Sandra Pearce

Time Out at Moreton Island

2012-02-25T13:53:00.000+10:00

Last week I had the privilege of spending 5 days camping on Moreton Island with my partner Craig. Getting away from everything (internet, phone, housework, day job etc) really recharges my batteries and gives me time out from thinking 'logical' and 'practical', enabling me to daydream a little and focus on the natural world around me. This focus gives me the starting point for more conceptual-type thinking which doesn't come easily to me when I'm surrounded by day-to-day issues at home.

Whilst at Moreton, I spent my time planning a small series of artist books based on my experiences there. In particular I delved into the world of 'Haiku', an Asian form of poetry. Haiku is loosely based on a 3 line poem of 17 syllables. More importantly, writing and reading Haiku is like a spiritual journey - traditionally it refers to a season or some aspect of the natural world. This journey is one of mindfulness and becoming aware of the smallest detail. In my Haiku, I have explored the banksia flowers and the honeyeaters feeding on them; the feeling of my toes in wet sand; as well as the effect of bushfire and oil spills on the landscape.

This is my first experience of Haiku and I loved it. Once the flow of writing Haiku started, I couldn't stop it - thinking about the poems as I swam and snorkelled (unfortunately there was no way of writing it down at the time!)

Here are a couple of samples of my first attempts (work in progress!), enjoy....

Banksia cones open
Black branches point to the sky
Beginning and end

Honeyeaters perch
On golden banksia cones, open
And rich with nectar

Sand Bubbler's burrow
Neat balls of sand surround it
Radiating out

Papermaking with a Bali Artist

2012-02-12T06:19:00.000+10:00

Last weekend I had the privilege of working with Naruse, a Bali paper artist who is visiting as a part of the Papermakers of Queensland Berbagi exhibition.

We spent a very hot day at Noosa working with botanical fibres to create some interesting works, using the pour technique.

Naruse demonstrating a laminating technique

Embedding objects in a paper sheet at the forming stage, in this case raffia

I'm forming a sheet using the pour technique.
It was nice to play with water on such a hot day!

Conservation of the Species - my solo exhibition

2012-02-03T17:32:00.000+10:00

For those of you who haven't been on my website for a while, I'm having a solo exhibition in May at the Richard Randall Art Studio at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens in Brisbane. So exciting!

I've got my invitations done, see below.   I'm having drinks to celebrate, so please join me on Saturday 19 May at the Studio for a chat and view my work. I've started planning a visual feast of prints, artists books, handmade paper sculpture and fibre sculpture.

I'm also publishing a book "The Magic of Monoprinting", a professionally printed 80 page book giving insights into my art practice and well as lots of beautiful photos of my colourful monotypes. The book will be available from early April and can be pre-ordered. The price will be approx. $30 (to be confirmed).

Today I have finalised my workshop program. Details are on my website. I'm limiting numbers to 6 for each workshop so each person will get plenty of time to access all my resources, including my press "Thumper". I am running the workshops between 10am and 2pm, so you can avoid peak hour traffic and will also cater for those with school-age children (or grandchildren!).

I'm having a 4 hour monoprinting workshop on the Monday 21 May. This is a little longer than my usual 3 hour workshop, just to give you a bit more time to get into the printing and developing layers.

I'm also having an exciting 2 day workshop on 'Nature Journals'. Over 2 days, we'll be inspired by the botanic gardens around the studio and you'll make an art journal with a nature theme using a recycled book and decorative papers.   On the first day we make our covers and pages - printmaking, papermaking, painting, drawing, stamping, collage and cutouts.  On the second day we assemble the pages and sew it all together. It'll be heaps of fun playing with gorgeous papers, making your own textures and stamps from lino and other found materials.

Check out my website for more information on the workshops and contact me to book in.

Only 105 sleeps to go!

A mysterious business...

2012-01-31T12:35:00.000+10:00

I recently worked in the studio on a series of monotypes for a group exhibition 'Southern Circles' with Tasmanian Printmakers, Hunter Island Press.

