TUMBLING HILLS

The process of making a woodcut print

2012-01-27T00:12:00.002Z

Last Easter I was lucky enough to chance on a curlew's nest whilst walking over High Brown Knoll on the moors above Hebden Bridge. I've been meaning to make a woodcut about it ever since and finally got my act together this week. Here's a set of images documenting the process.

Working from memory and a snatched photo, I made a bold drawing on paper with a chunkyish felt pen. Because a relief print will always come out as a mirror image its important to remember to reverse the image on the block (so easy to forget to do this when you're itching to get started!) Old fashioned carbon paper is what I like to make the transfer.

I always slightly darken the wood block with dilute paint or ink before cutting so I can see what's going on. For the past year or so I've been using 'Japanese Plywood' supplied by Great Art because its easy to cut, although it has its problematic aspects which I'll come to later.

I'm still very happy with the Pfeil palm tools I bought in 2010 although I wish they did an intermediate width u shaped gouge, the ones I have are either very narrow or quite wide.

Cutting the design is hard work but also compulsive - I have to force myself to stop for a rest, as you make mistakes if you get too tired. And being analogue, there's no Command Z to put back that vital little sliver of wood you've just accidentally removed...

Its easy to be fooled by the range of grey tones where you've drawn on the block, in reality the printed area will be just black and white, positive and negative, yes or no, binary.

Its always a shock when the ink goes on, everything looks suddenly bold. The ink roller is very heavy, the ink is so very sticky and just longing to spread itself everywhere you don't want.

Unfortunately only now I notice the wood block is warped and in some places seems to be resisting accepting the ink. This is a common problem with the Great Art plywood blocks especially if using the larger pieces.

Contrary to what most people expect, the block goes ink side up on the press and the paper is placed on top. Brooklyn Studios' relief printing press is actually an old converted mangle but its very effective.

It takes a few attempts before an evenly inked print is finally revealed. This is a called a proof and there will need to be some minor changes to the shading on the eggs before I print up an edition.

Frosty January Morning

2012-01-19T18:27:00.000Z

The lovely hoar frost earlier this week inspired a bit of sketching. I found it really difficult to capture the look of the frost, which to my mind looks like white iron filings. Also, applying the speckles of white paint really knocks back the colour to a surprising degree.

Sorry about the confusing creases in the background - my bed was the best lit spot in the house this morning - shame the sunshine didn't last all day.

Sunshine Between Storms

2012-01-08T17:56:00.000Z

A recent walk above Hebden Bridge during a golden interlude between storms.

CHEERS! - Here's to a happy 2012

2012-01-01T23:49:00.001Z

This is life through the bottom of a glass - but in a positive way. When I first got my little Canon Ixus some years ago I went crazy for photographing glassware against a dark background with full on flash. Much Photoshop fiddling later the above image emerged.

Whatever happens in the coming year I'm hopeful that there'll be much to celebrate along the way.

Magic Lantern - (in a hurry)

2011-12-18T22:54:00.000Z

The 1st weekend in December is always the Christmas Open at Brooklyn Studios where I work and I like to make my space look cheery and inviting.

Despite annual resolutions to the contrary, I end up doing things in a crazy rush every time. This year was no exception and was further complicated by the unexpected early arrival of a huge old plan chest that needed to be assimilated into the very small space - necessitating complete upheaval and rearrangement of everything.

At one point of utter chaos I thought about just opting out and putting 'Police do not cross' tape over the entrance but eventually things got whipped into shape and I had just a few hours left to create a centre piece object.

Last year I put birds inside the slightly battered and cracked Moroccan style lamp that Cathy donated to the tabletop sale. People seemed to like it, so this time I wanted to do something more spectacular. All my plans came to nothing however owing to the lack of time and I just did a rushed job with some spare pages from my laser cut book 'Tree House' and a couple of sheets of coloured acetate sheet.

I love the magic you can create with just a bit of paper and some light - the final results were quite satisfying I think.

I've used Photoshop to remove the cable going in through the top and to play around a little with the colour of the ambient light. The final picture below has only had the flex removed.

Light Twite Ale - Moor Beer Please

2011-12-04T23:13:00.000Z

I'm excited to discover the Twite woodcut that Pennine Prospects commissioned from me has been used on the label of a new beer called Light Twite Ale by Little Valley Brewery. Not too sure about the purple colour and it would have been nice to have been informed rather than finding out from word of mouth.

