Following the success of the short monoprinting evening two weeks ago, I have even more rashly committed myself to offering art workshops to take place next year in a lovely barn at Bramley in Surrey.
So Mr P and I will be loading up the car at the crack of 7am on Sunday, to go and join in with the Surrey Hills Wood Fair, where I will be demonstrating in a tent for the day, and finding out if I can interest potential woodland artists for next spring and summer.
http://www.surreyhills.org/events/the-surrey-hills-wood-fair/
So just to make sure no bits are missing we've had a trial run of putting up our pergola in the garden. And if I don't get anyone interested in art workshops, I can always go in for fortune-telling instead!
With my mind on landscape and woodland I've been making monoprints- nothing like a deadline to galvanise one into action...
I am more than a little apprehensive- will it rain? Will I need my thermal vest? Will anybody be interested in a small woman in a stripy tent? I'll let you know after Sunday!
We all had a great evening at the monoprinting workshop yesterday, in fact as soon as I'd explained how to do it, everyone was so keen to get started I didn't need to give them any design ideas! The theme was 'make your own cards' and these are my samples, but the best thing was seeing everyone exploring the technique and having their own ideas.
Our participants were already getting inspired, and producing some lovely images. It looks like Rebecca has her Christmas cards sorted for this year:
..and look at Anne's exquisite series of birds and nests, using collage and drawing directly into the ink as well as drawing on the back of the paper.
Here are some more, produced by drawing into the ink (left), and by burnishing the whole area to make a night-time background.
Another technique is to lay a picture from a magazine over your paper, and make a tracing, as Caroline has done here. You can get some interesting results, depending on which bits you choose to include or leave out. She has made the most of her drawing by making a negative rubbing too.
The wine and cups of tea flowed and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I certainly did.
I'd love to do some more workshops, the inspiration flows both ways!
Feeling excited! I have rashly agreed to teach a two hour monoprinting workshop this Thursday with Jenny from Handmade Happiness in Petersfield. I have been making some samples, and I've come up with lots of different ideas.
Some very simple ones:
...and some more elaborate, but hopefully all achievable in the two hours!
Monoprinting at its simplest is done by inking up a sheet of glass (or any shiny surface) and then laying a sheet of paper over it. Then you draw onto the back of the paper, and peel it off to reveal the print. What I like best about it is the unpredictability of it- you're never sure until you peel it back how your print will look. I like the accidental fingerprints and smudges, and the different marks you get by drawing with different pens , pencils, or even your fingers.
Sometimes I like to add colour after the ink is dry (I use water-based ink, which dries in about half an hour), or bits of torn paper as collage- the textured surface is lovely to draw on with pastel or coloured pencils. Monoprinting is an inspiring technique which lends itself to experimentation.
I hope the evening is a success, and everyone goes home with something they're pleased with at the end, and maybe the urge to do more at home.
If all goes well I might be teaching some more longer workshops next year, in a barn in a country location, and inspired by woodland and landscapes. Jenny has some of my landscape pictures in the shop at the moment too!
Its not too late to sign up for this Thursday's session, just contact Handmade Happiness:
http://jenny-handmadehappiness.blogspot.co.uk/