My monotypes are titled 'A mysterious business' and are based on the migration patterns of the Tasmanian Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis). This silvereye is a small bird that migrates every year north from Tasmania to the mainland of Australia, up the east coast as far north as Queensland.

There has been much scientific research into how and why this migration takes place, in particular as to whether their behaviour relies on magnetic fields or polarised light.

I pay homage to the amazing migratory abilities of this little bird, being only 13cm long but travelling over 1600 kilometres each year, creating a remarkable connection between Tasmania and Queensland.

The 2 images below are the monotypes that will be travelling to Tasmania in February for the opening at Church Studio, Franklin.

a mysterious business I
monotype

a mysterious business II
monotype with solar plate etching

Papermaking On the Deck

2012-01-17T20:15:00.000+10:00

Last weekend I spent 2 days making paper using botantical pulp. I mixed cooked corn plant material harvested from my garden with recycled printmaking paper offcuts and added a dash of marigold flowers, dried lavender and geranium petals. I also tossed in some banana and broccoli plant pulp from a previous cooking session.

I finally got to test out my new couching stand and hydraulic jack press, made by my father-in-law Alan. They worked beautifully.

I also took some advice from fellow papermakers and resist dried my paper at night, this prevented the paper from curling too much because it dried slower in the cooler weather conditions. As a final step, I ironed the papers to remove any remaining moisture and to flatten them. Having some recycled paper mixed in with the botanical pulp also helped to reduce shrinkage and curling.

I'm very happy with the paper I produced and I had a great time working out on the deck with the ipod music up loud. The repetitive nature of scooping the pulp and forming the sheets was heaven to my soul.

Now I just need to give the deck a good clean to bring it back from a working area to a beautiful deck again!

the vat, mould & deckle, and couching stand

my new hydraulic jack press,
great once i figured out how it worked
(sorry guys, most girls don't know how to use a jack...!)

the stack of finished papers !

Starting the year with a rush....

2012-01-05T20:23:00.000+10:00

My 2012 has started with a commission! My first monoprinting commission..... and given that my printing sessions are somewhat unpredictable, I spent today in the studio determined to end the day with enough prints that may appeal to my buyer.

The concept behind these works is the LaraPinta Trail, a long distance hiking trail in the Northern Territory. I used imagery of the Australian Ringneck Parrot who frequents that area (and most of Western Australia).

I'm pretty happy with the results, 10 prints in all. The first few were overprinted on some scrub-turkey ghost prints so they look quite different to the remainder which I printed with 2 dominant colours representing the outback landscape.

Now I need to start work on my monoprints for the Southern Circles exhibition, a print exchange with Tasmanian printmakers. I've got my ideas all worked out, I just need to start printing. Keep an eye on my blog for the results!

The first print ....

Establishing my colours and images for the new series....

A successful print, with about 4 layers

Return of the scrub turkeys

2011-12-23T06:58:00.000+10:00

This week in the studio.....

A turkey here.....

....a turkey there,

...turkeys in my garden everywhere!

Mixed Emotions

2011-12-18T15:08:00.000+10:00

This week I visited Redland Art Gallery at Cleveland for a talk by Dr Kathy Townsend, a participating scientist for Judy Watson's artist-in-residency on Heron Island in 2009/2010.

Dr Townsend talked about the impact of human generated waste on sea turtles - plastic bags, balloons and other bits of plastic are eaten by turtles and it can kill them. I really enjoyed her talk even though it was not about the art itself and I got a lot out of it. Unfortunately I was left very uninspired by Judy Watson's art works - her layering process was interesting but I didn't feel that her artworks had much impact. Judy was present at the talk but didn't introduce herself or speak - very disappointing and makes the artwork and the process of creating it seem cold and detached. I would have liked to see some artistic passion! Perhaps I need to go back and have another look when I had more time.

A big surprise was the prints by Carolyn Dodds. Her detailed linos were beautiful but I particularly loved her artist books and mixed media works - using frottage, photocopies and collage. She also uses a lot of thin papers like Japanese rice papers which she hand prints using brayers and other tools. A very inspiring body of work.