But I like the idea of my work featuring on a beer bottle and really wish my dad was still around to see it.
I'll be off to the Tourist Information Centre in Hebden Bridge to buy a good few bottles

This is the photo and article from the Watershed Landscape website:

Born and Brewed in the South Pennines; Light Twite Ale

What have a brewery and our little feathered Twite got in common? Not a lot you might think but you might just be wrong. Our favourite Pennine finch chooses the high moorland landscape near to hay meadows as its breeding ground and located right next to one of the Twite’s stomping grounds is the Little Valley Brewery situated high up on the Cragg Vale moorland above Hebden Bridge.

To help spread the word about the RSPBs Twite Recovery Project, the Watershed Landscape project have partnered up with Little Valley Brewery and created the Light Twite Ale from a tried and tested recipe. A limited number of bottles of Light Twite are available to buy exclusively through the Hebden Bridge Canal & Visitor Centre with a percentage of the proceeds going back to the RSPB to help fund the valuable work they do to help protect birds and restore and retain their natural habitats.

November Leaves II

2011-11-27T18:52:00.001Z

Well not strictly just leaves, but can't resist including this selection of autumn glory for the ravishing colour combinations.

November Leaves

2011-11-26T16:44:00.000Z

Fallen leaves on puddles, duck weed and tarmac make vibrant patterns as the dark days draw near.

Sweet Birds - New Card Set

2011-11-19T01:09:00.000Z

Here's my latest card designs featuring the Sweet Little Birds. I'll be launching them for sale tomorrow when its my turn to do 'Meet The Artist' upstairs at Spirals, the brilliant Fair trade and world crafts shop on Market Street in Hebden Bridge.

I'm excited to be spending a whole day there surrounded by lovely things. I'll be selling a selection of my woodcut prints, mainly birds but townscapes as well, and working on my latest woodcut to demonstrate how its done. Do call in for a chat if you're passing, I'm there from 11 am to 4 pm.

Helen and Sarah, the owners of Spirals are committed to ethical trading and supporting local artists and are hosting Meet The Artist sessions every weekend up to Christmas. Spirals is a great place to find unusual and attractive gifts so check it out. They now have an on-line shop as well, see it here Spirals

Celebration

2011-11-17T23:35:00.000Z

I celebrated my birthday with this bottle of 1995 Lalande De Pomerol which we purchased many years ago in the lovely fading town of Pauillac on the Gironde about 50 km North of Bordeaux.

All these years its been hiding at the back of our under stairs broom cupboard in Hebden Bridge and finally got dragged out, dusted down and transported to Burnham Overy Watermill on the North Norfolk coast.

I've no idea whether it had been kept too long or stored wrong, all I can say for definite is that its colour, fragrance and taste were delicious, a perfect accompaniment to the marvellous meal my sister Kate had prepared.

October Leaves

2011-10-26T22:51:00.000+01:00

I'm still closely observing the floating leaves - the way they press down on the surface of the water despite being so light.

On the same bill as a certain Mr Hockney

2011-10-11T22:17:00.000+01:00

How exciting, my exhibition is on the same bill as David Hockney!

Or put another way, the on-line listing for Bradford Museums and Galleries just happens to be advertising both exhibitions side by side.

http://www.bradfordmuseums.org/whatson/index.php

I think this just about beats the previous height of sharing the same page as Patrick Hughes in the Cow Parade Manchester 2004 Auction catalogue but its a close run thing.

Of course these tiny whiffs of fame from the top table only serve to remind us groundlings of the depths of our degradation ha ha.

However, apart from the fag* mania, I've always thought David Hockney seems a good egg and I've enjoyed a lot of his work - paintings, prints and writing on art - so no disrespect, especially as he's a fellow tree lover.

*clarification for USA readers, slang for cigarette.

September Leaves - are floating downstream

2011-09-30T11:56:00.013+01:00

Inspired By Landscape II Exhibition at Cliffe Castle, Keighley

2011-09-27T12:18:00.000+01:00

The residency I've been working on all Spring and Summer has culminated in the exhibition at Cliffe Castle, and the well attended opening was on Saturday afternoon. After a lot of stress and effort the centrepiece large-scale drawings of reservoir valve towers with projected rippling water finally came to fruition. They are hard to photograph well. I've had to Photoshop this one. I'll try again soon.

