Four women artists tutored by artists Nichola Goff and Melanie Clarke. A good ratio between two excellent teachers with wide technical experience, and a group of women artists open to play, exploration and risk taking (collision and collusion!). A chance to test mark-making, employ new processes. To construct, reconstruct and deconstruct. Basically to ‘let go’ of expectation and delight at what we discovered. 

Ironically, some of my recent works have been focussed ‘holding on’. I set myself a target of keeping that in my mind, creating a tension between controlled intention and happy accidents. 

NOTES (pre-course)

I planned to go with the flow, keeping in mind themes of my work- islands, riverscapes and landscapes.

Holding it Together

• Materially
• Mentally
• Physically
• Structurally
• Compatibility of materials

Relevant Print Processes

1. Collusion – inks with plate oil and other oils
2. Transformation – of pigment to ink, flat paper to form
3. Gouging surfaces
4. Peeling back
5. Layering surfaces
6. Adhesion
7. Corroding
8. Erasure
9. Leaving traces
10. Making boundaries
11. Transgressing boundaries
12. Tethering
13. Inscription

Post-Course

We covered all these things, remarkably, in just 3 days!

It was hard work for everyone, and rewarding too.  No expectation means no disappointment. The passion for playing was evident in all we did. Even tearing up a print you just made and restructuring it didn’t feel distressing – a risky thing, but hey-ho, who cares – especially when you see the outcome.  A collage, a book, and several prints. 

I particularly enjoyed introducing raffia to emboss the paper, the blind print is delicious, the overlays magical.

Lovely to meet Mandy, Helen and Jo and enjoy seeing what they did. All part of the process. My biggest takeaway? 

I used COLOUR!