I recommend you visit this exhibition, its on until 29 January (the gallery is closed between Xmas and 8 January). Together Judy's and Carolyn's works will inspire anyone who loves printmaking.

Below is a Utube video of Judy Watson's artist-in-residency at Heron Island.

Coochie collected

2011-11-29T15:49:00.000+10:00

My big news is that both of my monotype artist books that I created during my residency at Coochiemudlo Island in April 2010 have been acquired by State Library of Queensland for their artist book collection.

I created 2 books at Coochie, my 'Lost and Found' series, inspired by the diversity and fragility of the island's tidal mangrove environment.

So my books will outlive me and I can visit them at any time. Truly wonderful!

NSW Southern Highlands

2011-11-09T14:05:00.000+10:00

We recently returned from another motorhome holiday, this time to the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands in NSW.

This was a great opportunity for me to collect plant materials for my monoprinting. Several years ago, whilst first visiting the Blue Mountains, I collected a few sprigs of a beautiful fern which I have since discovered is called 'Pouched Coral Fern'. This fern looks great in my monoprints and I was keen to collect some more, as my original pieces had fallen apart from many runs through the press!

I collected pieces of the fern from a public park in Katoomba, storing the fern in a small phonebook and layers of newspapers. This means the fern will be dry when I print with it. Sometimes this storage technique doesn't work as the dry plant will fall apart in the first run of the press, but I've had success with the more robust ferns using this technique.

I'm looking forward to using them in my monoprinting, and sharing them with my future workshop participants. Luckily I always leave enough room in my luggage to bring my goodies back!

Exploring (note the scarf & raincoat!)

King Fern

There's a forest down there somewhere...
I'm at one of the many lookouts in the Southern Highlands.
There was zero visibility due to rain, mist and fog!

One of my monotypes featuring my favourite, 'Pouched Coral Fern'

Stitching a new way

2011-10-18T11:26:00.000+10:00

I've been trying a few new book binding stitches to expand my skills and provide a bit more variety to the look of my books. I've also been cutting up old monoprints and using up decorative papers that I've been stashing for quite a while. Its refreshing to use up what I've already got, but on the other hand, it makes me want to buy more to replace it!

I've been trying a cross-binding stitch and a knot stitch, see the photos below. The cross-binding stitch was easy and looks great with the cover flaps glued across the front. The knot stitch was a bit fiddlier.

Crossed Binding Journal,
using a failed Quebec monoprint for the cover

Another example of the Crossed Binding,
really effective with the lines and textures
of the monoprint

I got a bit carried away and made a few....
Love those colours, yummy!

The knot binding example

Rats of the Sky, we salute you!

2011-10-08T13:25:00.002+10:00

Last Saturday I spent a wonderful afternoon printing in my studio, continuing on with my 'Homage to the Pigeon' works, part of my 'Conservation of the Species' series. I feel that pigeons are very underestimated birds that unfortunately have adapted too well to the human lifestyle. Its our own fault that they have become such a pest but we still like to blame them!

My next project is a series of artist books, once again focusing on the pigeon.

Fibre Fest 2011 - New Traditions

2011-10-07T14:57:00.000+10:00

This is an exciting event being held by the Qld Spinners Weavers and Fibre Artists on the last weekend in October at the Mt-Cootha Botantic Gardens Auditorium.

I'll be exhibiting some of my large sculptural weaving works alongside others' beautiful creations including dyeing, felting, knitting, crochet, spinning, basketry, and artist books. There'll also be demonstrations and an irresistible shop full of handmade wares.

Opening times are 10-4 Friday 28th & Saturday 29th October, 10-3 Sunday 30th October. Come along and be amazed!

Entry fee is $3, children under 12 free.

International and national....

2011-09-26T11:19:00.003+10:00

October's going to be a busy month..... my artwork has been travelling interstate and overseas to be exhibited.

