screenprinting further developments...

the draw of the empty notice board - i can't resist it 

Visit during Oct, I feel that I am begining to understand the process and method of working. It is a real pleasure working in the print studio, just a pity it is such a long journey and so much else to get to grips with! I am getting the hang of the buses, having the correct change to hand, walking dark streets in the rain, finding where to park and learning my way round the city by foot and by car.
I managed to print a series using peat, I find the colour and texture most beguiling. I am experimenting with using straightforward photocopies of the plants, drawings, flat colour, photographs... I need to refine it a bit now that I can see the effects that each gives.

marks on the floor edinburgh printmakers

This time I managed to see a couple of exhibitions at the Ingleby gallery and at the Royal Scottish academy. I really enjoyed the 'Mystics or rationalists' http://www.inglebygallery.com/exhibitions/mystics-or-rationalists/ at the Ingleby gallery exhibition - this made excellent use of the existing space within the building. I found it was a really stimulating mixture of artists and their work, lots to think about as well as physically engage with.
I also enjoyed the RSA exhibition, Residency: 11  http://www.royalscottishacademy.org/  which showed work done at various residencies around scotland, the variety is great.

looking down the microscope

The cell pattern in the stem leaf is distinctive for Spagnum skyense so I have taken some photographs with a friend on Skye  http://www.robertarnold.co.uk/  at different enlargements through a microscope. These are really inspiring, the wonderful patterns and botanical systems at work in these simple organisms is mesmerising.
Interesting fact - Sphagna have a distinctive animal life which is solely associated with them, living both on the watery surface and within the water filled cells.

Screen printing trials....

Screenprinting using peat 

I have been trying to use the skills that I learnt earlier in the summer, remembering each process and the correct sequence, learning to handle the large screen safely, washing correctly etc., there is a lot to learn.
There is a lovely atmosphere at the Edinburgh printmakers,  http://www.edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk/, everyone working away quietly, calm focused concentration. Everyone is extremely helpful and supportive. I find it hard to break off for lunch or tea, being so engrossed.
I am also trying to use peat itself for screenprinting which I have used before but only in my own studio, not with all the correct equipment which makes it a lot easier. I have mixed it to the correct texture and have been surprised how even delicate text and drawings can come out. Lovely clear colour with depth.

I was surprised how much I can get done once the screen is ready and was able to organise a visit to the library and herbarium meeting Dr.David Long at the Royal Bottanic Gardens Edinburgh, http://www.rbge.org.uk/ which was extremely interesting. Looking at the samples of Sphagnum skyense in the herbarium and finding out more about this sphagna.

Isotype of Sphagna skyense at the herbarium

sphagnum research....

"There is nothing on earth like this moss for it has its own special appearance, nor does anything quite like it spring up in damp, swampy places"
this is the translation from the latin of the introduction to the 1880 book 'The Sphagnaceae or peat-mosses of Europe and North America' by R.Braithwaite

Beautiful etchings from Braithwaite book

Variety of Sphagna from around my house

I have been reading in the library at SHH headquarters in Inverness, Great Glen house, researching about this moss and learning to identify it in the field and becoming aware of the huge diversity in the landscape. Learning to see anew.

Interesting fact - There are 34 different species of Sphagna in Scotland

Interesting fact - The cells of Sphagna fill with water and then dry out when there is no water, in Herbaria one sample of Sphagna 80 years old came back to life when water was added in order to look at under the microscope.

Sphagna on the lightbox 

visual delight @ edinburgh printmakers

I attended the summer school in July for a week learning screenprinting and the relevant photoshop skills. I found the building and its contents visually stimulating and couldn't help myself from taking a few pictures. This was an excellent introduction to the techniques and processes involved in making prints. As usual I have far too many ideas to explore.

new world revealed 21 june

On the longest day I went out with Nick Hodgetts, a bryologist specialising in Sphagna, in order to get an insight into the range and variety of mosses and sphagna which are abundant on Skye. We were looking for Sphagnum skyense a particular sphagna which was found and indentified on Skye in 1987 and has only been found here. It is not so easy to identify for myself, but I got a real insight into the rich, colourful world of these lower plants.

Sphagnum skyense left on the day and right how it can look!

Sphagnum at the Quiraing June 21st

the fairy kingdom

was revealed to me today

a new world opening 

beneath my feet

I was engulfed, enchanted

you can return if you

don't eat or drink -

just look and wonder

magnified times twenty

moss and sphagna became

rich displays of intricate, extravagant form

leaf cells, hooked shapes

flowing forms of water

delicate curving lines

abundant complexity

in pink, yellow, green

I emerged for breath, wondrous 

and looked around

at the unchanged rocks and scree