8th December 2022

Today was our formative assessment presentation. I could post a copy of it but in fact I’m going to be honest. I’m exhausted.

I had Covid-19 a couple of weeks ago, and my son is off school with it now. This post isn’t about how great I’m doing, who I’ve researched and what inspires me.

This is about how I’m second guessing myself, how I think I was crazy running with this idea. Who am I kidding?

I work part time, have a family, horses and dogs. Christmas is literally around the corner. Postal strikes mean that if you order anything you have no idea when it will arrive. I have long term health conditions and it seems something else has decided to join that particular party, and I’m juggling hospital appointments as well.

How on earth am I going to find the time to source pigments in a timely fashion? Make my own handmade paper? Organise family Christmas? Fit my bookkeeping work in?

My life is actually part of my project. In all, it’s chaotic everything gets done even if its last minute style. It just means I need to work this out slightly differently.

After talking with my tutor, there were some pigment powders that had been given to the department and I was allowed to use them to start making my own paints. This resolved the problem of relying on postage, or the fact that I didn’t have time to take the dogs on long foraging walks.

The handmade paper? Well after researching I really like the company ethos of Khadi so in the new year I will look at ordering some.

Still stressed, still feel like I’m running out of time but my presentation went well and I received some good feedback. I also have a way forward to practice my paint making skills. A positive outcome.

30 November 2022

What a lovely person Susannah is, we met at Weston Art Space, http://www.westonartspace.com, and she very kindly gave a little tutorial in how to use natural pigments and make water based paint.

When I first thought about becoming a more sustainable artist and doing more, I didn’t realise how much I would learn. Although do feel I may need to brush up on my geology.

It was quite enlightening that could source the raw materials to make yellow ochre, red ochre, manganese, peat and chalk from the local areas. A lot of the places I go for walks have rich findings.

Obviously some colours are difficult to find , blues and greens for example. For the pigments you can’t source yourself, there are suppliers of non toxic paint pigments such as Celtic Sustainables.

Walnuts, Willow and Silver Birch bark are good to make inks, and willow twigs can be used t make your own charcoal by placing in a tin in your wood burner. Actually, wood ash is something I could use .

Susannah explained the process from finding the stone or soil, to grinding to a fine powder and mullering the pigment powder with a binder like gum arabic for water based paint, and finally the paste, which you can store if water based in a jar.

We only had time to make one pigment, and I enjoyed having a go, watching Susannah at work and understanding the process. I wrote lots of scribbled notes!

I plan to use left over wood or repurposed wood from found objects etc, as well as handmade paper. Susannah uses wood from a local arboretum and handmade paper from Khadi, there is also Two Rivers paper local to us in Somerset. I would like to give papermaking a go but for now I will probably buy from a sustainable source.

I had two good book recommendations :

The Organic Artist – Nick Neddo

Earthen Pigments – Sandy Webster

https://www.susannahcrookart.com/?fbclid=PAAaYZVvXgmHTxsUuda3gpVZ1FbsA1kZTTw1NjrDCUACLjhQkXx6-1mKLYfeE

I certainly left our session inspired and looking forward to having a go at sourcing pigments and making my own paints.

Artist Research: Maria Medina-Schecter

 Maria Medina-Schechter uses mycelium, the material used to grow mushrooms. Painting with pigments of organic blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, teas, and coffee.*99

She is an eco-artist and this pdf in the Ecological Citizen is really interesting about her art and approach using what is a living material.

Click to access epub-063.pdf

I’m interested in the lightfastness of the natural fruit pigments. Do you have to accept that it is part of your artwork, that it will fade in time? Or are their natural things you can add that prevent the colour fading?

More to ponder on!

24th November 2022

Today’s session was about our formative assessment. We have to do a presentation on where we have got to, with our projects at the end of term.

The brief is 5 mins 10 slides maximum. What media am I drawn to? Why? How does this help articulate ideas? Include discarded experiments as well.

I’m not concerned about the presenting ideas in front of others. I get more nervous about being questioned on my influences and movements that inspire me.

I am still that art student who struggles to remember names, etc, etc, unless it is written in front of me. An out of the blue question is likely to make me panic that I sound like a philistine!

