Summer Fruitiness...

And then it all changes...

Well the name of the show changes, to RedTape. Which on the whole sums up alot about the work we are doing as a group, we are a mixed bunch and are covering a deal of subjects that we feel passionate about.
My personal Redtape has been the work I have had to do over the last couple of weeks, I dont feel that apart from the printing of the peacock feathers I have really achieved much at college. I took some lovely pictures out and about in Shropshire with the dappled sunlight that I love so much, tiny flowers growing in the undergrowth, it will be a beautiful spring.

Today is talking to the Gallery day, we have to go in and discuss what we are planning, its so early on and no real work has been produced, but that is going to change over Easter as I am planning to go to Cannock Chase to investigate and play with the things I find, I would like to find some owl pellets and maybe stag horns. We shall see :-)

Pros and Cons in a Print Room

I love print, but its not always as straight forward as I hope, the image I wanted to use I had photoshopped to get as much contrast as possible but it still didnt work out as planned so a little rethinking has to be done, My daughter has shown me a new way of separating the colours of an image so that my help the screen pick up the viens on the ivy leaves and not leave it looking blurry.

I also am creating a 4 colour separation print of two peacock feathers which so far has gone well with the one feather, the cyan and magenta , sadly the ink bled on the other one and the screen has to be re exposed, but it will all be finished by Thursday.

So far so good....

Meeting of Minds

As deadlines loom for our final show, we have had another meeting about the name of the show and how we are to present an image for the Gallery and other advertising.

Jess took notes, we are now not just a group of artists but also learning the joys of admin....here is a slightly edited version.

"What a wonderful and successful meeting. We have the official title, a plan of action for the image and .. AND .. a thought/theory on the paragraph.

Hold your hats .. the title is .. .. ..

‘Seven ages of computers & shoes’. "

 Old shoes, new shoes, somebody else’s shoes. We’re doing a mini-photo shoot of the shoes, in various positions. "

We are all really glad that the meeting went smoothly and things will be finalised well within the time alotted.

Ivy.

http://www.controverscial.com/Ivy.htm

Ivy

The common ivy (Hedera Helix) while not a tree is a sacred plant of Wicca/Witchcraft, revered of old by the ancients as much as it is today by contemporaries.  Its most common association is with the Holly tree, the “Holly and the Ivy” being used extensively worldwide as a Yuletide decoration.

There are many varieties of ivy but the English Common Ivy (Hedera Helix) is the most prolific (not to be confused with Poison Ivy (Rhus radicans), see below).  The ivy is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, but is now cultivated in many other countries.  Other common varieties are (Hedera helix hibernica) the Irish Ivy also planted extensively in America, and the (Hedera canariensis variegata) commonly planted in California.

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Ivy only produces flowers when the branches get above their support.  The flowering branches are bushy and project out from the climbing stem with flowers at the end of each shoot.  The flowers normally come out in the autumn if sufficient sunlight is available, and appear as small umbrella-like clusters of a greenish-white or yellow.  They often continue to flower until late in December and while they have little or no scent, they yield an abundance of nectar and afford food to bees late in the autumn when they can get no other. 

The fruit or berries of the ivy do not become ripe till the following spring, but never the less provide a valuable source of food for many birds during severe winters.  When ripe the berries are about the size of a pea, black or deep purple in colour and contain two to five seeds.  They have a bitter and nauseous taste and when rubbed have an aromatic and slightly resinous odour.

Of old, ivy leaves were recommended for cattle food and although cows did not like them, sheep and deer will sometimes eat them in the winter.  Turners in Southern Europe used the wood of the ivy, after it attained a sufficient size but being very soft it was seldom used in England except for whetting the knives of leather dressers.  The wood is very porous and the ancients thought it had the property of separating wine from water by filtration, however they soon realized that the wood absorbed its colour and the wine loss some of its flavour, so they stopped using it.  On the Continent it has sometimes been used in thin slices as a filter.

The ivies greatest value is as an ornamental covering for unsightly buildings and is said to be the only plant that does not make walls damp.  The leaves from the way they fall act as a curtain and form a sort of armour holding and absorbing the rain and moisture.  Ivy is a very hardy plant and can withstand the severest of winters and frost; they also suffer little from smoke or the polluted air of manufacturing towns.  The plant can live to a considerable age by which time its stem becomes woody and attains a fair size.  Ivy trunks of a foot in diameter can be found where it has been left undisturbed for many years to grow and climbed over rocks and ruins.

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butterlashes.

They say that when a butterfly flaps its wings

 it can cause a tornado on the other side of the earth.

Lonely.

I have just watched Castaway again, I love this film and how it deals with the isolation. Just having Wilson made Chucks life more bearable on the Island, just a face to tell ideas to, to shout at when things were tough and when Wilson floated away and he cried,  the first time I saw it I cried with him.

Shroom Prints....

Well I think I need some of this to help my elemental journey

http://www.isleofjura.com/distillery/limited-editions/jura-elements.aspx

I love Islay, its one of the Islands off the west coast of Scotland and Jura is its next door neighbour, and I do enjoy a good whisky, these Elements may aid my thought processes hehe..if you join the website you also get a discount to travel there ! I doubt its much but any saving makes it seem doable....I have to go outside in to the wide world at some point and get my head more at one with the world rather than sitting in the house researching !

A visit to Cannock Chase is on the list of places, its a forest in Staffordshire that I think I should be able to go and make a shelter there and do some filming, I am thinking towards a video piece at the moment, but my head is so full of contrasting ideas Im not sure where to go .....

Monday Monday....

Well the weekend is over and I'm trying to get my plans for the week sorted, my reading has gone well and I have watched a few more programmes about life in different cultures and the lack of stuff in their lives, the main difference I see is the harmony in there lives, they communicate and live in a wonderful community, stress seems pretty much non existent apart from when food is in short supply.

Im also reading a book about the Garmans, the daughter Kathleen donated alot of work to the gallery at Walsall and its her birthday in May and we ( the Garret ) are celebrating with a picnic at the gallery.

I also went to Bournville but found nobody there! I have since found out that it was a different campus also called Bournville that had its open day, so a bit of a waste of time, but its very beautiful around there and its smells like chocolate as its where the Cadbury factory is :-) .

In my sketchbook this week Im going to be experimenting with the organza that I have making some flowers and seeing how well they come out, finish reading the books and get on with making my mind up with what I am doing !

 

1st March.

Starting spring with a positive feeling, I think things are getting straighter in my head, the sun  has been out a little bit and the bulbs are growing, winter is leaving and so are the blues.

All day images of mushrooms and berries have been making me smile, the idea of screen prints and embrodiery of these wild foods on a cape for wearing when foragaing...I think this would look amazing; I would want to take photos on site and make them look mystical and soft.... we shall see

I went to the Uni at Birmingham today which was a beautiful and very inspirational. Off to Bournville on Saturday to see the premises there.

Brandy induced enchanted woodland dreams.....

Lovely dreams last night of wandering around a woodland with a cape of green with embrodiered images of mushrooms, berries and flowers while gathering for dinner. I have been looking at prehistorical wall art recently in which the people drew pictures of the animals to help the hunt... the cape camoflaged me in the wood so I didnt disturb the woodland creatures.