I have been reluctant to post this print as it seems er, gloomy but it was really an exercise in cutting away to get the thinest linocut lines and a lot of blank space and still get a print.
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Linocut exercise
Tag: art
I’ve put other links about CoBrA but this is an excellent introduction to the movement written on the 75th anniversary of it’s founding, last year.
As the seeming stampede to world war by the western states and their proxies continues the political stance of the CoBrA artists is more important than ever.
A visit to the CoBrA Museum in Amsterdam is not to be missed if you find yourself in that fair city.
Dimensions : 87,5 x 160
The spirit of the movement is anti-formalist.
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The Serious Art of Quilting
I stumbled across this article from 2021 while I was preparing a leaflet to accompany my Requiem for Oil quilt which will be on display in Bath next week at the 44AD Gallery.
“The serious art of quilting: the history of patchwork and political activism. The craft of quilting has been around for centuries, and has more recently emerged as a serious art form in its own right. Fiona McKenzie Johnston explores its history and contemporary relevance.”
Another article looking at the same theme, from 2020 by Isis Davis-Marks https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-quiltmakings-deep-traditions-influencing-contemporary-art
The ‘art world’ gets a mention in these articles (and many others) but isn’t clearly defined, although it seems to mean the dealers and galleries rather than craft/gift shops and local shows. Quilts, “warm, comfy, fluffy” do get discussed and some contemporary makers get a mention. There is a wealth of craft work which is often undervalued – especially if created by women – and the originality of much of this work as well as it’s innate quality is testimony to it’s real artistic (and monetary) value, in short collectors want it in the same way they wanted ‘native’ and later ‘ethnic’ art.
Most of my textile work isn’t political in any obvious sense and only a little of that which is has been on public show so far.
The textile prints below were all based on Afghan poppies, quilted into 15cm squares and intended as a border to a larger quilt called Afghan Wedding, similar in image to the enamel work which is on this blog. But I didn’t much care for the border and so the piece is still waiting to be completed years later.
Other squares were based on tile images from Afghan ceramics.
These are all stencil mono-prints, the stencils were cut from thin film and the prints made with soft rollers or sponge, acrylic paint mixed with fabric print medium, quilted after that.
Afghan Wedding quilt, for in progress in 2019.
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Bath Open Art Prize Exhibition 2024
My work Requiem for Oil has been selected for the Bath Open Art Prize Exhibition 2024. There are other pics of work in progress earlier in this blog.
Prize winners will be announced by judges Leonie Bradley and Karen Wallis on Friday 11th October, wish me luck!
The exhibition runs:
10th to 26th October
open 11am-5pm daily
at 44AD artspace, Bath BA1 1NN (this gallery is in the centre of Bath)
bathopenartprize.co.uk
fringeartsbath.co.uk
#BOAP2024
Thank you to organisers Fringe Arts Bath @fringeartsbath and the prize’s supporters for this opportunity: @Wessex_Area @thebellinnbath @studio44ad @minervaartshop
Poster artwork: Andrew Jenner, Sunday in the Park with George @the_dolliverer
I’m waiting for the post to bring some 18g (1mm) aluminium wire to make the supporting frame for these masks, the embellished fabric in this first pic is a bit heavier than usual (lower pic) and so needs a slightly stiffer wire.
Once the fabric versions are complete, maybe five or six, I’m going to start on some leather ones, with a somewhat different set of tools although the sewing machine will still play a part.
Mostly finished and mostly a trial for the shaping and finishing.
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Textile experiments
The pleasure of textiles might be related to the fact we are literally surrounded by them from birth, almost instantly wrapped even before being presented to our mothers. A huge part of human endeavour is to clothe ourselves, keep us warm with bedding, cosseted with cushions. Decorative fabrics and upholstery play large parts in our lives and we expend a goodly portion of our income on all these things.
It’s thought that humans have been using clothing (skins) for at least 500,000 years but when we began decorating those clothes is not yet known. Decorative fabrics were used by ancient civilisations although examples are vanishingly rare, unlike clay pots they mostly cannot usually survive time.
The infinite possibilities of textile art offer a tempting panorama but in order to achieve anything it is necessary to restrict oneself to just a tiny fraction of that view, I think. I posted a little about making this piece last November and I haven’t found a use for it yet but I’m sure it will get used.
Making this I was inspired by Sarah Ross-Thompson, printmaker of renown and the photographs she often posts on Facebook.
“Rhythm in art is the visual or auditory pattern created by repeated shapes, elements, colors, sounds, and movements. It is used to create a sense of flow and connection within a work of art, as well as draw attention to certain areas of the composition. Rhythm can be achieved through repetition and variation, contrast, gradation and echo.” Studiobinder
Studiobinder – a video software house – blog has some useful definitions and practical examples of the creation and use of rhythm in video and they apply to plastic art (and other artistic ideas), most of the examples shown are painting but the same ideas apply everywhere.
In my own work I’m aware of rhythm in the flow of the stitch lines, the juxtaposition of colour and the textural depth, I use these as well as cut-away, embellish, embroider and ink. Mostly an intuitive process, based on the sketch and scrapbook but with larger pieces some planning and sketching is essential.
Working on fabric I usually have several pieces on the go, large and small. The smaller pieces sometimes get joined or incorporated into larger work.
This is an example of a series I called City, there are some larger and some smaller, framed and unframed.
Part of an on-going study of colour.
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In Bristol Studio
A short walk from my home In Bristol Studio hosts a wide range of artists and makers – what a city! – “…an artist-led studio and home to over 50 artists and makers who work across multiple disciplines.” There are classes here and occasionally expos, the BS5 Arts Trail event on September 7th and 8th 2024 will be an open studio event.
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Seven League Boots
Simple pieces of work are often the most satisfying I find. This little sketch was one of several made for a pop-up card for my grandson Sam on the occasion of his seventh birthday a few years ago.
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