July Leaves

Leaves of contrasting size - a frog rests on a long, broad leaf of the Yellow Flag Iris alongside a tiny scattering of duckweed.  The meniscus makes him look like he has his own little bubble helmet for exploring an alien world.

CATCHWATER - Blog for the Watershed Project

This is just to remind anyone who comes here from a link on Pennine Prospect's Watershed Landscape website, that my actual blog about being Watershed Artist in Residence in 2011 can be found here

Impressions - Printmaking Exhibition at The Gallery, Masham

Delivered a selection of my bird prints today to this lovely little gallery in the centre of Masham on the market square.  I'm really pleased to be showing my woodcuts there along with four other women printmakers.  Its all thanks to my friend and fellow printmaker Janis Goodman who recommended me to gallery owner Josie Beszant. Thanks Janis!

The exhibition is on for a month and the preview is on Thursday 14th July 7.30 - 9.30 pm if you are in that neck of the woods.

Hebden Bridge Open Studios 2011

Its Open Studios again this weekend.  Brooklyn Studios where I'm based is now gleaming with freshly painted floors and everyone's studio space spruced up with work on display and a new exhibition in the gallery.  I'm hoping for lots of interesting visitors and good sales.   My Pennine Finch/Twite woodcut is featured in the second letter 'e' on the poster.

June Leaves

I've been neglecting Tumbling Hills these past few weeks; I knew it would be a bit of a struggle running two blogs but I still feel I need to keep the work for my Watershed residency separate.  I've also been away to Cornwall for two weeks on my annual holiday.

Contrary to appearances I don't normally go on so many holidays, its just that this year they've been bunched together, partly to ensure I have a clear block of time for Watershed during July and August.
I've only been back a few days and I already feel knackered again, so in keeping with the post-holiday austere mood June's leaves are dried moor grass drifting on the peaty shores of Warland Reservoir.

May Leaves

May leaves are all about the contrast between bright green and pale gold.  I've given up sticking to the mini habitat at Salem Field as too much was destroyed during the 'improvements' earlier in the year. Instead I'm making a 12 month reflection on any leaves I come across during the year.

All the leaves here are from my holiday to the North Norfolk coast.  The reeds down there are beautiful and correspond to our Pennine rushes - they shimmer and change colour depending on the light and wind.

Sand Wraiths

On a recent visit to North Norfolk, blazing sun and scouring wind created this amazing effect of mesmeric movement like swirling smoke or mist - to my mind writhing sand wraiths;  If you stared for too long it made you fall over but was more beautiful than sinister; unlike the topsy turvy building which seemed weirdly disturbing.

Pennine Twite Revisited

Recently Pennine Prospects asked me if I could extend the Twite woodcut as they needed a more panoramic format.  I wasn't sure if I could but I said I'd give it a go.  In fact it was very straightforward.
I just continued the design onto another woodblock about a third as much again.  The extra bit is on the right.

When the print comes off the press there's a thin white line between the two blocks but I have a technique for dealing with this thats pretty successful. I'm pleased with the final result.  I will be exhibiting some of my bird prints from 15th July to 15th August at The Gallery, Masham, North Yorkshire in a group show called 'Impression' featuring the work of 6 printmakers.  This Twite print will be my main attraction.

On a different topic, I'm finding it strange having a separate blog for my Watershed residency. I think about my work as a single entity no matter how disparate some of the parts are, so it feels weird to filter stuff for Catchwater.  I expect I'll get used to it over time.

Catchwater

The new blog I mentioned earlier is now up and running.  Its for the Watershed Landscape residency and's called Catchwater.  I'm not sure how it'll all pan out having two 'art' blogs on the go but feel its the least confusing option.  Click here to go there.

April leaves

Who knew that Horse Chestnut leaves come out of bud as eccentric green lampshades? certainly not me until this spring when I noticed these beauties glowing in the late afternoon sun of early April.

And just now, as April draws to a close following a frenzy of sun-triggered growth another surprise:

A goldfinch feeding on a tree festooned with pale green carnations - which turn out to be the newly minted fruit of a young elm tree.

Pennine Prospects new web site

Its all happening at Pennine Prospects, the organisers of my residency - well, they've just uploaded a dynamic new website for the Watershed Landscape with lots of info and pictures like the one above which I've borrowed, showing all the artists and writers in the project, and here I've got my own page which is quite exciting.

Its a shame I don't look more happy in the publicity photos taken last August at the Cow and Calf above Ilkley, but I'd just had some awfully sad news and was only just holding it together.  Still, the bird book gets a good airing.

The website uses motifs from the series of woodcuts that Pennine Prospects commissioned from me last year.  I especially like the way they've been faded back so the effect is quite subtle.

I've decided I need a separate blog to document my ideas and work in progress for the residency and am busily setting it up.  I like to fiddle with the html a bit to customise the look, so there's still a bit to get sorted before it goes live.

Inspired by Landscape - The Watershed Project

Hooray! today marks the official start of my Artist's Residency in the South Pennines.  I can't wait to get going.  Its been over a year since I applied for the job and my mind has been racing since then. Inspired By Landscape is a 3 year project involving 3 artists and 2 writers.

I'm following on from Sally Barker who was the Year 1 resident artist and has concentrated on making temporary sculptural interventions from local materials and photographing them within the landscape.  Alongside Sally, resident poet Andrew McMillan has also been creating new work but will now be handing the pen on to Writer Char March for Year 2.

There was an article about the project in the March edition of Artists & Illustrators Magazine, where I made some rash promises about taking my portable etching press out onto the moors for public engagement workshops - we'll see if our capricious and sometimes cruel 'summer' weather lets me do this.

Here's a crazy little collage made from manila and security envelopes.  Its Lower Gorple Reservoir tower.

Northtown in black and white

Northtown in colour

I've finished cutting my latest woodcut, 'Northtown' and have pulled a few proofs.  I like it in black and white, but have also been experimenting with hand-tinting.  I'm reasonably happy with the result here but need to find a way to avoid streaks in the grey hills.  Printing this block is a challenge as its at the maximum length the press can cope with. Also there are many fine lines that can fill in easily so inking-up must be done very carefully.

March Leaves

Well putative leaves really, in a budding grove.  Today I've been enthralled by the exquisite tracery of the twigs against the dark river, the bright sky and as shadows on beech bark.

The hedge along Salem Field is even more depleted now as further drastic cutting has been done by the archery club. Feels like a set-back for my project to document the seasons in this tiny patch of land but I'll persevere for the time being and see what happens.

Woodcut Townscape - Northtown

Work in progress on another commission from Pennine Prospects, a woodcut of an archetypal northern town in the southern pennines - so, the town hall is based on Todmorden's, the co-op on Delph's, weavers cottages from Hebden Bridge, Saddleworth viaduct and so on.