100 Days Project.... again!

50 days of mark making by Toni Hartill

Yep, I'm doing it again!

I first participated in the 100 Days Project back in 2013.

You can link to my earlier blogs about this here.

And you can find out more about the "100 Days Project" here.

I found the experience of repeating a  specific creative task every day for 100 days was ultimately a great exercise in reinforcing and honing a skill.

I dithered A LOT about whether I would take part again as I found it was fairly all-consuming last time. If I was taking part again I wanted it to inform and enhance my current arts practice and not be a distraction.

My project this time is 

MARK-MAKING

everyday, for 100 days.

Progress at Day 30 of 100 Days Project
by Toni Hartill

This time I am not focused on an end "product". Nor am I aiming at producing a mark a day or a finished page or image per day. My focus is to simply create marks every day in order to explore, experiment and play at different ways of working, using a variety of media and combinations of media with the aim of adding to my "vocabulary" of mark making skills.

Some days I am simply mark-making for the sake of the project.

Drypoint over/under various layers
by Toni Hartill

 However, on most days I am actively experimenting with ways of increasing my toolbox of techniques to use in particular projects I am currently working on or planning. 

Embossing textures by Toni Hartill

Some days I resort to using a simple mark in a variety of ways to see where it leads me.

Linocut patterns by Toni Hartill

Other days, through the "need" to create a mark for the project, I come up with ideas of ways of working that I may not have considered before. There are a lot of "happy accidents" happening.

Stitching over collograph by Toni Hartill

In planning for the project I searched for artist models that could inspire me along the way, especially for the days when no other inspiration came a-calling. 

On some days I am directly referring to particular artists' works:

Steph Houstein

Dremel mark making by Toni Hartill

Carrie Ann Plank

Collograph prints by Toni Hartill

Hinke Schreuders

Stitching over printed image by Toni Hartill

Helen Terry

Stitching over printed images by Toni Hartill

Irena Keckes

Linocut patterns by Toni Hartill

Other days I use artists to refresh my thinking and set me on a new path if I am stuck or feeling at the end of a particular exploration. (This is where Pinterest comes in real handy.)

Karine Leger

Sarah Amos

Melissa Smith

Anne Moore

Sophie Munns

Elizabeth Couloigner

Alice Fox

India Flint...

Often the sea is the focus of my mark making - this is usually because I am working through particular ideas for various projects.

Collograph plates by Toni Hartill

Collograph and drypoint print by Toni Hatill

Drypoint with added tone and highlights by Toni Hartill

Various seas - drypoint with added tone by Toni Hartill

Caustic etched lino prints by Toni Hartill

Linocuts using dremel by Toni hartill

Alternatively, on many days I am just creating marks and patterns, often that I wouldn't normally use, to see where they take me and enjoying the freedom of "playing." 

Drypoint and stitching by Toni Hartill

Drypoint and stitching by Toni Hartill

Drypoint and carborundum plate by Toni Hartill

Drypoint and carborundum prints by Toni Hartill

Multiple layers including drypoint, collograph and linocut
by Toni Hartill

What I like best about how this project is progressing is how new questions are constantly arising prompting new and unexpected explorations and directions. Some days I have so many new ideas flying at me that I wonder how I can retain them all to work on over time - I may need another 100 days!

So, 50 days down.... another 50 to go.

It seems I have the makings of a compendium of mark making!

Watch this space...

Visit my link on the 

100 days project website here.

Barrel Store 2016 - Annual exhibition with Waitakere Printers Ink

Offshore Island Series
by Toni Hartill SOLD

Every year, for the last 4 years, our print group Waitakere Printers Ink, 

has held our annual exhibition in the historic Barrel Store at the 

Corbans Estate Arts Centre, Henderson. 

Nine members of the group took part this year including two new members 

so it made for a show with a lot of variety and a wide range of styles and media.

This year has been a busy year for me as I have been working on pieces for a number of group shows throughout this year and into next. So, setting aside some time to produce some new work just for this took a bit of extra concentrated planning and focus. I created three mini "bodies of work" which hint at the works I have been producing for other projects but which are all unique in themselves.