The exhibition is on for over 3 months so plenty of time if you want to see it. Cliffe Castle is a quirky world all of its own which has kind of grown on me over the past few weeks. For more information about the residency and the Watershed Project visit my Catchwater blog here

Canal at Machpelah

2011-09-16T23:25:00.000+01:00

Late afternoon sunlight pours onto the Rochdale canal just outside Machpelah's big windows. Disturbed by high winds the surface takes on an unreal solidity in these photographs, resembling shiny black obsidian.

More Machpelah Light

2011-09-04T23:49:00.000+01:00

Two contrasting images of light in the big basement room at Machpelah Mill. The cast-iron fireplace is crisp and still whilst the reflected window case is shifting and undefined.

Dancing light at Machpelah

2011-08-25T23:08:00.001+01:00

I've been working on 3 giant charcoal drawings for the past few weeks, for the Inspired By Landscape exhibition at Cliffe Castle in September. Each sheet of paper is 8ft tall and 5 ft wide. I've never done any drawing that big before and as my studio space at Brooklyn is very small, finding a space to do the work was a problem at first.

For a while I was stumped until colleague Lynda Thomas suggested I approach Trevor Smith who owns Machpelah Mill in Hebden Bridge. Trevor has been really great and is letting me use the basement room there. Its big and empty with white walls, a high ceiling and windows overlooking the shady canal so ideal for the job. I'm leading a monastic kind of life there, mostly silent, very peaceful and total concentration on the drawing process. I'm really enjoying it.

The only distraction if you can call it that is the dancing pattern of sunlight reflecting off the surface of the canal and projected onto the walls and ceiling, especially in the late afternoon. I've often noticed and appreciated this kind of thing on canal walks on the underside of bridges usually, and it also happened at the National Trust mill house we stayed at during May, in North Norfolk, when the brook beamed light up into the building.

Anyway, I find this phenomenom completely captivating, the liquid light intangible and transient yet so intensely present. Its the quivering movement that makes the magic, and as with so many lovely things, its simple and complex.

The moving image would best show what I mean, but until I get a video a still will have to do although its hopeless really.

August Leaves

2011-08-22T23:00:00.000+01:00

Leaves for a maritime climate. These are all from the Presqu'ile de Rhuys, a peninsula on the gulf of Morbihan in South Brittany. One of my favourite places, especially the beach and salt marshes surrounding the Chateau of Suscinio.

The top one is known as Salicorne in french and is a kind of Samphire. I can never think of this coast without picturing its lovely green flowers and unusual scent.

July Leaves

2011-07-31T23:07:00.033+01:00

Leaves of contrasting size - a frog rests on a long, broad leaf of the Yellow Flag Iris alongside a tiny scattering of duckweed. The meniscus makes him look like he has his own little bubble helmet for exploring an alien world.

CATCHWATER - Blog for the Watershed Project

2011-07-13T10:55:00.000+01:00

This is just to remind anyone who comes here from a link on Pennine Prospect's Watershed Landscape website, that my actual blog about being Watershed Artist in Residence in 2011 can be found here

Impressions - Printmaking Exhibition at The Gallery, Masham

2011-07-09T23:40:00.000+01:00

Delivered a selection of my bird prints today to this lovely little gallery in the centre of Masham on the market square. I'm really pleased to be showing my woodcuts there along with four other women printmakers. Its all thanks to my friend and fellow printmaker Janis Goodman who recommended me to gallery owner Josie Beszant. Thanks Janis!

The exhibition is on for a month and the preview is on Thursday 14th July 7.30 - 9.30 pm if you are in that neck of the woods.

Hebden Bridge Open Studios 2011

2011-07-01T22:43:00.000+01:00

Its Open Studios again this weekend. Brooklyn Studios where I'm based is now gleaming with freshly painted floors and everyone's studio space spruced up with work on display and a new exhibition in the gallery. I'm hoping for lots of interesting visitors and good sales. My Pennine Finch/Twite woodcut is featured in the second letter 'e' on the poster.

June Leaves

2011-06-27T22:11:00.000+01:00

I've been neglecting Tumbling Hills these past few weeks; I knew it would be a bit of a struggle running two blogs but I still feel I need to keep the work for my Watershed residency separate. I've also been away to Cornwall for two weeks on my annual holiday.

