Residency at Geelong Grammar School

From 23 May - 3 June 2022 I was artist-in-residence at the Corio campus of Geelong Grammar School, a richly rewarding experience I’ll long remember. 

During my residency I developed designs for three linocuts that will be included in a forthcoming artist book. My protagonists’ body decorations are based on compositional elements from the works of prolific British Arts and Crafts designer May Morris.

 

The two works below will also be part of The Artist’s Garden, a Goldfield Printmakers exhibition travelling to Bristol, UK in September 2022 for IMPACT 12, a biennial international printmaking conference. The tattoos on these figures are based on motifs in The heavens declare…, a panel designed and embroidered by May Morris in the 1910s (reproduced third from top).

Click on images for a clearer view. For more about the Geelong Grammar School residency, visit my Art Blog HERE, HERE and HERE. 

In development: ILLUSTRATED WOMEN, a new artist book

Currently I’m working on several small blocks that, once completed, will provide the content for Illustrated Women, a forthcoming artist book. 

Illustrated Women will be a book without words, enabling the viewer to make up her or his own stories about the subjects within. Directly below are two lino blocks, Sunflower and Morris Dancer, that are fairly near completion. Each block measures 15 x 11.5cm. 

Further information about Illustrated Women will follow in future posts.

FRANKENSTEIN'S WOMEN - a progress report

Lino blocks for Frankenstein's Women, 20 x 15 cm (each block)

The blocks for Frankenstein's Women, my forthcoming artist book, are almost ready for the next stage, namely, printing.

For those who have been following the development of this project since it began life at Melbourne Athenaeum Library during a residency for Melbourne Rare Book Week 2018, here is an overview of the work to date. (Click on images to enlarge).

As noted in my last post, the block for the title page of Frankenstein's Women (pictured third from top) was new and hadn't begun to harden. As a result, the surface was very brittle. In what turned out to be an ill-starred combination, my linocut tool, a Speedball with an interchangeable No. 1 cutter, was also new, but far from sharp, causing areas of the lino to crumble away during carving. For many   years, I've found this particular cutter indispensable for producing very fine lines. Sadly, however, the current Speedball cutters are poorly made; they are blunt, rusty and frankly, shouldn't even be on the market.

There is hope for the future, however, thanks to my friend Paul Compton, who recently presented me with a most thoughtful and generous gift - the elegant linocut tool pictured directly below. I've never seen one like it before. According to the accompanying label, it's a 'TRAD SANKKAKUTO Vee Gouge'. Some of the blocks could use some minor tweaking; this tool cuts through them like butter.

Cover art for FRANKENSTEIN'S WOMEN

During the past week I've been working on the final two lino blocks for Frankenstein's Women, an artist book that has been under development since last year. The project, which focuses on the women in Mary Shelley's gothic novel, Frankenstein, had its genesis during a residency at Melbourne Athenaeum Library for Melbourne Rare Book Week 2018.

Directly below are a series of progress views of the cover art, followed by two details of the work. Cutting the lettering was a particular challenge.

Selected progress views of the block for the frontispiece to Frankenstein's Women will be published in our next post.

Work in Progress for library residency

Another linoleum block drawn up in readiness for my forthcoming stint as artist-in-residence at marvellous Melbourne Athenaeum Library. 

Scroll down to our last two posts for additional information.

Linocut Workshop at NGV International

Tonight and next Wednesday evening I'm giving two linocut workshops for NGV Members at the National Gallery of Victoria. I'll be taking along some demonstration lino blocks, including the four linocut portraits of Moth Women Vigilantes gang members pictured above.

The classes will run from 6 - 8.30 pm. They are primarily aimed at beginners, each of whom will make their own linocut and learn to print it without the need of a press. I'm delighted to say that both sessions have sold out.