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...

A Summer of Inspiration - above and below water

These are just some of the many images I took during our long summer. 

The sea is a continual source of inspiration for me - an ever-changing, rhythmic kaleidoscope of colours and patterns, constantly affected by the fall of light, time of day, weather, the habitats, the depth...  all contributing to the mood and sense of the locations. 

These images also resonate, for me, with the memories of being there,

so much more than merely visual.

 Water surfaces - from above

Water surfaces from below

Underwater-scapes

 

Plenty of inspiration to be getting on with 

over the colder months, 

and beyond.

Watch this space...

Caustic etching lino - an update

Through repeated trials and testing I've managed to fine tune some of my process 

since my previous post, so here is an update of some key points:

Etched lino shows an all-over texture after etching

Problem: Lino shows an all-over texture after etching - this texture could be used to your advantage but for what I had in mind, I don't always want it. 

Solution: sand the lino with wet and dry sandpaper (I used 400 grit). I noticed that some lino I have used etches smoothly while some etches leaving a background texture. I tested 2 pieces of lino - Silkcut and some from National Art Supplies. The NAS lino has a harder, more plasticky surface. 

Sand the surface to achieve an all-over even matte surface. This is easy and quick with Silkcut but it takes quite a bit of time and elbow grease with the other lino.

Sand the lino with wet and dry sandpaper
to form a slurry all over the surface.

Silkcut lino on the left after sanding, other lino on the right - you can
see it still has a bit of a sheen in patches so needs more sanding. 

Both lino samples are etching evenly and at the same rate.

Lino etches smoothly

Testing plates with relief inking, intaglio inking
and printing over monoprint backgrounds.

I cut away areas of the lino plates that had etched
with the strong texture to see what effects I might achieve.

Lino plate - etched and cut
by Toni Hartill

The main thing I am learning from this repetition of trial and error is that I am fine-tuning the process and materials to MY way of working, in fact I am learning WHAT my way of working is. I'm not one to take a set of guidelines or rules and to follow them precisely - I'll reinterpret them my own way - ask anyone who has tried to cook from one of my recipes - they are NEVER as they are first written.

You may find some of the steps don't work for you, 

or with your materials - there are so many variables in this printmaking lark that can make all your efforts go pear-shaped: is it the paper weight, the ink, the pressure of the press, the dampness of the paper, the position of venus, the pattern of my tea leaves!??? or is it just me?.....

So, my advice is, 

follow instructions only so far, 

then, through lots of your own trials 

make it work for you and your way of working.

And I'd love to hear and see what works for you 

if you'll share your successes in return. 

Happy experimenting!