February ... 2015

I'm sure we haven't seen the last of summer in the sub-tropics but its been a most pleasant week or so here... cooler and easier for trying to concentrate on work. 

I've started work in earnest on the book that's been on the cards for ages.

Today I collected a Limited Edition print which had been ordered for a client and thought I would post it here.

The image below is a stretched Limited Edition print on canvas for a client last year. The artwork was wrapped around the wooden stretched frame... a mirror image of the artwork that is. I particularly liked the way this worked in real life. 

However this work below which was painted last winter... an unframed work on linen, 200 cm x 100 cm, required a different approach for the Limited Edition print.

“Homage to our common inheritance” by Sophie Munns, 2 m x 1 m 

 PLEASE NB: COPYRIGHT Sophie Munns

The original artwork has a frayed selvage that I stitched in natural linen to strengthen. The work was given a layer of an Atelier varnish to seal the ink and paint surface on linen in addition to the surface having been sealed as an undercoat prior to working on this piece.

On this framed print the frayed edge is revealed on the front of the work rather than attempting to wrap the design around the frame.

Making a print from a work this large required professional scanning at an extremely high resolution which thankfully has produced an excellent quality print. 

Unfortunately the lighting on the work was not ideal for taking images this evening ... it seems to have thrown a warm glow on most of the images thus affecting the authentic colours. Apologies for this somewhat annoying problem.

These close-ups give some idea of the effect of the print at least.

The image below is ironically more true to the colours... 

however its not a good image or resolution.

The other task of the moment I am very focused on is the book project that has been gestating for a few years.

The weekend just passed was spent working on a draft of sorts! The computer clearly was useless for trying to capture essential material for a book which will rely heavily on text, image and a somewhat unorthodox composition of concepts... (hopefully)!

Instead I've gone for watercolour paper ... It comes in 50 sheets per pack... 300gms, acid-free , cold pressed, 210mm x 100mm + using pigmented ink pens, lightproof, permanent + waterproof.

I've tried books of every size, cheap A4 paper, computer, a private blog, post-it stickers... you name it.

And this time it's working the way I need it to!

One of my favourite painting projects was carried out on these excellent paper sheets. Once this stage is completed and I begin to transform material into pages on my computer I could paint over work on these cards if I don't wish to save them.

I'm reminded how reliant my process can be on shifting between idea, text and image. Images are not purely illustrations and diagrams... articulating far more than words at times. It's filmic in some ways... and this is the Story-board. I can't be concerned with how it flows or comes together yet... all that matters is managing to assemble the disparate parts of something that's been long gestating.

Capturing the key themes, musing on stages of one's Art Practice over decades offers much to consider. The challenge to pare back... to lift out what is essential. The search for central motifs and the leading thoughts is everything at the moment.

I hope February is proving stimulating for you... with good challenges that are enriching.

Cheers,

Sophie

Sepia ink and a week away!

Sepia ink was the substance that took my fancy when deciding what art materials to take on the recent mini-residency I undertook at Koonjewarre between Xmas and New Years. Although I packed up all kinds of materials to take along something about the darkish brown ink possessed my imagination.

"I was much interested, on several occasions, by watching the habits of an Octopus or cuttle-fish ... they darted tail first, with the rapidity of an arrow, from one side of the pool to the other, at the same instant discolouring the water with a dark chestnut-brown ink."

Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle

I'd quite forgotten that Sepia ink came from cuttlefish... not sure if it still does but I did very much like the hue and quality of the sepia I used!

Boxing Day I packed and went to the mountains 90 mins or so south of the city where I live. Springbrook National Park is a stunning destination and I'd not been there in 5 years and before that it was about 20 plus years since I'd stayed there so it was my good luck to have studio space on the mountain at a Retreat where I could work.

I wrote more on this at my Studio blog last week and I posted on my Homage to the Seed Facebook page regularly during the 6 days I was up there at Koonjewarre. 

Journal pages, working with twigs dipped in the Sepia ink.

Journal pages ... I was really taken with these 

Black Wattle seed pods that were so maze-like.

Stunning walks are abundant in this region.

 bush walking led to all kinds of magnificent views 

yet i loved the details as well as the grand vistas!

I gathered some small fruiting branches from a Rainforest species

and placed them over a quick drawing of the same species.