The highlight is definitely 'Water Portraits - Portraits d’eau' exhibition in Montreal, Canada, opening on 5 October. I was selected with 10 other Queensland printmakers to exhibit with printmakers from Quebec. If you've been following my blog, you'll remember my moments in the studio when it all went wrong and then thankfully right! Check out the artworks via this website http://dept.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/finearts/texts/specialevents.html

My other exhibition is 'Artbound' at Gallery Red, Glebe, Sydney. I am exhibiting one of my monotype books from my 'Lost and Found' series. There's a photo of my book on their website http://www.galleryred.net.au/artbound-bound-art-30-september/
The other 'Lost and Found' book is currently on show in the 'Paper Pages and Prints' exhibition at the Pine Rivers Gallery.

Its a huge pleasure and privilege to have my work exhibited outside of Brisbane, and the Quebec exhibition is my first overseas showing. Its just a shame I can't be there at the openings, but I've only just come back from holidays!

Flax weaving in New Zealand

2011-09-22T15:16:00.000+10:00

Its been a week already since I returned from my NZ holiday....how time flies!

I just wanted to share with you the wonderful experience I had whilst in Whangarei, NZ - I spent a day with Janine, a flax weaving artist. She patiently taught me the basic skills of flax weaving, including collection and preparation of the fibre.

There are a number of Maori customs to be followed when collecting the fibre, including ensuring the sustainability of the plant itself when removing the leaves. The most interesting custom is that women shouldn't collect the flax during their menstrual period. (personally, I think we should expand that to include housework, cooking etc.....!)

As our weaving day progressed, Janine and I had a great chat about basketry in general. I got her started on coiling with daylilly leaves from her garden and then got her excited about random weaving. So the day ended up more as an exchange of information as well as working on our baskets.

At the end of the day, I had created a four corner basket with a folded edge and a two corner satchel with a plaited edge (see photos below). My only disappointment is that both baskets were confiscated by Australian Customs as they weren't quite dry and so had the potential to carry nasties (like rust disease). Luckily I had been prepared for that eventuality and had purchased some dry finished baskets by other artists (including Janine) during my trip.

At the airport, they were filming for the TV show 'Customs' but didn't come rushing over to film my flax baskets being taken - obviously I didn't make enough fuss! Or perhaps flax baskets don't rate as high as hidden drugs and fruit?

Anyway I would like to thank Janine for inviting me into her home and sharing her flax weaving knowledge - obviously much more complicated than my random weave baskets (more concentration required!). On the day we left Whangarei, I gave Janine a random weave basket that I had made overnight - I used palm inflorescence from the caravan park's palms - never an opportunity wasted!

Now all I need to do is find a NZ flax plant over here........!

my 4 corner basket

my 2 corner basket/satchel - inside view

Toasting my flax weaving success !

10 days

2011-09-15T10:50:00.002+10:00

Yesterday I flew back from a holiday in New Zealand. As we travelled around Northland in our motorhome, I reflected that not only was I seeing a different country, I had 10 days away from.....

the ringtone of my mobile phone
the television and internet, especially emails
my to-do list obsession
waking up to deadlines and a daily routine
knowing what day it is
my art studio - i had time to reflect rather than do

That's really what a holiday is about, isn't it. A temporary shelter from the everyday, from having to be focussed and on a rigid timetable.
I returned home yesterday feeling like I'd been away for ages, refreshed and ready to launch into my art....once I finish unpacking and doing the washing that is!

Papers, Pages and Prints

2011-09-01T16:04:00.000+10:00

You're all invited to the "Papers, Pages and Prints" exhibition being held at the Pine Rivers Gallery this month.

Its going to be an exciting and stimulating display of artist prints and handmade books, created by artists including Judith Rosenberg, the Pressgang Print Group and Qld Spinners Weavers and Fibre Artists Book and Paper Group (that's the group I'm in).

I'm exhibiting 3 artist books - my monoprint book 'Found' from the 'Lost and Found' series, my altered book 'Gardens in Art', and my collaborative pages journal 'Birds and Butterflies'.

