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This week we tried our hand at Chine-colle. Chine-colle is a technique in printmaking where paper of a different color or texture is adhered to the overall piece. The paper, usually in pre-cut shapes, is bonded to the heavier support paper of the print in the printmaking process. It is not just glued to the print as a collage element, it is more embossed into the paper as part of the printmaking process. Below is one Chine-colle and three dry point etching prints.    
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I have been taking a course with Peter McLean at the Belconnen Arts Centre on Dry Point Etching. I had so enjoyed the classes with Jo Hollier that I jumped at the chance to try my hand at it again. Peter is a very supportive tutor who has a lovely laid back attitude. It has been a pleasure to take this course. These prints are from the first week. Compared to the rest of the class my prints are much more stylized. It will be interesting to see how I progress.
A most enjoyable afternoon was spent with Jill Robertson leading a workshop on Medieval Line Fillers. Before we embarked on this Jill demonstrated how to create a feather paintbrush with a very fine tip, which would be capable of producing extremely fine details such as those seen in medieval manuscripts. This was the very Australian version made with Cockatoo feathers. We then commenced our main project for the afternoon, the goal of which was to produce a set of bookmarks featuring a decorative panel in medieval style and some writing in Gothic script. This was an interesting and most enjoyable workshop. All of my line fillers are from the Luttrell Psalter from the 14th Century.       Attended an amazing workshop led by renowned calligrapher Yves Leterme from Bruges. How lucky were we? The workshop was, 'David and Goliath - a Calligraphy Workshop on Contrast in Size'. I learnt so much from Yves. He was generous with his time, knowledge and his expertise. It was gratifying to me that he praised my calligraphy. Such a boost to my confidence. I have managed to do a few more prints at home. It is the usual - not enough time.             What a wonderful course run by the fabulous Michael Burke. The first day was dedicated to making traditional paste papers. These are the ones that can be found in books that are centuries old. Paste papers are made by mixing pigments (dry, tempera, acrylic, ...) into a paste made from flour, starches of other kinds, or more modern materials such as methylcellulose. Patterns can be made by brush strokes, stamps, rollers, combs or any combination of these to make designs in the paper and let it dry. One of the distinctive qualities of paste paper is the rich 3-dimensional patterns and designs. The people best known for their paste paper were the Moravians from Hernnhut, East Saxony, in Germany. The early paste papers were monochromatic and the two most common colors were burnt sienna and indigo blue. So this is what we used, trying to reproduce the beautiful papers from that time. The first day we tried to reproduce the traditional patterns. The next day we ventured out into modern acrylic colours and less traditional designs. In the first week of January I attended a five day workshop on printing. Under the expert tutelage of Jo Hollier we explore dry etching, collographs and for light relief gelli printing. It was a great week. Exhausting but fun and informative. This was something very new for me like I need another hobby. I am now definitely addicted. Now I need a printing press! This is a book made from Manilla Folder. It is in an accordion style. Thank you to Carol for showing me this structure. I forgot how to finish it so I this is my own version. I have used eco-prints for the covers. It makes a lovely little book of approximately 15cm x 8cm. How much fun is this? I have made number 34 on the Top 50 Calligraphy blog list. It is advertised as a comprehensive list of best Calligraphy blogs on the internet and I’m honoured and quite amazed to be part of it. https://blog.feedspot.com/calligraphy_blogs/  I spent many days over Christmas and New Year eco-printing bookmarks for the 38th International Calligraphy Conference being held at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. The organisers are providing Welcome Bags for 450 people and as a consequence were asking for help. The Canberra Calligraphy Society rose to the challenge. We decided to provide 450 eucalyptus eco-printed bookmarks. Evocative of Australia as well as Canberra. The project is nearly complete and we are very happy to be able to contribute 450 bookmarks to our fellow Canadian calligraphers. Below are just a few of the eco-printed bookmarks before they are wrapped in cellophane with a calligraphic greeting inscribed on each one. |
