Animal Portraits

Anyone who knows me knows that I am fascinated by animals.  I can't live without animals.  At present, I am being restrained and only have 2 dogs, a goldfish, 2 budgies, and my slightly feral, neurotic, spoilt cat, Bridie O'Reilly, which my eldest son kindly saved from a rampaging farmer ( who didn't appreciate hordes of feral kittens appearing on his property, getting ready to breed ferociously), and donated to me.

But, in the past, I have had everything from stick insects ( a Christmas present), chickens, Sun Conures and blue tongue lizards to a toad, a hamster, a squirrel,a sulpher crested cockatoo and a kangaroo.  I love watching them in the wild, in zoos, in pet shops, on farms, and on TV. I read about animals - my childhood heroes were David Attenborough, Gavin Maxwell and Gerald Durrell.  My bookcases are crammed with books on animals. Every day, during my walk with the dogs, I keep up to date with the little families of animals I have got to know.  These little black ducks are residents of a  pond on this walk and are very eager consumers of spare bread from the locals, along with the resident eels, elegant dusky moorhens, and dabchicks.

 (By the way, the way to make me love you forever, unconditionally, is to give me a horse (hint, hint) ). 

 So, it isn't surprising that animals appear frequently in my work.


This is the latest fabric printed with lino cuts that I have created.  It is inspired by Japanese drawings of insects and is very buggy as you can see:

 

Miranda, Elizabeth and I also used the press this week at the BIA to do some work

 

 

  and I caught up with my printing.................... only to discover that this lino cut of fish, needs a little more refining.

 

  I have realised that I now have quite of a collection of animal themed work.  I did this tapestry of frogs years ago for an old chair.

This series of sharks is inspired by my son-in-law, Rob.  He is a keen fisherman and loves catching and eating gummy sharks, but occasionally the sharks try to take revenge and bite him.  It also pays homage to the Aussie reputation for danger overseas.  So many of my overseas friends seem convinced that the animals of this country are all conspiring to eat them or poison them.

( "Mako shark".  Lino print.  Size of print: 8.57 cm X 2.75 cm. $50AUD plus postage and handling).

 

(" Black tip shark".  Lino print. Size of print: 6.6cmx 18cm.  Price $50 AUD plus postage and handling)

 

 

("Gummy Shark". Lino print. Size of print 30.5cm x9cm. $60 plus postage and handling)

 

 

( "Nurse Shark" Lino cut.  Size of print: 18cm x 6.5 cm.  Price $50 AUD plus postage and handling).

 

I love dogs.  These, rather plump, greyhounds are a result of me trying to decide whether we need to get a child-friendly whippet or greyhound for our grandchildren. They are supposed to be fantastic.   Unfortunately, the council only allows 2 dogs.

 

 

("Waiting".  Size of print 15.5cm square.  Price: $40 AUD plus postage and handling.  Lino print.)

 

And we looked after this little dog for a friend while he was on holiday.

 

 

 

("Bella".  Oil on canvas board.  Size 40 cm x 30cm.  $50 AUD plus postage and packaging)

 

These brahmin cattle remind me of my childhood in Trinidad.

 

 

 

 ( "Curiosity". Size of print :13 cm x 17cm. Linoprint. $35 plus postage and packaging)

This is a detail from a quilt I made when I first came to Brisbane:

And this is a detail of one I made for my youngest son, Jon, many years ago:

I think this love of animals will continue in my future work. I am currently trying to think of a way to incorporate the Brisbane symbols: the ibis, the water dragon and the bush turkey. Stay tuned.

Excited by dyeing

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it!  I've been bouncing round singing because I have rediscovered eco-dyeing, thanks to my partners in crime, Elizabeth and Miranda.  When I was down south, they attended an ecodyeing workshop with Sandra Pearce. While we were printing at the BIA on Monday, they showed me the wonderful results of their experiments and gave me a brief rundown of the technique and I was inspired to try it myself.  Got home to do a bit of research on line and dipped into India Flint's "Eco Colour: Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles", the eco-dyeing bible.  I was ready to go.

