Are you ready for this ??? - more prints than you can possibly imagine ...

Firstly - apologies for taking so long to get these prints onto the blog. I have two excuses .. one, I have got shingles and have been a little bit poorly for the last couple of weeks - but feeling on the up now. And two, there are just so many prints, it has taken me a long time to sort and upload them! You have to hand it to me .. I do  nothing by halves. So .. as we know - at the end of November was the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate and I was there, demonstrating for Art van Go on Thursday and Friday, and then in the Artists in Action studio on Sunday. Saturday was a day off and is when I got to see all the galleries (see last blog post). I'm starting with my poster .. I am very proud of this and have all four copies on the wall at home .. others may be above this sort of thing ... I am not ...

 

 

So here we go (just like the fair)- all done with the gelli plate and various other things - stamps, stencils, fruit and a lot ... ALOT of leaves 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not going to write much - as I think getting through the images is enough work for you .. but I just have to tell you that these apples were done as a demonstration for Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn .. yes - you did hear that right ... I did a demo for JAN AND JEAN with my gelli plate (both of us a quiver) .. they must have liked it, as they both bought one ..

 

 

 

I just keep seeing quilts wherever I look ...

 

 

I used some matte medium and markal blenders as resists after printing and before adding dye with some of these ... it adds interest to the plain voided shapes ..

 

a few bits of photoshop  ... can't resist

 

 

 

 

I did say lots of leaves ...

 

I love all the effects you can get - but it is with these really fine line prints that I think the gelli plate is so impressive .. I pushed down into the plate really hard with my fingers to find all the veins and edges - even a real gelatine plate would have broken and nothing else would get these lines that I know of

 

 

 

more fruit ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is honestly a fraction of the prints done in the two days. I find it such an inspiring technique it is hard to stop, and everyone at Harrogate seemed to want to see the boy in action (the gelli is a boy .. I'm not) 

 

I di mange a few sessions in between doing some stencilled and dyed cloths - some of which are here....

 

and then In the Artists in Action studio I got working on to paper and canvas with my prints and the leaves. I'm saving all those images for another day - enough is enough I think. But here is just one of some leaves mounted on am khadi paper which has had textured papers made with molding paste adhered and then been painted. I will explain all that next time .. 

 

 

 

 The course I am running at Art van Go in April is going to be doing this sort of printing and then preparing and working on to canvas or khadi paper with textured papers .. so if you like these - and want to play with a gelli plate ... you might like that too!

 

 

 But now I'll let you go!! - phew .. I have got so many materials to play with now ... when I see them like this I am just so excited and desperate to start
Thanks for visiting and sticking in to the end - hope they were worth it - Hilary x  

Knitting & Stitching Show in Harrogate - looking round

Last weekend I was at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate. This is a favourite show for me as I grew up in Harrogate, so it is a trip back to familiar roots and a chance to see old friends as well. I spent the first couple of days demonstrating for Art van Go - and I have masses of prints to show you from that. But firstly, and a highlight for me, was a chance on Saturday, to actually go around the show and visit some of the really  exceptional galleries there were this year. So I'm going to just shut up for once and let you look at this selection of gloriousness ...

(NB - I did ask all the artist for permission before photographing their work)

 

Bobby Britnall and Ruth Issett  'Equal on all Four Sides'

 

 

 

Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn 'Rhythms and Counter Rhythms

 

Mandy Pattullo 'Thread and Thrift

 

Susan Chapman and Terrie Hitchcock 'Evidence of Bodies'

 

Mary Fisher 'Messages'

 

Kim Thittachai and Laura Strutt doing their stuff for Vilene - this cheery pair heartened me each time I passed ..

 

Margaret Nicholson 'A Retrospective'

 

I would have loved to take more images here, but it was so packed I just couldn't get near!

The Artists in Action Studio

 

Clare Bullock

 

Jonathan Korejko

 

 

 

 

Alice Fox

Alice Fox and Christine Chester

 

 

Clare again

 

again, it was hard to get photos as it was so busy in the studio

 

 

So a brief glimpse of some of my favourite things .. if I had to choose one to have as my very own, I think it would have to be Margaret Nicholsons 'Insects' - amazingly made in 1928 - I just loved it

 

 

Back soon with images of prints and work done during my own day on Sunday in the Artists in Action studio - thanks for visiting .. Hilary x