opportunity yourself!

You'll stretch yourself in ways you never expected and meet wonderful people along the way.

SGCI Themed Portfolio - An honour to be invited to participate.

Earlier this year I was invited to join a group of NZ printmakers in contributing towards a themed portfolio for the conference FLUXPortland hosted by SGCI (Southern Graphics Council International). The conference is being held in Portland, Oregon in March 30 - April 2, 2016.

I had no idea that such an organization could exist for printmakers and that there could possibly be conferences of this size (or any size actually) to promote and support the art of printmaking. My perspective obviously comes from living in this beautiful wee country at the bottom of the world, so far from everywhere else, where printmaking supplies are, at best, expensive and at worst, not available, except possibly on-line. (A recent trip to Spain (and the abundance of art stores) revealed to me the reality of our remoteness.)

So, what is a themed portfolio?

Each group has a curator who submitted a proposal describing how their group would create work to fit within the theme

F L U X :

THE EDGE OF YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW

Our curator is Elle Anderson and our group's proposal can be seen here under the title "Altered Impressions."

The 14 artist who are involved are:

Prue Mac Dougall
Esther Hansen
Gabrielle Belz
Kheang Ov
Nicola Ov
Toni Hartill
Sheyne Tuffery
Kim Lowe
Delwyn Holder
Deborah Crowe
Struan Hamilton
John Pusateri
Toni Mosley
Elle Anderson

Individually we each have to produce an edition of 20 prints (one for each person in the group + 3 for the SGCI archives + 3 spares for our own archives) which speak for our own personal view on the theme proposal.

As part of our proposal we are also producing an edition of 20 prints collaboratively. This edition of prints is posted from one artist to the next and each artist adds their contribution, responding to what has been done before. We have a fairly tight time-frame to work within in order to have our work completed in time for shipping at the end of the year. With 14 printmakers working in a variety of media this project brings with it an instability and rate of unpredictable change which can be both exciting and nerve-wracking to be a part of. (My part is done, whew!) To follow the progress of our collaborative print you can visit the facebook page
"Aotearoa SGCI Themed Portfolio".

Collaborative print in progress - 6 printmakers
have contributed so far.

What have I been working on for the portfolio?

In this world of digital imaging where you can press a button and out pops any number of images from your home printer on to photographic paper, art papers or even fabric, it can be hard to comprehend the reality of what printmaking actually can entail and the amount of (literally) blood (spearing oneself on cutting blades), sweat (from the physical energy of cranking prints through a press - in my case repurposed mangle and homemade bookpress) and tears (of frustration when the best laid plans simply do not go to plan - was it the paper - too wet/ too dry, the ink, the plate, the pressure, ... or was it me?!) that are involved in the creation of an image.

I also think that being blessed/cursed with a "perfectionism" trait
makes editioning all the more vexing.

So, to produce an edition of 20 prints I wanted to choose a process that would most likely give me repeatable results with, hopefully, the least stress and anguish. Linocut. Only I had never really done much at all with lino. Step 1 was to learn, experiment, "perfect" (yeah right) the skills needed. I started out with small blocks of lino and progressed to larger blocks as I developed skills and worked out techniques. Of course as the block grew in size so too did some of the technical issues associated with the printing of the blocks. My book press needed more pressure. My technician (Hubby) provided a new mechanism for achieving this - a large steel tube to apply more leverage with less chance of a hernia! Simple physics really.

You can see some of the prints I have been working on in this learning process in my previous blogs here.

I'm not quite ready to unveil my finished prints just yet. I have been working with an image that can be viewed from multiple orientations as part of the ideas raised by the theme, which leaves me with a quandary: how/ where do I sign them.... hmmm...

Works produced in the process of developing my techniques and ideas will be exhibited at my coming Waitakere Printers Ink group show at the Barrel Store, Corban Estate Arts Centre.

Friday, 11 December 2015

SGCI - Print Portfolio - printed, signed and sent!

Our prints are all finished and have been packed into individual collections, one for each of the fourteen participating artists. Three sets will be sent to the conference in Oregon where they will be retained as a complete set for the SGC International Archives, Portland State University and Pacific Northwest College of Art. The remaining sets will be exhibited in NZ at a time and place yet to be arranged.

To read a bit of background about this project view my previous blog here and visit Aotearoa SGCI Themed Portfolio facebook page here.

To read the statements for each of the themed portfolios that will be on show at the conference go to the SGCI website here.

This is the statement for our themed portfolio about to wing it's way to Portland, Oregon.

Altered Impressions

Curated by: Elle Anderson

As the mix of its citizens, living in Aotearoa New Zealand continues to evolve, so to is the way they interact with each other and the wider spaces they occupy. This evolution influences changes in the urban environment and it is with this inspiration that works will be generated, exploring how we, in Aotearoa, engage with a state of Flux. Alterations to a landscape creates a state of ebb and flow, a now and then, an unrest. Spaces where past and present can often clash, but also need to blend or live alongside each other, not just peacefully but also with tolerance. This constant adjustment creates a rich milieu in which many artistic conversations take place, providing each artist interpretive space to deal with such urban instability: Presenting areas for explorations from a personal, local and/or global perspective. One print within the portfolio will embrace this state of instability through exchange and evolution. This collaborative work, created by all printmakers in this group, will be generated and pass from artist to artist, each adding their voice to the print in response to what was done before. This print will further aim to reflect on a state of urban instability.

My individual print

"Reflexivity"
Monotype, Lino print
by Toni Hartill for "Flux"

"There is a need to be reflexive when living in a constantly changing environment or risk being impacted by unsympathetic or inevitable forces. Inhabitants need to find their equilibrium, or be prepared to move on."

Reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect. A reflexive relationship is bidirectional with both the cause and the effect affecting one another in a relationship in which neither can be assigned as causes or effects.

Seaweed is used as a metaphor for the state of flux brought about by a constantly evolving urban environment. I have tried to capture a sense of movement and energy as the Ecklonia hangs on tight in the strong currents of change. This image is very similar to a previous lino print made in the process of preparing for this project but I made small changes to try to be as expressive as possible in regards to the theme. The Ecklonia is still surging and swirling but it is now contained within the frame of the image: we have to be flexible and adaptable but often we still have to fit within the rules or boundaries laid out by others. The tiny fish can be seen to be going in all directions, some in confused groups, some out on their own, and some are about to depart the scene altogether. I also chose to steer away from a crisp image and tried to create something a little more weather-worn using slightly textured paper (Fabriano 5) and a monotype layer beneath the lino print, to try to create a sense of wear and tear and variation which we all experience in our daily effort to keep up with the rate of change around us.

Collaborative Print

My contribution to the collaborative print.

Designing a mini lino block to fit
a free space on the collaborative print, linked to my individual print.

All 20 prints done and drying

The collaborative print after the
6th person (me) has contributed.

"Following on from ideas raised in my individual print I have again used seaweed as a metaphor for the need to be flexible with the constantly changing environment. I also considered the theme of flux in the urban environment to select my “site” on the print, shaping a plate to fit within a free section, like one might design a house to fit within a small urban site, knowing full well the instability of the situation, that planning may change and my site could be “built over” by others."

The evolution of the Collaborative print

There is an edition of 20 of this collaborative print. Each artist has had roughly a week to add their contribution to the print and then post it on to the next artist. If you would like to read each person's statement about their input you will find it on the Aotearoa SGCI facebook page here.