Paper Beautiful Paper

My paper samples arrived on Friday from Gmund! I first learned about Gmund from Oh so Beautiful Paper. I have a passion for paper and it makes me go weak at the knees. It was inevitable that I would end up doing something that involved using loads and loads of fantastic papers. Printmaking, my one passion, lets me delve into my second passion, Paper!

Let me just make a note at how impressed how quickly my samples arrived considering they came from Germany, they were free samples and I didn't pay a penny towards the postage! In the UK you pay masses on postage and it takes forever! I am absolutely amazed! But more amazed than that I am in awe of the beautiful-ness of the paper! It all has different textures and the colours are so vibrant and....just amazing!

I am looking forward to using all these different papers...i am pondering whether they will work with etching but their texture may be an issue when soaking the paper. Screen printing may be the better way to go but I will keep you posted.

So if you are after some really funky paper check out Gmund...order your ten free A4 samples. The variety is widespread and ten samples is really not enough! You have to experience the texture of these papers yourself...any sort of explanation won't suffice, you cannot understand it through a computer screen. So Gmund away!

So Many Inspirational Things

I have been busy browsing the blog scene over the last few days and I am so amazed at how many artistic and talented people are out there...and I find it so inspirational and a total breath of fresh air! I kind of lead two lives...I am a full time printmaking student and a part time bank employee. I don't think I could have got involved in two completely separate things. During the academic year I am in my element and surrounded by so many talented people. I love sitting and chatting with my classmates and sharing different techniques and ideas with them. It is where I feel most comfortable. But now during the summer break I am left, void of all creativity. I work more at the bank and do little to no creative work at all (at least that is what it was like last year) and I had no creative outlet. My work friends always try and ask me about my course and what I am writing my essays on...but when I start talking about printmaking techniques and Goya they get that glazed confused look on their faces. I don't mind at all and I love them for the effort but it makes a difference talking to people who know what I am talking about. Last summer I didn't do any art work and I kind of regret it now so I am going to make up for it this summer. So I have been surfing the blogs and these are some of the amazing things I have found so far:

Shapes and Shapes - Ashley Goldberg

I love this piece because of it's collage effect and the multi-layered colours. I love the semi-circle shapes on the right hand side. It is such a simple yet effective way of mark making.

Bird Land Print - Helen Acraman

Now I know that this is a bit bizarre but bare with me. For me it has a Ernst Haeckel feeling to it. The plants look like they have come out of the sea and the block coloured shapes are reminiscent to Haeckel's Lithographic plates.

London 2 & Chelsea - Stephanie Levi

These I love because of the multi patterns in the print. There is a whole series of different interiors inspired by the artists travels. Check out her blog here.

...and i LOVE these. They are called Studio Scrap Packs by Art School Girl. The one above is for little girls. The packs are made up from old children's books, pictures, sequins, stamps etc. The idea behind them is for children to be creative with the contents and make their own pictures using the contents. I am sure adults could have just as much fun with it..i certainly would.

So just from these few examples I have been truly inspired. No doubt I will be adding more in time as I find them. Thank You to all those people out there. I truly feel that you will get me through these summer months.

I do my best in the sunshine...

Today was one of those absolutely gorgeous days when the sun shines from dawn with no clouds in the sky and doesn't set until 10pm. These are the days I am at my most happiest. I think that no matter how bad things are in your life, when the sun shines it takes all your troubles away...even if it's just for a day.

I went on a bike ride to visit my Poppy Field again. I am calling it mine because there wasn't another soul in sight. Just me and the sea of poppy flowers (and the occasional bird and a bumble bee who kept following me around...I have called him Bee).

It was so peaceful and beautiful. I could have stayed there all day however it was very hot in the sun and unfortunately poppies don't provide much shade.

After I came out of the field I rode over to Boxley Church and walked around the graveyard. Again not a soul in sight (so i guess it was all mine for the 20 minutes i was there.) The most recent grave I saw was 2007...next time I am going to find the oldest date...most of the gravestones have lost their inscriptions though...maybe a bit of carbon dating is needed. Are children's carbon dating kits available. That would be exactly what I need if it existed.

This is one of the most quiet places out in the countryside. It is such a peaceful place to be buried. Walking around you never really know whether you are walking on someones grave. The plots are so old and the gravestones are all randomly placed around the grounds. Graveyards these days are all organised and lined in symmetrical rows. But then I figured that the bodies would have been completely consumed by the worms by now so I didn't feel like I was being too disrespectful.

The gate to the grounds was beautiful. It was solid wood with chunky iron hinges and handle. When I get my own house my gates are going to be like that...and here continues the image in my head for my perfect abode...one day! And then I will be able to enjoy the sun in my own garden and have my own day in the sun.