Besides all that, I’ve been given the name of a local artist Susannah Crook, who uses locally sourced natural pigments. I’ve emailed her and am waiting for a reply. Hopefully, I can attend a workshop with her.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cims3lqD3HI/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

17 November 2022

My ceramic 3D piece wasn’t bisque fired in time for this workshop. The pot I used was one that had been created by someone and left, so for the purposes of this exercise I was able to glaze it.

There were some really lovely textures on this pot and one side had iron oxide on it and I felt this needed to be brought out and complimented. I used 3 different green glazes, one of which was green wood ash.

I enjoyed experimenting with the different techniques for applying the glaze. I poured the shiny glaze on the inside and the brushed or sponged on and wiped off the sides with the other glazes.

The texture in the clay played a part in my decision of how to apply the glaze as I wanted to highlight them and bring them out as it would be easy to flatten them by applying too thickly.

I was very happy with final result even though it wasn’t my pot originally. I hope I’ve done the creator proud.

3 November 2022

Artist Research: Frank To

https://www.franktoartist.com/portfolio/gunpowderartwork

On our visit to the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol one of the exhibits was King of Bees by Frank To. It really grabbed my attention because it was ignited gunpowder and coloured powder on wooden board.

I really liked the detail and the irony of using explosives to depict a species that is in decline wasn’t lost on me. On face value I probably took it as an environment piece, political commentary on the state of climate change. There are a lot of plastics and chemicals involved in the process of making modern gunpowder. However, when I started looking into Frank’s gunpowder art, I think there is a deeper message and mission behind all this.

Frank To want’s his art to inspire people to think twice about the value of life. One of his collaboration projects is the “Humanium Metal Initiative”. Humanium is a metal made from the melting down of illegal firearms that are seized across the world and made into other products. He supports attempts to reduce gun violence.

Frank is also part of instagram #artistssupportpledge. Each time an artist reaches £1,000 of sales, they pledge to buy £200 of work from other artists. This came about during Covid-19 restrictions. I have started following him on insta because I find his work inspirational. I respect that he has this underlying passion that underpins his work and use of the explosive powders with other materials.

Art with a purpose.

3 November 2022

Sustainable Art Practice

I am interested in being as sustainable in my art practices as I can be, and this year have an interest in the impact of pigments and chemicals in manufactured art media and the impact they have on the environment in production and disposal. The pieces of artwork that caught my attention and pigues my interest during the Bristol trip were those that were limited palattes, texture pieces of artwork using either one or mixed media, and those that were created using repurposed materials.

The one that really caught my attention was “King of Bees” by Frank To, which was ignited gunpowder and coloured powder on wooden panel. I need to research him further, but he is a humanitarian and supports various causes with his artwork. This piece of art got me thinking about different ways of using art materials and how to create using more natural pigments.

I am very interested in nature and whatever I create I wish to try and convey the essence of the story I’m narrating with my art or the subject matter. other artists whose work I was taken with because of either their story telling, colour palette, or materials used to create their work were, Claire Sparkes, Andrew Hardwick, Camilla Nock, Rachel Macdonnell and Becky Buchanan.

For my project I plan to research and explore making my own art materials from natural pigments that are available. i will also be experimenting with how these work on repurposed, scrap materials such as wood, metal, linen, canvas etc. I may also look at making my own paper however time restrictions may not allow for this. I like modelling clay so part of this work will be how can I take these theories and practice into ceramics?

I have no idea what the final art piece will be, however I do know that there will be texture, and layers and possibly some form of abstraction, as I tend to shy away from being realistic.

3 November 2022

This week was all about how the project will run. At the end we need to have a final product. I’ve put some thought into this since the research trip to Bristol and have decided that my project needs to reflect how I enjoy creating pieces of art. Over the past year I have found myself using more found objects and repurposing materials to make my own canvases. My project is all about taking this a step further and creating my own paints using natural pigments where I can and even consider making my own paper.

I need to consider how far do I really want to go in controlling the materials I use? I definitely need to understand more about the history of where pigments come from and how to source my own from the world around me and what kind of paint method would be best to use, and what suits my style? So many questions. I realise that as a busy mum I have so many avenues I could follow in my explorations that the hardest part will be keeping it small to start with. I don’t have to find the answers to everything all at once.

