Paper-Making Workshop
I participated in a paper-making workshop where we looked at Chinese, Japanese and European examples of papermaking and discussed the processes behind each type, which led to doing my own attempt at paper-making.
The practical aim of this workshop was to create paper out of recycled fibres mixed in water, which I then spread out on to a wire mesh screen to drain the moisture, removed, and then left to dry completely where it then became a usable piece of paper. Creating multiple sheets of paper of consistent thickness, texture and overall quality using this technique of paper-making was a challenge that I encountered during this workshop.
Participating in this workshop has made me consider what material surfaces I could and should be making my work on going forward within my practice. This workshop was of interest to me as I have worked on recycled paper in the past but had not considered how recycling materials myself could add to my practice.
This has also made me consider using natural materials, as they exist, in my practice. For example, drawing on to leaves or the bark of trees or drawing into stone in a similar way to Nordic Runestones.
Oil Pastel Making Workshop
I participated in an oil pastel making workshop where I had the opportunity to create a range of handmade oil pastels of varying colours and sizes. To familiarise ourselves to the uses of oil pastels we began the workshop looking at the work of artists who are known for their pastel paintings such as Georgia O'keeffe, Rosalba Carriera and Chris Ofili.
I then created my own oil pastels by mixing tragacanth, water, chalk and natural pigments together and allowing it to set and dry.
I’ve mostly used manufactured pencils, pastels and paints in my artwork, so I found it a good experience to see the process of how one of these are handmade. This experience has inspired me to investigate the processes of creating other materials to use within my practice going forward, such as natural inks, pigments and drawing tools.
I believe investigating this further will provide me with a deeper understanding of each of the materials I use – which will create a greater link between my practice and myself as an individual artist.
Mark Fairnington
I went to a lecture by painter Mark Fairnington which I found interesting. I was most interested in his paintings of animals – particularly his paintings of insects, which are not painted facedown as they often are but instead “turned around” facing the audience, which gives them a life-like quality.
Fairnington is enamoured with insects as he finds that there is something “Other or Alien” about their forms – pointing out how interesting it is that they are so much better armed and equipped to survive in the individual environments that they exist in.
I found a similarity between Fairnington’s practice and my own as we have both based paintings and drawings on animal specimens we have found in scientific collections. Fairnington’s use of realism in his paintings has inspired me to pursue a similar approach to detail within my practice.
Mark Fairnington, Unnatural History (2012) pg. 10