Offshore Island Series

from Offshore Island Series
Caustic etched lino, monoprint, silver leaf
Edition of 1
by Toni Hartill  SOLD

This series of prints was inspired by a summer of boating and my love for the sea.

The processes I used included monoprint techniques and caustic etched lino plates (you can read more about the process I have developed here.) They also received a finishing touch of silver leaf.

Mounting and wrapping mini lino prints by Toni Hartill

I created works for the wall and a further selection for "cash"n"carry".

Offshore Island Series and Wearable Mini prints
by Toni Hartill

These prints "And breathe..." were created while experimenting with newly created caustic etched lino plates and monoprint techniques. They were a fun wee diversion from my more "serious" works. I was experimenting with the possibilities of working in multiple layers of transparent colours and effects.

"And breathe..." series I - IV
Caustic etched lino, silver leaf
Editions of 1 each
15cm x 15cm each
by Toni Hartill

Wearable Mini-prints

I have always enjoyed working in many mediums, and at all scales and I really like the idea of taking the print off the wall and out of the frame and so why not wear them? This is a selection of mini prints I have mounted onto wooden supports and finished them with jewelry findings and layers of varnish for protection.

Wearable mini-prints display case by Toni Hartill

Wearable mini prints: brooches, earrings, pendant
by Toni Hartill

"Ngunguru Sandspit" pendant
Drypoint
by Toni Hartill

Rockpool Rambling Series

This series of works was created as a result of large lino cuts I have been working on for another project. For these plates I used fine dremel burs and my new and delicious Pfiel lino carving tools. This was the first time I have managed to work so finely with lino and I can confidently say that the purchase of quality tools has made all the difference to my ambitions with the medium.

Rockpool Rambling Series
by Toni Hartill

Rockpool Rambling
Caustic Etched Lino, linocut
1/1, 10cm x 10cm
by Toni Hartill

Rockpool Rambling Series I - IX
Caustic etched lino, linocut
15cm x 15 cm each
by Toni Hartill

Wall Tiles

I was curious to see how it would be to mount prints directly onto small wooden panels that can be purchased as a ready to hang wee object or as a group. I know for myself that I have little narrow wall spaces in my home where it is nice to hang mini artworks such as these.

Wall tiles by Toni Hartill
Monoprints, collographs.

"Small Prints"

These are two print editions created for the PCANZ group show currently being exhibited at the Alfred Memlink Artspace Gallery in Wellington. To read more about these works you can link to an earlier blog here.

"Across the Ditch II & III"
Drypoint, monoprint, blind emboss
by Toni Hartill

SALE prints

Finally, I had a table of works from previous years, all marked at super SALE prices and happily many pieces found their way to new homes. Some were even off to Australia and I think a couple of small works were off to America and Europe! 

Sale prints by Toni Hartill

Now, I'm back in the studio working towards my next immediate deadlines:

"La Vie du Pacifique" International Print Exchange, due in Brisbane early November

and

"Unfold" artist books and mini prints: Waitakere Printers Ink and Studio Printmakers group show: Opens Nov 5th. Depot Artspace, Devonport, Ak, NZ.

Feedback and enquiries about artworks for sale always welcome!

You can contact me through the comments box below and I will aim to respond asap.

Thanks for visiting!

Across the Ditch and Small Print exhibitions

Earlier this year I created prints for "Across the Ditch", a collaborative travelling exhibition and print exchange between Impress members in Australia and PCANZ (Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand) members in New Zealand.

The theme of the show "Across the Ditch" invited a broad interpretation to be explored in contemporary printmaking.  

This project will be exhibited at a number of venues in Australia and New Zealand 

over the coming months starting with

Impress Printmakers Studio Gallery in Brisbane, 

opening on Friday 16th September.

Details of other venues and dates, 

and images of other works submitted by NZ printmakers 

can be seen on the new PCANZ website here.

This exhibition will be shown alongside another PCANZ exhibition "The Small Print",

see details here, in February 2017.

I therefore chose to approach both exhibitions by creating a mini "body of work" all along the same theme of "Across the Ditch". I struggle to create individual works that stand alone and have found that I work much better when working in a series (albeit a very tiny series.)

