Surface Treatment Workshop - week 8

yesterday I attended a cyanotype printing workshop at The Exchange Gallery in Penzance

it was inspired by the work in Joy Gregory's exhibition called "Lost Languages and other Voices"

incorporating "Objects of Beauty" and "The Handbag Project"

I've sun printed before but on this workshop I learnt so much more about the chemical process

of using potassium ferricyanide and ammonium citrate, timing with UV light and wash

and understand how this process can be used on fabrics as well as harder surfaces

I will share more on this another time

this week it was fun working with gesso for week 8 of the Surface Treatment Workshop

an interesting material that I am used to using but enjoyed exploring further

it's mainly used as a primer for preparing canvases for paint

but can also be used as a resist, to cover work and to add texture for mark making

this is white gesso over a monoprint I made with metallic acrylics

and mark making with my palette knife

over the years I've discovered that there are many different qualities of gesso and

for a high quality piece of finished work I will still use the best gesso I can afford

but for some applications I am quite happy to use a cheaper gesso

to which I add a filling powder (such as very fine polyfilla)

to make it thicker depending on the application

for the blue sample above I used a thick textured gesso through a stencil

then added a watercolour wash and silver foil

I also discovered that oil pastels work very nicely into the texture as well (below)

making marks in thick textured gesso

(by applying the gesso with a Mr. Kipling cake box)

and colouring with yellow acrylic ink which has vibrant colour

for the sample below I used regular gesso through a stencil and when it was dry

I dragged in through three colours of watered down acrylics with salt crystals

in the sample below I used pieces of masking tape on the base

then embedded book binding pieces in the gesso for extra texture

after it was dry I painted with acrylics

a selection of uses below ...

scribing or mark making in wet gesso ... then painting when dry

using gesso to cover book pages, words or images

and embedding texture in gesso ... then paint

embedded texture ...

some of the prompts were to experiment with using black gesso as well as white

and colouring gesso for some applications so I experimented with some of my own recipes

as I didn't really want to buy an expensive pot of black gesso just for a few samples

the photo below was my first attempt at mixing a black gesso

it was my own recipe ...

I used some white gesso, polyfilla, black acrylic paint and black ink

and discovered that it made a grey ... not a black

the more black paint and ink I added ... just made it a darker grey

I did use the grey for some samples

but I wanted to persevere with creating a black gesso myself

this time I used pva glue mixed with polyfilla

(this made a very thick paste ... so added a little bit of water)

and then added black acrylic paint and black water based ink

this looked perfect and I experimented comparing the black to shop-bought white

I was really pleased with the "tooth" of the black gesso

which was only marginally grainier than the white

but the depth of colour was great

and mostly I was pleased that I had created it myself

so now I'm working with my own gessos for some applications

for white I will use pva glue, polyfilla and a little bit of water

and any colour/tint can be achieved by adding acrylics to the mix

so, all in all, gesso is a very versatile and useful product

once you have learnt about it's many properties and applications

and I will definitely experiment more with the embedding technique

also this week ... inspired by some time in Penzance and Newlyn

I created a new erosion bundle with lots of rust

and some papers which arrived in a paper swap

(from friend Heather Harker)

I put something rusted between every other layer of paper and fabric

and added some water, paints and mica in there as well ... just to help it along

I also added some skeleton leaves and mussel shells ... coloured with turmeric

the turmeric mixed with watery blues to resemble beach streams

the bundle is now at the bottom of the garden amongst the forget me nots

so I'm looking forward to opening that up in a few months time

and from now on I will be making a new bundle every month for the rest of the year ...

beautiful St. Ives

on Monday I met at the studio with St. Ives Textiles

I've just posted some work from the group on the website

and will be updating it again soon with work from the other members

our work for the Cornwall theme is very exciting this year

I've made a small start on my own Cornwall themed textile work for exhibition

and have also made a start in my sketchbook for the show

but I will share later on (probably June) when I have more of a body of work

quite a bit going on at the moment with workshops, the surface design project,

invitations to create work for other exhibitions and Stitch St. Ives (supplies show)

 on Monday I took some time out in the harbour for lunch

and photographed cobbles, boats, ropes and other little nuances of St. Ives

love that sky!

my little hand stitched St. Ives piece is coming on slowly

inspired by Cornish skies and St. Ives harbour colours

nice and slowly ...

finally ... I'm working hard getting ready for Stitch St. Ives

a supplies show in St. Ives that's on at the weekend - 8th and 9th April

creating lots of lovely textures, beads, hand dyed fabrics

and other fluffy and shiny textile bits etc.