She takes my breath away every time

I was going through my iPhoto library today and stumbled upon my holiday photos from when I went home to South Africa in March 08. My heart went thlurp...a pang of wanting, a sadness of 'God I want to be there again.' But who wouldn't want to be here...

She takes my breath away every time I see her

she is fresh summer breezes

she is vast landscapes

she is crashing waves on endless sandy beaches

she is when it rains it really really rains

she is hot summer days

she is mild winter afternoons

she is open plains

she is mountainous landscapes

she is blue blue sky

she is the brightest sunshine

she is growing up

she is family

she has my heart

she always takes my breath away

So what do I do when I so desperately want to go back? I look at photos and consult my memories. And then the need has been satisfied for a little while and I get on with my life here. There is always hope and I can live on hope.

OOO...I love these types of things...

I found this on julochka's moments of perfect clarity blog today and got excited...probably a but too excited but I love sitting an answering these things. The difference with this one is that you remove the question you like the least and replace it with a new one. so here it does:

what is your current obsession?
Parma Ham - I have decided that I am willing to spend the money on it every now and then... because to be honest nice country British ham is just as pricey! And I don't eat that wafer thin processed rubbish anyway so an extra £0.50 to £1 for decent Parma ham isn't going to break the bank! It reminds me of Italy and you need reminders of lovely things every now and then.

coffee or tea?
Tea mostly but I love coffee too. Phil always brings me a cup of tea in bed in the morning. When I go to work (twice a week) I always get a regular skinny latte to go. For the fast year and a half I have stopped putting sugar in my tea and coffee...and it didn't take me long to get used to it. I cannot stand sugar in my hot drinks anymore...I think i have even got used to expresso without sugar now too.

what's for dinner?
Not sure. Fish and chips maybe as it's saturday ad i've just been paid

what would you eat for your last meal?
Roast Lamb cooked by my mother

what was the last thing you bought?
A tuna talad baguette for lunch

what are you listening to right now?
The TV is on...Phil is watching a programme about the troops in Afghanistan. So shouting, explosions, gun shots etc.

what's your favorite ice cream flavor?
Macadamia Nut Brittle

if you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
To my mom and dad's house in Port Elizabeth for a cup of tea

which language do you want to learn?
I am not too bothered about languages. I spent eight years struggling to learn Italian but of course I would love to speak all languages but without the grief of learning one. I never really caught on very quickly.

what is your favorite color?

umm....anything ethnic. My living room is all chocolate browns, burgundy, copper, cream etc...

what's your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
My Orla Kiely denim dress

what is your dream job?
Having my own etching studio where I can run day, evening and weekend printmaking courses

what is your worst habit?
Biting my nails. t is an on/off affair though...

if you had £100 right now, what would you spend it on?
Paper

do you admire anyone's style?
my friend Elizabeth has a very unique style. She manages to mix and match loads of different colours and patterns and it always looks good. I have noticed her style rubbing off on me a little which is good. I dont really consider myself to have a style of my own. I do have a look around at everything and load of people and take what I feel are the best bits and make them my own.

describe your personal style...
I dont really consider myself to have a style of my own. I do have a look around at everything and load of people and take what I feel are the best bits and make them my own.

what are you going to do after this?
Get changed out of my work uniform and go and view a flat around the corner because we have to move at the end of July

Standing up or sitting down?

Standing until I get tired and then sitting down until I get a numb bum and then standing again...

what are your favorite movies?
The Jungle Book

Great Expectations (because of the art in it by Francesco Clamente)

Stardust

Willow

The Princess Bride

Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves because of the song

what is your favorite smell?
The smell of freshly cut grass and the smell after it has just rained in the summertime

cats or dogs?
Neither...they make my eyes itch and swell up

mac or PC?
I'm a Mac and I am 26 years old

tolstoy or dostoevsky?
Alas I am not that intellectual to comment on either

Summer or Winter?
Summer

The Cross Bones Graveyard

Today I was in London taking down the Printing Edge Part II exhibition. The gallery is on Union Street nr. London Bridge, and just down the road on Redcross Way. Walking down the road your eye is caught by ribbons flickering in the wind and as you get closer you see that those ribbons are tied to a rusty wrought iron gate.

It really has an eire feel about it even before you realise what it is. There are loads of ribbons tied to the gates with peoples names and dates on them along with beaded necklaces, dried flowers, bells, soft toys...all sorts of things. It appears to be a memorial and after reading signs on the gate you realise it is a burial site. 

We had stumbled across the site of The Cross Bones Graveyard. It was a burial site dating back to Medieval times for the prostitutes working in licensed brothels in The Borough. For some 500 years, the Bishop of Winchester exercised sole authority within Bankside's 'Liberty of The Clink', including the right to licence prostitutes under a Royal Ordinance dating back to 1161. These women became known as 'Winchester Geese'. Although these women were licensed by the church they were not granted proper burial.