"Across the Ditch"
Drypoint, Monoprint, Blind emboss
by Toni Hartill

My interpretation of the theme was to play on the idea that we (Australia and NZ) are like two beings, connected (by geography, interests, values...)  yet separated (by ocean, distance...)

I wanted to experiment with a more illustrative approach than I have previously used, to see where it would take me. I also used the opportunity to trial combinations of different techniques and processes. Although I worried that working so small would feel claustrophobic, I found that I really quite enjoyed working at such a mini scale. 

Small print: "Across the Ditch II" by Toni Hartill

Small Print: "Across the Ditch I" 
Drypoint, Monoprint, Blind emboss
by Toni Hartill

Small Print: "Across the Ditch II" 
Drypoint, Monoprint, Blind emboss
by Toni Hartill

Book play - "Poetics" exhibition

A new direction I have been exploring in my work this year has been 

the creation of little artist books to express different ideas. 

This is a concept initiated in doing the PCANZ summer school in January with Diane Fogwell. Her recommendation was to consider what your intent is when you make a work, how you wish it to be read by your audience, and therefore what structure you might use to communicate this idea. Read an earlier blog here.

As a result I have made time to "play" with multiple ideas 

and multiple structures to see where it leads me. These are two wee books created in the process.

Book play in progress... by Toni Hartill

"Driftline"

This little book began with the cover. 

I was experimenting to see if I could create a leather-like textured paper to replicate an old leather bound log-book inspired by my grandfather's many old logbooks. He was the surveyor Hereward Pickmere who charted the Northland coastline. A summer spent boating in the Bay of Islands, combined with the sale of family property got me thinking about my family's connections to him as we traversed the same waterways, using his charts to guide us. His prolific stash of survey logbooks, is a fascinating insight into who he was. Amongst them are incredibly detailed notes as he mapped the coast around the many intricate convolutions of the coastline.  From this rich source of inspiration many ideas have sprouted which I am just beginning to explore.

This particular book then just grew into a visual journey. I had no fixed plan at the beginning as to where it would take me but I simply responded to ideas that came up as I added layers and patterns until the story emerged of its own creation. It follows a leaf as it drifts with the currents, up and down tributaries through the book. 

Processes used are mainly collograph plates and monoprint stencils.

"Driftline" by Toni Hartill

"Driftline" by Toni Hartill

"Driftline" by Toni Hartill

"In Swings the Tide"

This book again evolved through play and experimentation. I had an idea of a concept of the incoming/outgoing tides and wondered how I might express this.

The little piece of driftwood is one of the many treasures collected during my summer's adventures in the Bay of Islands - this piece came from a beach on Moturua Island. It fitted perfectly with the size of the book and adds the three dimensional quality I was hoping for.
(The title comes from an album and song by NZ artist Anika Moa.)

"In Swings the Tide" by Toni Hartill

Another presentation of the book:

"In Swings the Tide" by Toni Hartill

These books are both exhibited at the "Poetics" exhibition currently on in Whanganui NZ. 

More information about this exhibition is available on the PCANZ website here and on their facebook page here.

PCANZ Collaborative Prints - complete at last!

To read about this collaborative project click here to read a previous post.

These collaborative prints were created by 

50 PCANZ  (Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand) members, and NZ printmakers 

to celebrate the PCA (Print Council of Australia) 50 years of print, 2016.

The  new PCANZ website has just gone LIVE so be sure to visit it at:
www.printcouncil.nz

(If you would like to know anything more about PCANZ, 

I am now an Auckland rep so please message me.)