The next day, I set off for the morning walk with the dogs, with a calico foraging bag slung over my shoulder.  The walk along Kedron Brook is a lovely one, by the way.  It is a twitcher's paradise.  That morning, I passed my favourite family, the 6 new wood-duck babies, the first of the season, as well as a heron, black ducks, a cormorant, an egret, galahs, corellas, lorikeets, black duck, ibis , native mynahs,swallows, and of course, the Brisbane resident, the Bush turkey:

Anyway, as the dogs and I walked, I picked wattle and gum leaves and put them in my bag for boiling up into a brewing soup later.  (Don't worry, I only took a sprig from each tree and picked up a lot from the ground).   I also picked the occasional flower, berry ( I did manage to eat some wild mulberries too), piece of rusted metal, shapely gum leaves, pieces of bark, I came across.  By the time we got back, the dogs were exhausted and the bag was full.  Miranda and Elizabeth were pretty vague about what was in the dyeing brew, so I filled 2 dyeing pots with the gum and wattle leaves and poured in a bit of alum. Then, I added some used tea bags and some Turkish coffee into one pot, and an avocado stone in the other, simply because I had just eaten the flesh, if truth be known.

 

 I covered the foliage with water and simmered each pan for about 2 hours.

 While waiting, I tore some watercolour sheets into quarters and then into quarters again. Then I folded them into quarters. I next placed my foraged finds on each sheet of paper and folded them, making sure that each side had leaves, berries, flowers, etc touching it. When I ran out, I added things from my kitchen compost bin: avocado skin, strawberry tops and flesh, apple peels, manderine peels, sweet potato peels.

 

  
As I did all this seated on the verandah floor, the dogs at first took a great interest in proceedings.  Then Toby, the dark one in the photo, otherwise known as "good dog" got bored and slept beside me.  Maisie, who is blond and looks innocent, aka "the evil dog", scented potential for trouble, as usual.  She sensed the mulberries and swallowed a lump of the foragings without working out if it was indeed mulberry, or worrying about poison.  I shooed her away and she tried to steal the secateurs.  Later, I discovered she'd snaffled the foraging bag, and chewed off the handle.  Honestly, she is a menace, although she is also funny, charming and loving.  She has, in the past, also stolen and chewed my nice pink bra from the washing basket, eaten a 10 peso note from Argentina, barked  at possoms enough to cause the next door neighbours to complain, and eaten the cat food, in spite of our efforts at discipline.  We must love her, she's still here.

 

After clearing everything away from Maisie's attentions, I cut out two heavy cardboard rectangles for covers/ reinforcement and tied string round the pile to press the sheets together tightly.  This parcel went into the pot with the avocado pip in it and pressed down firmly into the mixture by a piece of old metal, and boiled for 45 minutes.

I also got an old packet of frozen turmeric from the freezer and sprinkled it on the fabric from my last, failed, lichen adventure.

I also got an old packet of frozen turmeric from the freezer and sprinkled it on the fabric from my last, failed, lichen adventure.

This was rolled into a sausage shape and tied tightly into a bundle with string, and immersed into the other pot, to be boiled for 45 minutes.

Then, the moment of triumph.  Both dyeings worked!

I opened up the paper parcels and removed the vegetation.  I found I had to rinse the sheets of paper gently to get rid of some sludge.  Here are some of the dried results:

Gum leaves on this one

Metal and leaves here:

This paper had metal, leaves and mulberries.

 

This had mulberries and leaves

I am afraid the photos do not do them justice.

And the material was fantastic:

 

Got so excited, I have been foraging every day!

The next day, put in another set of papers to brew and got these results (wet).

 

Love the onion skin colours!

Berries and yellow flowers of a weed.

 

Gum leaves and mulberries.

The paper now looks like something out of " Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book" (Jones, T and Froud, B) which my daughter, Kate loved so much.

I am loving this so much and intend to experiment with more  prints in the future.  I think I'll use the paper for printing lino cuts and making little art books.  Or maybe a mixed media piece?

Trip to Mt.Gambier, South Australia, and Victoria.