Contrary to appearances I don't normally go on so many holidays, its just that this year they've been bunched together, partly to ensure I have a clear block of time for Watershed during July and August.
I've only been back a few days and I already feel knackered again, so in keeping with the post-holiday austere mood June's leaves are dried moor grass drifting on the peaty shores of Warland Reservoir.

May Leaves

2011-05-31T18:59:00.044+01:00

May leaves are all about the contrast between bright green and pale gold. I've given up sticking to the mini habitat at Salem Field as too much was destroyed during the 'improvements' earlier in the year. Instead I'm making a 12 month reflection on any leaves I come across during the year.

All the leaves here are from my holiday to the North Norfolk coast. The reeds down there are beautiful and correspond to our Pennine rushes - they shimmer and change colour depending on the light and wind.

Sand Wraiths

2011-05-28T21:33:00.000+01:00

On a recent visit to North Norfolk, blazing sun and scouring wind created this amazing effect of mesmeric movement like swirling smoke or mist - to my mind writhing sand wraiths; If you stared for too long it made you fall over but was more beautiful than sinister; unlike the topsy turvy building which seemed weirdly disturbing.

Pennine Twite Revisited

2011-05-16T23:11:00.003+01:00

Recently Pennine Prospects asked me if I could extend the Twite woodcut as they needed a more panoramic format. I wasn't sure if I could but I said I'd give it a go. In fact it was very straightforward.
I just continued the design onto another woodblock about a third as much again. The extra bit is on the right.

When the print comes off the press there's a thin white line between the two blocks but I have a technique for dealing with this thats pretty successful. I'm pleased with the final result. I will be exhibiting some of my bird prints from 15th July to 15th August at The Gallery, Masham, North Yorkshire in a group show called 'Impression' featuring the work of 6 printmakers. This Twite print will be my main attraction.

On a different topic, I'm finding it strange having a separate blog for my Watershed residency. I think about my work as a single entity no matter how disparate some of the parts are, so it feels weird to filter stuff for Catchwater. I expect I'll get used to it over time.

Catchwater

2011-04-26T22:42:00.002+01:00

The new blog I mentioned earlier is now up and running. Its for the Watershed Landscape residency and's called Catchwater. I'm not sure how it'll all pan out having two 'art' blogs on the go but feel its the least confusing option. Click here to go there.

April leaves

2011-04-26T13:20:00.000+01:00

Who knew that Horse Chestnut leaves come out of bud as eccentric green lampshades? certainly not me until this spring when I noticed these beauties glowing in the late afternoon sun of early April.

And just now, as April draws to a close following a frenzy of sun-triggered growth another surprise:

A goldfinch feeding on a tree festooned with pale green carnations - which turn out to be the newly minted fruit of a young elm tree.

Pennine Prospects new web site

2011-04-14T23:48:00.000+01:00

Its all happening at Pennine Prospects, the organisers of my residency - well, they've just uploaded a dynamic new website for the Watershed Landscape with lots of info and pictures like the one above which I've borrowed, showing all the artists and writers in the project, and here I've got my own page which is quite exciting.

Its a shame I don't look more happy in the publicity photos taken last August at the Cow and Calf above Ilkley, but I'd just had some awfully sad news and was only just holding it together. Still, the bird book gets a good airing.

The website uses motifs from the series of woodcuts that Pennine Prospects commissioned from me last year. I especially like the way they've been faded back so the effect is quite subtle.

I've decided I need a separate blog to document my ideas and work in progress for the residency and am busily setting it up. I like to fiddle with the html a bit to customise the look, so there's still a bit to get sorted before it goes live.

Inspired by Landscape - The Watershed Project

2011-04-01T23:50:00.000+01:00

Hooray! today marks the official start of my Artist's Residency in the South Pennines. I can't wait to get going. Its been over a year since I applied for the job and my mind has been racing since then. Inspired By Landscape is a 3 year project involving 3 artists and 2 writers.

I'm following on from Sally Barker who was the Year 1 resident artist and has concentrated on making temporary sculptural interventions from local materials and photographing them within the landscape. Alongside Sally, resident poet Andrew McMillan has also been creating new work but will now be handing the pen on to Writer Char March for Year 2.

