From the drawing board ...

... a commission!

I took some time to read up on this poem and enjoyed the research. It helped me tremendously with the presentation. 

The work is for a very special client and he will have the choice.

 

Not ground-breaking stuff but safe, strong layouts nevertheless!

... with desert sands ...

I wonder which one he will choose.

SY Preana 1896

For Christmas we received a gift for a lunch & cruise aboard the SY Preana 1896.

A fully restored wooden hulled boat that now cruises the

river Derwent and it's estuaries as it did back in the 1890's and early 1900's.

The Preana runs on a wood-fueled hand-fed steam engine and is the last remaining boat afloat to have escorted Sir Douglas Mawson's boat, SY Aurora, as it departed Hobart for Antarctica in December 1911.

I am happy to be corrected but I think the SY stands for Steam Yacht.

It was a stunning little boat and the meal was excellent!

Cheers!

What an engine!

The brass work was incredible.

 The Skipper, Jim

Trademarked glasses,

and unbelievable food.

Great company,

with Brett ...

Marilyn, me, Janet, David, John

enjoying our mountain and the cityscape.

Beautiful instruments,

and finally a place to lounge around in!

Thank you to the gift givers, Graham & Tracey.

The Illuminated Letter

Another successful day was enjoyed with thirteen participants in my illuminated letter class last Friday.

I was delighted to have been invited to teach for the Art Society of Tasmania yet again

and my thanks to the committee and the students for including me in their 2014 program.

I chose this letter "D" to build for demonstration purposes as the day progressed.

At all times I express strongly the need to work on a swatch

so you can be guaranteed the behaviour of all media you are working with.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Tracing the Threads ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~~~~~~~~~~ Tracing the Threads ~~~~~~~~~~

 

Introducing a five-day calligraphy workshop I am teaching in Mittagong in the beautiful Southern Highlands of NSW at Sturt Australian Contemporary Craft & Design winter school- June 30 to July 4, 2014

In Tracing the Threads the participants will explore the importance of lineage through the works of five English 20th & 21st century calligraphers, Edward Johnston, Irene Wellington, Sheila Waters, Gaynor Goffe & Ewan Clayton. We will enjoy and examine their work and their philosophies, recreate samples of their work in an effort to understand the importance in sound lineage so we can move forward from formal roots to freedom of personal statement.

The calligraphy of each will be analysed and recreated to build a small, unbound portfolio to help in tracing the threads to sew our own evolving calligraphic tapestry. This class will be open to beginner, intermediate and advanced students. Give yourself some really good foundations upon which to build.

The venue is a 1.5 hour drive by car or train trip south of Sydney

For more information about this hands-on workshop please contact me or for enrollment please contact Sturt: http://www.sturt.nsw.edu.au/

s u m m e r t i m e - p l a n t d y e i n g

Pamela came to visit Tas in early February.

Here she is at the Eklektikos exhibition.

 

 

We decided to do some plant dyeing papers for grounds while she was here, just for fun.

In a huge storm, one of the gum trees came down at the Bay

so we took the opportunity to secure some leaves and gum-nuts from the top of the tree. Normally out of reach!

Pot-boiling leaves at the ready!

Flowers and leaves at the ready! Aren't these colours a m a z i n g !

Pam preparing the pot!

We boiled up the dye-pot for two hours with a little iron sulphate and some copper sulphate

to act as mordants. And while we boiled up the plant material we got our papers and other plants prepared:

 Papers Prepared!

Fuchsias randomly laid ... with a little thought!

Rose petals randomly laid ...

Cousin Alex thought he would like to try his hand ...

And then we enjoyed a lovely dinner party!

Netta & Pam at the dining table ...



A new day dawns and we are ready to open the vat!






Hmmm yes ... we are wearing our gloves!

At all times when handling the dye pot, wear gloves!






Out came the next batch of rolled gems!

Pam's gum leaves

 

My rose petals

 

 Alex's crocosmia twig

Pamela & Alex studying the booty!

Alex with his masterpiece ... there were two of these of course!

Alex insisted on co-signing. We thought that a good word to use for a mathematician!

A great deal of fun was had by all, Netta, Alex, Pamela, David & me.

Plus we produced some pretty lovely works for grounds ... watch this space on that one!

Pam went back to Canberra armed with new methods of eco-dyeing techniques and lots of papers!

lilium et. al. eco-dyeing

I have tried something different again.

Just as they were wilting, I cut up the yellow arum lilies from Salamanca

David gave me as I worked my way through a hefty commission.

I boiled up some plants from the garden, mostly eucalyptus because I love the aroma.

I tore strips of Hahnnemuhl paper and rolled a lily in each one, cutting it open to expose the stamen.

I rolled ten of these and place them in the boiling dye-pot.

I added 1/2 a teaspoon (only) of iron sulphate purchased from the local garden centre,

as my mordant.

It went this lovely rich brown/black colour! I always throw in some excess card & paper

for bookmarks and postcards.

Turn everything off and leave to do it's own thing!  Poke and prod on occasion only to be nosy!

TWENTY FOUR HOURS LATER

Gently, one by one I tonged them out into the laundry tub.

Wear rubber gloves at all times!  Never handle any of this stuff without them!

Looking gorgeous and these are only the offcuts!

The bands come off!

I gently run water and open one of the rolls to see my little surprises ...

When dry, I am amazed yet again at these lovely subtle and sublime treasures

to use as ground in my work.

Enjoy!