How do I create? What do I enjoy doing?

• Photography
• Screen printing
• Lino Printing
• Use reclaimed materials for 2D and 3D pieces
• Ceramics and clay modelling

What’s important to me? That’s easy to answer with my love of horses it’s nature and my surrounding landscape. This is why I want to look at more natural ways of creating pigments and paint, that cut out as many chemicals as possible. How can I be sustainable in my practices? Do I have the time to do things as I would like? And if not, are there other ways of sourcing sustainable materials?

I wish to get across the essence of the landscape or animal I am painting.

I want my work to tell a story.

I would love it if my work draws the observer in.

13th October 2022

Negotiated Project: This Project provides you with the opportunity for developing a creative practice. Through a Negotiated project proposal, you will independently initiate your working practice where you will adopt a resourceful approach to the practical engagement with materials, ideas, research, design development and production. You have been asked to contemplate possible and potential ideas that could develop a project. Your project needs to target research and investigate relevant art, design and craft contexts through written and visual means to develop creative ideas. Task 1. Use the Bristol Study Trip to gather and focus on appropriate and relevant resource material that could and would be instrumental to that project idea. Effectively record interesting, inspiring and useful information during and after your visit to develop ideas for this project through a physical sketchbook and digital website.  Task 2. Develop further visual and written information in a physical sketchbook and digital website over the half term period. This research will formulate more structured ideas on what your project could be and look like. From this basis write a Negotiated design brief (200-250 words) outlining your aims, theme or concept and the materials and envisioned outcomes, with reference sources.   On return from half term you will receive a Formal Module Launch and briefing. We will seminar on your research and proposals whereby you will enter into a negotiated tutorial that will advise, guide and assist you in the planning of such a project.

Simon Taylor, Lecturer, BA (Hons Art & Design

Armed with the above as a brief for the next 10 weeks we ventured on a field trip to Bristol, visiting the Royal West of England Academy, the Bristol Museum and Spike Island. I had pretty much an open mind about my project as to be honest I didn’t really have any preconceived ideas about where I wanted my project to go or what medium I was more drawn into creating.

I’m going to start with Spike Island because Lawrence Abu Hamden’s film of the 45th Parallel, was very thought provoking. I found it to be very well articulated and well delivered. It made me even more aware of the parallel universes we seem to live in and the ripple effect of simple decisions across the world. The two backdrops that you walk through of Damascus and the border crossing in El Paso-Juarez help highlight the divides in the world, but how one ruling in a court thousands of miles away affect the life’s of others. The other exhibition on at the same time was Rosemary Mayer’s, Ways of Attaching. I loved her use of colour, texture and materials. Her style and way of expressions even as she developed from her original sketch ideas to her material sculptures and paintings, were quite magical and intriguing.

I found most of inspiration at the RWA, there were so many great works of art that touched on many of the things that I’m interested in, repurposing found materials, ceramics, nature, telling a story. I found myself drawn to certain colours and some of the more abstract pieces. I guess the weird and the unusual seemed to stand out for me and as I see my emotions colour whenever I do any form of meditation or visualisation exercise, I take the pieces of art I’m drawn to as a reflection of where I am in that moment. There were a number of artists that inspired me with the unusual media that they used and I will be researching them further like Cathy Pink and Frank To. However, this artist Claire Sparkes watercolour and pencil depictions, had me looking for more to the story she was telling. These are not great photos of her work, but I think you can understand why I wanted to interrogate her paintings further. Plus my control of watercolour as a medium would just look like a runny mess and I would find it very hard to depict the same amount of detail in my paintings. Something to aspire to maybe?

I felt as though I was in a Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale.

There weren’t many things that inspired me in the Bristol Museum, I think maybe because I have seen a number of the paintings and ceramics there over the years and after the RWA and some of the work there that really got me thinking about composition and materials and how I want to tell my stories, it felt a bit like a non event. I was still thinking about the work I had just seen.

Now I have to go away and as per task 2 of the above brief, consider what kind of creative practice I wish to follow and write up a project brief.