There was an article about the project in the March edition of Artists & Illustrators Magazine, where I made some rash promises about taking my portable etching press out onto the moors for public engagement workshops - we'll see if our capricious and sometimes cruel 'summer' weather lets me do this.

Here's a crazy little collage made from manila and security envelopes. Its Lower Gorple Reservoir tower.

Northtown in black and white

2011-04-01T11:34:00.000+01:00

Northtown in colour

2011-03-29T22:06:00.000+01:00

I've finished cutting my latest woodcut, 'Northtown' and have pulled a few proofs. I like it in black and white, but have also been experimenting with hand-tinting. I'm reasonably happy with the result here but need to find a way to avoid streaks in the grey hills. Printing this block is a challenge as its at the maximum length the press can cope with. Also there are many fine lines that can fill in easily so inking-up must be done very carefully.

March Leaves

2011-03-24T00:05:00.003Z

Well putative leaves really, in a budding grove. Today I've been enthralled by the exquisite tracery of the twigs against the dark river, the bright sky and as shadows on beech bark.

The hedge along Salem Field is even more depleted now as further drastic cutting has been done by the archery club. Feels like a set-back for my project to document the seasons in this tiny patch of land but I'll persevere for the time being and see what happens.

Woodcut Townscape - Northtown

2011-03-23T08:26:00.001Z

Work in progress on another commission from Pennine Prospects, a woodcut of an archetypal northern town in the southern pennines - so, the town hall is based on Todmorden's, the co-op on Delph's, weavers cottages from Hebden Bridge, Saddleworth viaduct and so on.

Drawing up on the moor

2011-03-10T12:17:00.002Z

There's nothing better for sorting the sheep from the goats or whatever that saying is, than a drawing trip up Oxenhope Moor on a freezing March morning. It might have been sunny but the wind seemed to come straight from Siberia as me and my friend Vikki got off our little local bus in the middle of nowhere high above Crimsworth Dean.

The solution - hunkering down behind a dry-stone wall and working quickly for as long as the warming sun stayed out. An opportunity to continue my obsession with the swirling moor grass, and for Vikki to show how its done with panache in her cheery red coat. Thats not a spelling mistake by the way - cherry red is an altogether different colour!

February leaves - the new and the old

2011-03-06T09:23:00.075Z

Confusing I know, since its now March, but laser-cutting mania has prevented me from uploading anything new on another strand of work which involves documenting the natural growth cycle on a very small stretch of Hebden Water, alongside Salem Field.

Vile weather and various jobs kept me away from the river for a few weeks until the end of February so I was expecting a few changes, but not expecting to see that most of the shrubs and young trees I'd photographed and drawn in January had been chopped down!

I know its all been done with the best of intentions and in the name of tidying up the riverside walk by the archery field, but the amount of clearing seems a bit extreme. Admittedly, the hedge laying looks well done and there will be loads of new growth very soon, but still it was a shock and I'm annoyed I never got to see the final demise of most of my old tortured leaves.

Not all the trees are gone of course, and its great to spot the first beginnings of Spring growth including tiny green leaves at last.

Tree House Book

2011-03-05T17:51:00.000Z

Here's a couple more pictures of Tree House in progress. I really love the way the pages react to a raking light and can't resist trying to capture the effect on camera, although it always seems to be when its late and I'm tired, so not the best photos.

Folding the concertina is a bit tricky, as there's so much negative space in relation to the page 'frame'.
Maybe I should have made the borders wider... but actually I like the element of fragility and everything is fine so long as I don't get distracted whilst folding.

I haven't decided what to do about the cover yet - whether to have holes in it or not.

Tree House book is growing

2011-03-01T09:29:00.000Z

Another session of laser-cutting at Huddersfield Uni yesterday. Making the cutting template in Illustrator on Sunday night nearly drove me mad - all those branches - aagh. The technician asked me if I suffered from OCD - cheek!

I was hoping to cut quite a few of these, but something was wrong with my file and the laser started recutting over already cut lines so I had to call it a day until I can sort my template. I think I may have forgotten to flatten my layers in Illustrator, thus confusing the tiny mind of the mighty laser-cutter. All very annoying because I now have to wait two weeks for another available booking.