"Freefall"
by Group 1, PCANZ

Susan Hurrell-Fieldes, Kathy Boyle, Julz Henderson
Val Cuthbert, Deborah Crowe, Lisa Feyen
Diane Charraz, Jane Stevens, Lynn Taylor, Delwyn Holder

"Habitat - A Print Dialogue"
by Group 2, PCANZ

Celia Walker, RobynTillman, Lisz Bodzworth, Jo Ogier, 
Antonia O’Mahony, Faith Thomas, Struan Hamilton, Kim Lowe, 
Marci Tackett, Steve Lovett & Emma McLellan

"Connect/Ed"
by Group 3, PCANZ

Nicola Ov, Bev Head, Maggie Dawson, Mark Graver
Pat Grove-Hills, Basia Smolnicki, Beth Charles
Kris Lockett, Ian Halliday, Carole Shepheard

"Evolutionary Forces"
by Group 4, PCANZ

Lynne Wilburn, Rosalie Thompson, Rosemary Mortimer
Di Harries, Julia Ellery, Kathy Reilly, Elle Anderson, 
John Pusateri, Prue MacDougall, Kyla Cresswell

"Lifestream"
by Group 5, PCANZ

Kheang Ov, Anna Nelson, Toni Hartill, Lee Brogan
Kate Buckley, Morag Shaw, Merle Bishop
Joan Taylor, Erinna Law-Szalay, Kate Rivers

PCANZ Collaborative Print - Group 1 progression

This is a collaborative project I have been involved with this year.

To view other collaborative projects and an earlier post click here.

PCANZ Collaborative Print

"Leave Your Mark"

50 printmakers produce 5 collaborative prints

to celebrate the Print Council of Australia (PCA), 50 years of print, 2016.

Curated by Prue MacDougall.

For this project there are 5 groups of 10 printmakers.

Each group produced an edition of 12 prints and 2 APs.

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

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

Sets of the prints are also to be exhibited around NZ 

at various venues to be announced.

I have been involved with collating all of the images of the
prints in progress in order to create a record of the
evolution of the prints.

With a project like this I think that the process
is as, if not more, important than the final product.
With so many printmakers involved, all over the country,
it was a massive task to coordinate the project but in the end
it mostly went very well with just a few glitches along the way.

In the process of collating the images I have found it very interesting to look at the many ways in which the different printmakers have approached their contribution to the prints. Some used existing plates, some created entirely new plates in response to their print. Some techniques were complex and advanced and yet some were very simple.

It just goes to show that there is no right or wrong way
to approach a project like this, just "your" way. 

I will be making all of the images available in various formats, via PCANZ, once the final set of prints is completed and they are all ready to be exhibited.

In the meantime, here is Group 1's print as it progresses through the 10 printmakers.

Group 1

Susan Hurrell-Fieldes
Kathy Boyle
Julz Henderson
Val Cuthbert
Deborah Crowe
Lisa Feyen
Diane Charraz
Jane Stevens
Lynne Taylor
Delwyn Holder

"Freefall" by Group 1, PCANZ Collaborative Print

Exhibition dates:

Australia:

Gallery 48, TOWNSVILLE, Q. AUSTRALIA 4810 - September to early October.

Canopy Gallery, CAIRNS Q. AUSTRALIA (waiting on final date)

The Tanks Art Centre, CAIRNS, Q.  AUSTRALIA  - a 'stand-by' program waiting to see for November

 

New Zealand:

     Collaborations Lysaght Watt Gallery. NZ HAWERA  9th August – 4 September.

WCA,  WHANGANUI NZ 12 AUGUST – 28^TH August.

CAN Gallery, NAPIER NZ 14^TH 0ctober – 3 November.    

Alfred Memmelink Gallery, PETONE, NZ 1^ST OCTOBER – 31^ST OCTOBER. Prints will  be exhibited in Solander box.

Taylor Jensen Fine Art Gallery, PALMERSTON NORTH NZ – 4^th – 28^th  February 2017. 

My 1908 Ewbank Little Giant in action!

Isn't that a thing of beauty, or what!

Even on days when I'm not printing, I have been known 

to crank away on my little mangle just for the simple pleasure 

of hearing the cogs whirring. 

To see how an old mangle became my printing press see earlier posts here.

As a bit of a sidestep/distraction/procrastination from the studio today, 

I finally sat down to learn how to convert a movie file to a GIF 

so I can upload clips to my blog. 

And this is one clip I've been wanting to share since I got my mangle.

How hard can it be? right?

Several hours(!!) later, having discovered incompatibility problems with programs and files, so learning a whole heap of other new tricks, and some expert help from my in-house computer whizz son, I've at last succeeded.

Now I know what I now know,

it's not so hard...

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...