Out and about
62 Group at St Barbe Museum and Gallery in Lymington- Conversations: People, Places, Materials, Objects
It all begins with an idea.
I went to see 62 Group at St Barbe Museum and Gallery in Lymington - Conversations: People, Places, Materials, Objects last Thursday evening. It was my first visit to this gallery and was pleased to see a welcoming white wall space that’s a perfect backdrop for the textile works on display.
The 62 group has a wide membership and for this outings a select group responding to the titular and locale. Emily Jo Gibbs had made a series of sensitive portraits using her signature hand embroidered organza. These were of apprentice boatbuilders at the Berthan Boat Company - a combination of tenderness and strength.
I particularly liked Debbie Lyndon’s Night Walking - Betelgeuse, Sumi Perera’s Roots and Isobel Curries Cretan Stitch Conversations. The exhibition is on till 26th Feb - so would recommend a visit if you’re in the area.
Images top - Emily Jo Gibbs Luntune and Steph Jung. Bottom: Isobel Curries - Cretan Stitch Conversations.
Alice Kettle at Candida Stephen, Chichester
It all begins with an idea.
I went to see Alice Kettle’s latest solo exhibition at Candida Stevens in Chichester during late October. I love the painterly way that Alice plays with thread, using texture as colour. This collection was interesting to me as it combines digital print and stitch with the analogue. I loved the yellow pieces - so optimistic - just what you need on a grey October afternoon!
Charles Shearer at the Curlew Press
It has been a long held ambition of mine to attend a Charles Shearer Collograph workshop - not because I think his style is that close to mine, although I feel we use similar references - but to learn about his unique mark making process and sublime technique. I was not disappointed. The workshop was held over 2 days in November in the legendary Curlew press - as if this wasn't pilgrimage enough! Charles is a very generous tutor - helpful and patient - along with being a fantastic colourist (I wish I had taken a photo of the inking station for you to see). Look up his work to see what a sublime hand he has.
We made a number of plates from display board, using simple mark making tools and scalples, that were sealed in shellac before being printed onto Fabriano paper with oil based inks - some mixed with extenders. What I learnt was that this technique is a combination of intaglio and relief printmaking - blissful. Some additional textures were added by using embossed wall paper motifs. Charles demonstrated more ‘hacks’ using paper stencils and the happy accident of a ghost image on the roller, along with cutting a bevel edge to the plates (V hard!).
I met a fantastic group of like minded students who all adapted their imagery to the technique. I went home very happy and tired - but full of ideas about how to develop this technique.
Top tip - let the plates ‘touch’ each other to create a kinetic energy to your piece.
Lino workshop with Erin, St Ives Sloop
It all begins with an idea.
Heron- gull Lino print using Erin’s sustainable ‘Pick Pretty Paints’ inks.
What can be better than a week in St Ives with the fam all back together? Well, that’s a September morning spent with Erin (booked through airbnb) at her studio in the Sloop making Lino cuts with my lovely girl Amelia. It was hard work to get the image cut in the time - even using using Erin’s amazing Pfeil cutters - but we both managed to make something lovely to take home as a memento of our time in St Ives.
Erin was very generous with her time and resources - pointing out how Mark Herald uses medallions to create composite images. Erin’s side hustle is selling her fab inks that are sustainable and totally safe to use on a number of applications. We came away with a bag full of lovely colours for future projects :) but will surely make a return visit if we are in the area again.