Finally got to meet my newest grandchild, Dylan Rohan.  Such a sweet,  placid little boy who is lucky to have very loving parents and a great and supportive extended family. Can't wait for his cousins to meet him.  His parents have only been in Mt. Gambier for a short time but they have made some very good, thoughtful and supportive friends there who have made the transition to being parents much easier for them.  There are so many wonderful people in this world of ours - don't believe the media views which only show what is rotten in life.

He has pets, this little boy: two dogs,  Charlie (shown here)and Stella, and two cats Optimus and Nina (behind his dad), so like his cousins, he is lucky enough to grow up with animals.

I took the dogs for a walk from Hoo Hoo lookout to the bottom of the dry crater of Leg or Mutton Lake.  The dogs loved the smells and fetching sticks.  I loved the differing woods of the trees stretching their bare arms to the sky, the crisp clean air, the wild alyssum, speedwell and plum blossoms,  the walk down.

Don't you think these views of the deciduous trees could be a great inspiration  for a quilt?

And these mushrooms growing on a log look like they could inspire an art piece.

I gathered some of the windfall sticks with lichen on them.   Back at the house, I tested them with bleach to see if they were orchil producing, as advised in Val Krohn-Ching's book "Hawaii Dye Plants and Dye Recipes" and decided they weren't.  So the next day, I decided  I might try buying a second hand pot, and boiling them up with some cream of tartar and cotton fabric to see if I could make a  dye.  
















Then the dogs and I went back up the path and back up the steep steps past the Rook to the car.  I kept pretending to check out the view of the blue lake, but really I was trying to pretend that I was not dying of a heart attack from the climb.  I have a horrible feeling that this is why my doctor suggested I get a personal trainer and go to the gym.  Obviously, walking half an hour to an hour every day on flat ground is not the same as walking up hill and stairs! 

At home, I wrapped the lichen in cotton fabric,  and tried using  bicarbonate of soda and water to effect a dye because of advice from another internet source, but after boiling for hours discovered it didn't work.  Yet another source suggested ammonia, so I added that and soaked it for the two weeks.  I think I'll do some specific research on this before I visit Mt. gambier again.  All I got was some orangeish spots and lots of beige fabric.

I  also visited the very impressive Riddoch Gallery, which had some very nice exhibitions.  I tried to find the Blue Lake Paper Mill shop, but it seems to have disappeared.  And I wandered around the city and suburbs.  On one of my walks I discovered this cute cow in a garden:

 

I managed to do some knitting of yet another mangled AK doll, and a  few watercolour/ink works, including this attempt at young Dylan:

I also visited some good friends who have a property near Hamilton, Victoria.  Jill is a bit of a superwoman - brilliant photographer who has had quite a few exhibitions- and part of a great farming team with her lovely husband, Col.  It was just the right time to visit.  The fields were full of lambs which always entrance me much more than their often dopey, skittish mothers.  I was spoiled on a very cold, blustery day with a tour of the farm, a beautiful morning tea of hot date scones, and a lovely lunch of home made bread and soup by a lovely warm fire.  Bliss.  It was very hard to drive through squalls back to Mt. Gambier though the sight of crimson rosellas and the occasional group of kangaroos which restrained themselves from jumping in front of the car made up for the horrible driving conditions.

At the end of the two weeks, I don't think I would have gone home if it wasn't for the fact that we were going to show off the baby to Melbourne, I wanted to see my other kids and grandkids, and I needed to pick up my husband from the airport in Brisbane.  I had a lovely time and tons of ideas for dyeing and more art.

Baby love

Flew down to Melbourne and was picked up by good friends, Trish and Mark, who took us back for a quick cuppa at their house.  I'd forgotten how much of my stuff she has picked up and framed over the years.  It looks great in her house and makes me feel quite flattered.  Then Mark drove us over to my daughter's house  where we collapsed into a very deep sleep after all the running
 about of the day.

Our gorgeous grand-daughter, Jacqueline, greeted us with her usual smiling face and we had breakfast together.  Then, her little friend Caitlin, turned up and the fun was on.  Caitlin played Dolly's house and Jac set down to some serious drawing - mostly body art, but that's still art isn't it?
Mum intervened and redirected the talent into shape drawings and singing and Caitlin I joined in.  Great fun.