I liked noticing all the lines in these images

Candlenuts are a species I'd like to know more about. Late night

drawing I explored rainforest fruit species online... keen 

photographers documenting Far North Qld rainforest species

Carnavalia aralifolia ... actually from an 

image found on the internet from Far North Qld.

Loved this unique fern at the site where 12 of us went to volunteer 

clearing the invasive species Aristia, known also as Blue Stars. 

                  

This grass below was noticed in the area where we were weeding.

I pulled together this series of images that emphasise

 line and also tonal contrasts, mostly in Sepia. When

downloading images tonight I could see more clearly 

what had captured my attention and its struck me that

I was also seeing this environment in a much drier

state than my other trips. It can be such a wet spot!

I set up a temporary studio and offered 4 short 90 minute

 classes to those in the camp running whilst I was there.

Drawing these acacia pods was intriguing!

A few of the class participant's artworks...  it was a group of

 7 who joined me for the drawing class at the studio over the 

week, most of whom are never involved in art of any kind. It 

was exciting to see how much they relished working visually!

A concertina book made of beautiful watercolour paper was

an ideal challenge for many new to drawing and making.

Using twigs dipped in the Sepia ink was a popular 

approach to drawing. Various people tried this approach 

with gusto and returned each day to work in this manner. 

It was an ideal medium for the class to draw the seeds 

collected around this particular location.

Being able to easily visit stunning scenic

 sites nearby was such a treat. 

This tree below was massive, however it was 

damaged and the lower trunk was all that remained.

More linear complexity...    

                     

And a message noted down in one of the class session by a participant...

The focus of classes was Seeds and Biodiversity...  seeds were collected from around the grounds and  the Studio was lined with artworks and material relevant to the theme. 

We had two guest speakers over the week in this class. Also in residence was Peter Lawson whose career and subsequent years have been spent working around landscape and conservation, including Marine conservation as well. He spoke for well over and hour and we asked questions and clarified our understanding of the background to his experience and how in step his work has been with the unfolding of some major conservation themes in Australia. 

He started off at Forestry school around the 60's and talked about influences and perspectives on conservation that existed at the time and how he moved from Forestry to Conservation, Forest and Lands and then to Conservation and Environment over decades as the portfolios evolved and new departments were formed to deal with the increasingly sophisticated understandings of natural resources and how they best be managed and sustained. In the 90's a move to Qld took him into new work agendas and projects. Currently he is still involved with the Springbrook National Park through a connection with the Springbrook Rescue Project.

This dense and stimulating dialogue, and another similarly informative session with Deanna Scott talking about her extensive work in Bio-security within her Qld Govt role, provided an incredibly informative background to our exploration of seeds and Biodiversity in the workshops. 

Arrangements to go to the mountains in December were quite late in the making ... and I am very grateful that a plan that started out in a light-hearted chat evolved into such a poignant, educational and high quality experience. We discussed Eco-tourism whilst up there and its growing relevance... access to volunteering, education, projects and such. One has to wonder at the alarming waste of opportunity given how much movement there is on the planet and how often engaging more deeply with a place is passed over.

The same people who gave or engaged in the talks,  and took part in my workshops were also volunteering at the Springbrook Rescue Project down the road on New Years Eve. There was plenty of time for people to disappear and do what they wished, or go walking, or take off somewhere for afternoon tea even... but what was clear when I left was the way there had been a real engagement with place.

I arrived home late yesterday afternoon and have been missing this extraordinary region, its dense vegetation and wild weather changes all day long, the wallabies and the cool... low clouds hugging the mountain for part of the week. Today I downloaded photos, took care of some business but otherwise spent time catching up with my thoughts and processing this wonderful experience in the mountains.    

I've many more photos but thought I'd stay in theme here at this post.

Sending you all my very best greetings for a Happy New Year and a wish that your 2014 be a year to remember for a number of truly rewarding and uplifting reasons!
                   

through the eyes of a child + something new!

This week my grand-nephews, W, aged 4 and P, aged 18 months, came on a trip to the just opened Asia Pacific Triennial at the Gallery of Modern Art and adjacent QLD Art Gallery.

The plan is to return later for a slower and more deliberate viewing. In the company of this pair of art-appreciators an interesting time was certainly had! 