The exhibition is on from Wednesday 7 September to Saturday 1 October, with opening night on Friday 9 September from 6pm.

There's also a fantastic workshop program, for adults as well as children.

For more information, go to the Exhibitions page www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/pinerivers-gallery

Printmaking using the sun...except it was raining!

2011-08-28T16:20:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I did a workshop creating printing plates using UV light. The workshop was run at Impress Printmakers Studio by Belinda Sinclair.

We used specially pre-prepared plates, exposing them to UV light using a light box and dark room at the studio. Sunlight is another exposure method, but obviously not an option on a rainy day!

Images used in the process ranged from artist sketches, copyright-free images and vintage woodcut prints.

I am really excited by this process as I will be able to use solar prints with my monoprints. It will enable me to get sharp distinctive imagery that may be difficult to achieve using my monoprinting stencils.

The only downside is the cost of the plates and if during the exposure process you make a mistake, then the plate is wasted. I had already experienced this when I first played around with solar plates last year, when I accidentally turned the light off in the dark room when exposing a plate. Needless to say, not a lot happened on my plate!

Below are a couple of my prints from the workshop, using chin colle (ie collaged papers). I can't wait to do some more, it was heaps of fun and the results were great.

Jelly fish image with text behind.
I used a piece of coloured paper on the
head of the jelly fish.

The dodo!
I used chin colle on this print, unfortunately
my cutting technique was a bit off,
hence the 'jaunty' angle!

Its a mystery to me but....

2011-08-18T15:26:00.000+10:00

Its amazing what you can find in a second hand shop. I found this little beauty in a Lifeline shop on Tuesday and been wondering ever since what it is.

Its shaped like a rolling pin with 4 rubber sections that roll independently. Each section has little rubber suction cups on it.

I thought that perhaps it's a massage tool but after testing it on my partner Craig, we're not too sure (he didn't seem to enjoy it, complaining that it was cold!).

I'm open to ideas, so please make some suggestions, hopefully someone can enlighten me as to what its purpose is.

Being a typical artist, when I saw it of course I thought 'printmaking'! I'm sure I can make some really interesting organic marks with it......

A box worth a thousand words

2011-08-14T19:59:00.000+10:00

On Saturday I attended a workshop run by Amanda O'Sullivan at the Impress Printmakers Studio at Camp Hill. The workshop was to create a Japanese Bone-Clasp box.

As you can see from the images below, I created a box suitable to house my recently completed Altered Book. The box is covered in a red Thai fern paper and a red mulberry paper lining.

The box was reasonably straight-forward to construct once I painstakingly planned every component, making precise measurements and cuts. I've made clamshell boxes before, but this one was a bit more complex. We used 3mm acid-free grey board with mulberry paper hinges which made the box very sturdy.

I'm not fond of being overly accurate and neat (especially when dealing with glue!) but I am very chuffed with the results. The box and book will be exhibited in the 'Papers Pages and Prints' exhibition at the Pine Rivers Gallery in September.

The completed box with the bone clasps

The box open showing the inner lid
and mulberry paper lining

My Altered Book "Gardens in Art"

My Altered Book open at one of my favourite pages

Quebec Print Version 2

2011-07-24T14:20:00.000+10:00

Well here it is! One of the prints that I completed for the Quebec exhibition, finally finished and I'm very happy with the result.

The embossing is gone, replaced by another print using rubber bands and a moon stencil. Very simple but effective print reflecting the 'Water Portraits' theme.

My only problem now (as usual) is documenting the prints digitally. I've just spent all morning trying to get the colours right; they don't seem to replicate properly using my digital camera. The photograph above is probably the best likeness that I could get out of the 8 prints, in various colours of purple, lime green and blue. The lime green is the most difficult to get right, it comes up in the digital image more like mud than a translucent bright green.

So I have contacted Carl Warner, a very experienced art photographer who is coming next week to photograph all my current prints using his professional camera equipment. He photographed some 3D work for me last year and I was very pleased with the results. A great photograph really makes a good print look good (like it should!). I'll blog some of the photos when I get them in a few weeks so you can see the gorgeous colours of the prints like they are in real life.