The site was later opened to paupers in the 18th century and it was closed as a grave yard in 1853 when it was too full up. This site has such an amazing history and I found myself drawn to it's history. Have a read here to learn more...and if you don't like to read much watch this video.

There is something about burial sites that interest me but I don't know if it is the spiritual thing or the mystery of death and the what happens to your spirit afterwards. There are vigils held every month by the gates on the 23rd of every month...not sure if I would want to go but at the same time I am curious to what people do at these things and the atmosphere it creates. Places like The Cross Bones Graveyard have a certain atmosphere about them for me. Is it spirits? Is it ghosts? or is it just fact that people are buried on the site? 

Food for thought. Check out the links. It is quite interesting...i think so anyway!

The Impact of the Stiletto Heel on South African Printmaking

So I am in the first stages of researching for my dissertation... trying to get a start on it while I have all this time off during the summer. I want to write about the effect that Apartheid had on South African Printmaking and have been reading about the art educational system and limited printmaking supplies available to the segregated races. I stumbled across a very interesting fact about why wood became more regularly used for relief printing over lino. 

Prior to the 1960's Linoleum was easily obtainable as it was one of the most popular flooring materials because of its affordability. Printmakers could get hold of it easily from their local flooring distributor. However, in the 1960's more synthetic types of flooring were introduced because of their durability against the the newly fashionable stiletto heel. Flooring companies that were importing linoleum went out of business so lino had to be imported by art supply shops in smaller quantities, thus making it more expensive and almost unattainable during the periods of the economical boycotts in the 1980's. Thus wood became the more popular relief printing material.

Just a bit of interesting information...

x x

Poppy Craze

The only time I have ever seen poppies are on the lapels of jackets to commemorate Armistice Day in November and the odd one sprouting out from the ground...so you can understand my amazement when we stumbled across this...

Phil and I decided to take a walk on Monday evening for a bit of a change to our usual Monday evening sit on the sofa routine. To be honest I really wasn't feeling up to it because I was exhausted but I said YES MAN! and on we went. Oh it was beautiful! We stumbled upon the countryside. It was peaceful and fresh...no noise from the motor-way and plenty of stiles for us to jump over. I only saw one lot of stinging nettles and I avoided them! Ha Ha to you evil stinging nettle! You didn't get me this time! 

The views were amazing especially because the rain clouds were rolling in. I never thought I would say that, I am a sunshine person and avoid going outside when there is so much as a hint of rain because I hate getting wet...but this time it was different...and it paid off because we never got wet. When we were up at the poppy field there were huge lightening bolts coming out of that little cloud in the photo above. It was proper fork lightening too like we get in South Africa. It was breathtaking. I only had my phone as a camera so it wasn't quick enough to catch the lightening. 

At the weekend I am going to be taking my camera up to the field again and get some better shots. I am feeling all inspired by this experience, not so much by the flowers but more by their colour. I spotted the field from miles away and it drew me to it, taking our walk from a gentle half an hour stroll to a full blown cross country trek with thunder clouds looming. Now that's a powerful impact if ever I saw one!

Blogging

Now that I have my proper web-page sorted out www.stephnietrobec.co.uk  I am going to use my blogger page for blogging...which is what it is for right!?? I am sure I have lots of things going on in my life and more importantly in my head that I can splurge onto a page. So here it goes:

At the moment I have work up in two exhibitions which is very exciting. The first one that opened is at uni. It is an exhibition of artists' books entitled 'some books are for tasting'. 

I have two pieces in this exhibition. My matchbox books and my scarf book. I have had such positive feedback about both pieces which makes me feel very proud and warm inside. I put so much time into these pieces so I am chuffed to bits. This exhibition may be traveling to Poland and to Colombia in September sometime. Watch this space.

The second exhibition is 'Printing Edge Part II' at the RK Burt Gallery on Union Street in London It is an exhibition of Prints by my classmates and I as part of an assessment. Last year was Part I...hence the Part II this year. 

So we hung the exhibition on Monday 8 June 09 and had the exhibition Private View on the Tuesday. I think the day was a huge success. 

So many people showed up. It is great to see that loads of people's friends and family showed up. Unfortunately my family weren't there as they are all spread all over the world but I know they were there in spirit. I sent them all invites to the private view...even though I knew that they couldn't make it I got a sad twinge when everyone had their people around them and I didn't. It's hard but this is how it is and has been for a long time. 

I have four pieces in the exhibition. All my pieces are small which i think was a mistake...but i love them none the less. Must think 'big' in future...they exhibit better. But that is next years exhibition to think about.