I know it's a long way to come for a lot of you (sadly)

but I hope to get back to regular posting again once it's over

and hope to post the next lot of samples with speciality gels next week

thanks so much for reading my rambles x

sticky stuff ...

after struggling with the sticky stuff for last Wednesday's masking tape samples

I was encouraged to try again thanks to the lovely comments and suggestions

of my readers, in particular Mary Anne and (Mr/Mrs) Anonymous

and the inspiring samples my sister Evelyn produced

rather than paint a background in only one colour

Evelyn used the masking tape technique over some printed / stencilled pieces

so ... inspired by this ... I dug out a couple of mine to try again

this is my print ...

and I've coloured in areas with mica to create a more solid background

(Mr/Mrs) Anonymous's tip of de-tacking the tape was a great one

(duh ... why didn't I think of that!)

I stuck the tape a few times on my white t shirt to remove some of the sticky

then loosely stuck the tape on my print in random "x" patterns

then lightly sponged white paint over so I could still see the print coming through ...

my sister suggested that I don't leave the tape on too long

so I gave it a quick zap with the heat gun and then peeled off the tape

to reveal this more abstract kind of subtle effect

some close ups ...

this is what I did with the bits I peeled off ...

I created a mini collage with vintage dressmaking pattern pieces

and bits from a 1960s magazine and painted round them with mica

the I stuck the peely bits down on top in more "x" patterns

bits of the tape lifted off magazine text (reversed) which was interesting

and to finish I added silver foil

one more sample below ...

(I'm glad I took photos of the original prints

because this moment in art gets lost otherwise)

so again, I dug out an earlier print and added mica and acrylics

stuck the masking tape down in random "x" patterns

and this time sponged on the white paint more thickly this time

I used my heat gun to help it along a bit

and then peeled off the masking tape to reveal the "x" patterns

so thank you for helping me with your suggestions my dear readers ...

I now feel happier for persevering and creating these samples

back in my comfort zone ... I created this little moment in art

using an old photo that I have in my collection and recently gathered treasure

seaweed with barnacles and blue string from Marazion

shells from St. Ives and an oyster shell from The Coastguard in Mousehole

(all sweet memories with my man)

the words come from a childhood poem ...

when I was down beside the sea

a wooden spade they gave to me

to dig the sandy shore

my holes were hollow like a cup

in every hole the sea came up

till it could hold no more

~Fred Wilde~

I'm pleased to say I have finally decided on my focus for St. Ives Textiles

I'm going with pebbles and other beach finds for our theme of "Cornwall"

and have a wealth of ideas I'd like to pursue

this will naturally mean visits to all my favourite local beaches

I hope you might enjoy glimpses along the way ...

St. Ives Textiles

will be exhibiting at Porthmeor Studios, Back Road West, St. Ives

during the St. Ives September Festival

(9 - 16 September 2017)

***

I will be back on Wednesday with crackle paste samples

for week 5 of The Surface Treatment Workshop

thanks again for reading and for your kind encouragement x

Surface Treatment Workshop - week 4

this week's samples for The Surface Treatment Workshop

are the results of experiments with masking tape

many of the suggestions included using the tape as a resist for mark making

by painting over the tape and peeling it off again, sometimes several times to create layers

however, I was not enamoured with the technique suggestions for this week's samples

and, for this, I will blame my tools ... I think!

my masking tape was so tacky that once it was adhered to my mount board bases

I just couldn't get the stuff off again ...

so my samples are mainly where I have used the tape to create texture

and I'm pleased with the results here ... but did not tick the boxes (naughty me!)

these are small seascapes on mount board

where I have used the masking tape, then painted over the top with acrylics

I used a palette knife and then heated the acrylics for extra texture

I do like the texture created here ... and will use again

above and below

this sample is masking tape with paint applied thickly all over

to show that the tape and the background take paint differently

(I used paynes grey over burnt umber)

this was where I removed some of the paint with a rag

below ... I made a mini landscape / seascape collage

with some of the bits of masking tape I managed to peel off of one of my samples

I ruined the original sample ... but at least the little peely bits were not wasted

you can see the scale of the "mini" against my palette knife

 this one was a bit more interesting

I used oil pastels which I blended with a rag

the oil pastels accentuated the edges of the tape

I was pleased with the blending ...

and the lighting achieved with the pastels

I created a sort of "horizon line" by scratching through the oil pastels

and it became an unintentional

this one is masking tape and watered down acrylics in turquoise with a little gold

again it picked up and accentuated the edges of the tape

I blamed the tape but, on reflection, it may have worked better on different surfaces

however I won't get time to play with this any more this week

instead, I will look forward to week 5 which is playing with crackle paste

(I've just ordered some new golden medium crackle paste and can't wait for it to arrive!)