Too soon, we had to leave for the 6 hour ( for us - we took the wrong turn once, and stopped for two breaks) drive to Mt. Gambier.  Gee Victoria is beautiful at this time of year!  Cool and crisp.  Bare tree branches  outlined against the  sky.  Rolling hills interspersed between river valleys.  Quiet little villages with bluestone Victorian cottages and jonquils blooming.  Lambs beside their mothers in the fields. Hawks hovering over the hedgerows.  The area between Casterton and Hamilton particularly took my fancy.  So pretty, with lovely old houses and green rolling hills.

I was a bit disappointed at the border with South Australia.  There is no big sign proclaiming te change in states!  But, the drive is still picturesque and Mt. Gambier is a pretty town.

We finally met our newest little grandson, Dylan Rohan, and he is sooooo beautiful.  A great head of the softest, thickest hair, chubby little arms and he is  really good at snuggling up for cuddles.  We are in love.  I brought my knitting and drawing and painting things, but I don't think I'll get much done!

How to cover yourself in fabric paint

I've been madly trying to finish off some projects before I meet my new little grandson, Dylan Rohan.   He looks so chubby and cute, and has hair!  None of my other grandchildren had so much hair! I wonder what colour it will turn out to be and what colour his eyes will be. I wonder what he will love doing. His oldest cousin Will is tall, brown-eyed and brown haired, and loves playing with dogs.  Jac, his other cousin, is petite, blue-eyed and blond, and adores being outside.  Being a grandparent is wonderful!  We get to know these new little people that we shared in creating and who will be our gift to the world. We get to spoil them, love them, play with them, and share their wonder at, and joy about, the world. They truly are a blessing.

Perhaps because of my excitement, I have been particularly messy lately.

Firstly, I printed several versions of this very fine, little stencil of feathers, birds and eggs on white cotton ( a pig to cut out)



 and was satisfied until, as I was laying out the print, the wind blew through the door of my grand studio, and whipped the material onto my apron, smudging a lot of the prints and turning my apron blue.  Unfortunately, I didn't realise my apron was stained until I took a break for a cup of coffee, sat in the armchair to read a book, and turned the book blue.  Luckily, the armchair survive unscathed.

I decided to check out my leaf stencils cut from Easy Cut plastic, and was pretty pleased with these attempts:

 

until I realised that I had somehow stained my face with the paint and looked like a woad-covered Pict.

Continuing my Japanese influenced screen printing with Easy Cut stencils, I carefully lined up my stencils,

 carefully placed the frame over them,

carefully applied the paint

  and was overjoyed at this  print:




..........so I decided to move the material down the side of the table and do a second one.  That was my big mistake!  I leant against the print...........I only noticed what I had done when I went to lay the 2 prints down on the drying rack and discovered this:

and then, discovered that my windcheater sleeves were covered in paint.  Hope it washes out!  I love that windcheater. Sigh. And, I discovered I had stained another apron. Sigh.

I  thought I had learned from my mistake, and was savvy about clutzing, until I went to class.

 I cut out two hexagonal linocuts and was relieved when I did not make my typical mistake of skidding the tool and ruining the pattern.

 I love this bug stencil on fabric......

but, I managed to reverse the image in 2 places. Never mind...... I'll pretend I intended to do it.

This is my last print - a cicada print which is deliberately random in directions, so I can't be accused of making a mistake!

I consider all these errors part of my learning experience - in public ( privately, I have been cursing).  I am claiming that I never repeat the same mistake twice (cough, cough). Plus, since I haven't decided what I am going to do with all these fabric prints, it doesn't really matter.  A lot of them did turn out very well.  So far, the suggestions for those range from pillowcases, to quilts, to aprons, to bags, to dress panels.  It'll be interesting to see whether they end up in my pile of fabrics or actually get used.  Those which didn't work can be cut up and used in collage style pieces of work.  Nothing is ever wasted.  And, I can always try again, as both the stencils and the linocuts are reusable. 

Anyway, this break from printing is probably a very good thing.  I need a break from destruction!