P loved this outrageously bold work above (I was too busy navigating to read who the artist was I'm sorry) but I took a great interest in what they were noticing and responding to. We spent a little time at this one for P's sake. W was busy learning to read notices, like "please do not touch"! Glad to report both were relaxed and easy to take around. GoMA has won awards for its excellent programs for children and its inclusiveness. After this visit I can see why.

W and I proceeded to the yellow room ... you could choose between a yellow or blue room... the given task was set up to mimic the site-specific contruction, a  monolithic yellow cardboard sculpture, located in a nearby space. Model-making skills from Architectural Visualisation tutoring this year were called on to help W create his special house.

The main challenge was leaving plenty of scope for W to choose how his building should look whilst I was on problem-solving and sticky-taping duties. It was soon accomplished and he proudly walked around carrying it for the next few hours... making sure it got home safely.

Da-da!

On to the mask-making room. I shall go back before long and see the actual piece this was based on. Given this Triennial celebrates Art from across the vast Asian continent, out into the Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand, there is an enormous range of work on exhibit. Whilst much of it is contemporary the cultural origins are largely evident with traditional cultural works keenly represented as well. 

Click to visit: The 7th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT7) - APT7 marks the twentieth anniversary of the APT, and presents an opportunity to reflect on the unprecedented transformations that have occurred in Australia, Asia and the Pacific over the past two decades. Key themes include transforming landscapes, varied engagements with the city, and the adaptability of local cultures in today's globalised world.

This event challenges and reminds us here in Australia of our geographical, political and cultural position... and specifically who our neighbours are. It asks us to think in terms of different cultural frameworks and ideas... whilst here in this country further honouring the Indigenous culture with its longevity and profoundly significant heritage.

Hard to say exactly what W was making of everything... there was so much to view. Masks clearly speak to children and we had a lot of fun with these.

 

W thrilled with his efforts!

Little brother joining in!

Artists like Picasso and Matisse came to mind as we moved around. We recall their comments on the child's sense of wonder and way of  experiencing the world avidly when trying to overcome our own fears and blocks about taking artistic risks. My young companions delighted in the the magic of their discoveries...the playfulness and joy was something to really cherish from our day together.

In the Sculpture Garden we took time for a rest. One of the amazing features of the older Gallery is the spectacular inclusion of courtyards and shallow pools of water filled with s bed of stones ... W counted 5 pools and wondered, like I often have, why one can't dip one's toes in... they are incredibly enticing in our hot climate! Blissful it was here. Somehow I suspect we'll be returning in time!

This morning I posted on new studio work using lino-cut motifs at the studio blog here. I've also loaded them onto Albums at Homage to the seed Facebook Page.

100cm x100cm square cotton cloth with acrylic paint

b: acrylic on linen canvas boards and printed cloth

A few weeks ago I started turning some of my artworks on paper from the past few years into Artist books and Journals for the Verandah Market with Roz Hawker, which incidently, was a lovely afternoon spent in conversation with the delightful people who joined us that day.  Roz's sister was an excellent host and the verandah made for a breezy, comfortable setting and good conversations. I am often amazed how much one learns from these kinds of informal opportunities to share one's artwork.

My camera has been out of action in the last month or so... so no photos at the Veranda Market sadly.  A visit to the Camera Store revealed a simple problem and last week I made up for lost time photographing everything I could find needing documentation.

Which brings me to something new...

Ive decided to offer a number of these unique handmade books for sale... enquiries are welcome. 

the infinity book

15 x 21 cm

Infinity Artist book featuring 16 pages is a 

one-off artwork 

on watercolour paper signed by the artist. 

$85 AUD Plus postage

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 the black bean pod book

15 x 21 cm

"Black Bean pod" Artist book 

is a 21 x 15 cm, 24 page 

unique lino-printed artwork 

on watercolour paper signed by the artist. 

$125 AUD Plus postage

More photos will be added at Homage to the Seed Facebook page.

NB: Contact me via here if you'd like to make a query or purchase a book. I'll be adding images here at this blog and a link to another site for viewing asap!

When purchasing inside Australia Direct account payment is suggested. Outside Australia payment by credit card available through family business: Adept Display. All questions here.

Enjoy your weekend wont you!