Back on track

2011-07-21T19:23:00.000+10:00

I do my best thinking in the shower. But last night I solved my Quebec print dilemma lying awake in bed trying to get some sleep wishing I hadn't succumbed to my caffeine need earlier in the day.

As you know from my blog post 2 days ago ('a step too far') that I had accidentally ruined my finished monoprints that are to be exhibited in Quebec in September. I'd concluded that all was lost and I needed to start again.

Well, last night I had a revelation! Why not print OVER the wrinkled embossed area........ and it worked! The prints aren't dry yet but it seems that I have managed to not only fix the problem but actually improved the finished works. I like them much better now than they were before.

Just goes to show NEVER give up. Yesterday at the Studio it was 4pm before I produced one print that I liked. Hours and hours of persistence paid off. And today at the Studio, armed with my late night revelation and heaps of confidence, I was able to sail through the day, fixing the 4 ruined prints and finishing off another 4, just in case the wrinkles come back after the prints dry.

All in all, a very positive experience with some very tough lessons learnt.

I'll post some photos of the finished works in the next couple of days. Tonight I'm just enjoying the moment.

She loves her arts and crafts a little too much

2011-07-20T09:07:00.000+10:00

A friend of mine sent me this U tube video, its a great laugh.

It reminds me of the moments when I've got a little bit too excited about some wispy bits of grass clippings for monoprinting......but this lady wins first prize for passion about a sponge and a bit of paint!

Look out for the overuse of "Oh my gosh!".

A step too far.....

2011-07-19T08:20:00.000+10:00

Ever had the experience of trying to fix something and making it worse?

My previous blog post announced that I had completed a series of prints for a Quebec exhibition. I had completed 4 good prints that I was happy with. But then I noticed a few wrinkles in the area in which I embossed, so I thought 'I'll get rid of those wrinkles so the prints look better'. Great idea, failure in the execution!

I dampened the prints, placed them under weights for a day and ended up with some horrendous creases on top of the wrinkles. I've tried redampening and pressing and ironing but to no avail. I can't submit those prints.

So back to the press I go! Luckily I have 2 days at the studio this week. The only problem with monoprints is that I can't just simply reprint them from a pre-prepared plate. I have a very loose formula and process I can follow, but really its just serendipity as to how they turn out.....

Rubber bands and Cottonwood leaves

2011-07-02T17:09:00.000+10:00

For the past couple of months I've been working on some monoprints for a Queensland - Quebec print exchange which opens in Quebec Canada in October this year, then travels back to Brisbane for exhibition in 2012.

The theme of this exhibition is Water Portraits and my work is drawn from my experiences at Coochiemudlo Island last year.

I printed the first layer of monoprints in early May but have only just revisited them to experiment with a few ideas I've been developing. I wanted to express the notion of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Its what we don't see that matters, in this case, what lies beneath the surface of the oceans, bays, rivers. What damage is there that we ordinary people don't see? I was pleased recently to hear that biologists were checking on Moreton Bay's dugong population to see how their seagrass beds were affected by the January floods. But what about the rest of the ecosystems in the bay? Do most people really care as long as the trawlers bring in the prawns and fish for us to consume? I spent my childhood fishing in Moreton Bay so I feel a real personal connection to it.

The link to Coochimudlo Island is in the cottonwood leaves that I used. I love them! I have also used fishing line which created beautiful curly lines, like the swirling of the tide around mangrove roots.....

In my prints I also have experimented with embossing, something I haven't done a lot of, and required a fair bit of playing with objects and paper to get the right texture and look.

I initially printed about a dozen prints, and will end up with only about 4 that I consider suitable for exhibition. I'm really glad that I have given myself plenty of time to meet the submission deadlines, you can never 100% predict a monoprint.

I'll be revisiting my prints in the coming weeks, after having a break from them so I can see what needs to be done, lets hope I am still happy with them and can consider them complete.

one of the prints, in progress

...and yet another use for rubber bands.....embossing!