More Laser-Cutting

2011-02-23T09:34:00.001Z

I'm getting the hang of the laser-cutter now and had my first session using it on my own. As well as the Hebden Bridge fold-up townscape, I'm trying something more intricate - its a concertina format book called Tree House. Its taking me quite some time to draw up the cutting template in Illustrator so I've only tested the first 4 pages. It looks like this:

I like the idea of it being a kind of skeleton book structure and the resulting shadow casting. This book is a development from the paper-cut carrier bag I was working on a while ago. I'm still using the 300 gsm Manila cover paper I got from John Purcell Paper ages ago, with its lovely colour and smooth surface.

AA2A and Laser-cutting

2011-02-13T16:09:00.000Z

Last year I applied for a place on the AA2A Scheme at Huddersfield University. For those that don't know, AA2A stands for Artists Access To Art Colleges, and the project provides placements for visual artists and designer makers to Higher and Further Education institutions across England to undertake a period of research or realise a project, using the workshops and supporting facilities available.
Here's a link to the website AA2A

This is a really great scheme to share resources with artists who don't have access to specialist equipment but a successful placement does depend on the goodwill and commitment of the art department involved. I got accepted on the scheme in September last year but for reasons that have never been made clear, I wasn't allowed to make a start until this January. Also some of the advertised facilities that lured me in, such as screenprinting, are not actually available!

It has been quite a frustrating experience up to recently but now I've decided to put all that behind me (hopefully) and concentrate on making the most of the amazing laser-cutter that is available for AA2As to use. A couple of weeks ago myself and Beka Haigh another AA2A artist, had a very thorough induction from technician David Bentley with excellent, clear instructions. So last Thursday Beka and I were able to do some autonomous cutting. I was a little bit scared at first, being responsible for a very expensive piece of equipment with a white-hot cutting point, and lots of things that are easy to forget, like putting on the extractor so we weren't poisoned. But its all very straightforward really.

Here's some pictures of my first attempts. I'm revisiting a project I started a few years ago but gave up because the cutting put too much of a strain on the tendons in my hands. The idea is of a pop-up paper Hebden Bridge sculpture that folds flat for portability. You can see a black and white version over on the right, below my Profile.

If things work out well with the laser-cutter, I plan to make a more complex environment for the townscape and produce a saleable edition.

Shadows and Reflections

2011-02-10T23:07:00.001Z

A different take on trees this time, shadows on sun-warmed rock and reflections on cold, still water. Even when seen indirectly like this the trees have a powerful presence in the landscape.

January Leaves

2011-01-31T23:14:00.000Z

I'm noticing that despite harsh frosts and whipping winds, a few leaves are clinging on to their parent trees along the banks of Hebden Water. A far cry from the vigour of summer and the glory of Autumn these tortured survivors are a pierced and twisted remnant of last year. I've enjoyed observing them closely and taking their photographs. They have an insectoid quality that I like and I imagine could lead to some interesting drawings. And of course they bring to mind Shakespeare's sonnet 73 with its lines...

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

More Graphite

2011-01-21T23:20:00.001Z

Been spending some time down by my local river - Hebden Water, alongside Salem Field, making a series of drawings, playing around with different kinds of mark making. The winter weed skeletons are complex and beautiful. They held my attention for many an hour, as my drawings moved towards abstraction. The mild Graphite Days have been replaced by diamond bright ice and sun, but the softer form of Carbon still suits my mood for now.

Graphite Days

2011-01-18T12:22:00.000Z

These dim days of January could easily bring on a bout of melancholia and unrealistic longings for warmer climes.

But instead I've decided to adopt an attitude of acceptance and even celebration of what I call the Graphite Days of late Winter.

Whether focussing on my sketchbook or staring at the land, its the same muted silvery greys of a 2B pencil on soft white and pale buff papers.

Turning towards the light

2010-12-31T23:01:00.000Z

And so the year turns, away from darkness, revolving into light, our blue planet tumbling through the mystery of time and space...

A patch of blue sky

2010-12-09T23:49:00.000Z

Dazzlingly bright and sunny yesterday, and still able to see my lovely Nutclough Mill through the gap.

The long thin format of the view is growing ever more like my woodcut print of Nutclough though the view for the woodcut is from a high vantage point looking down from Moss Lane , whereas the view from Brooklyn studios is looking upwards.

What I like in the photograph is the glowing orange of the brick side wall complementing the cold blue sky.

Changing Light

2010-12-06T23:42:00.004Z

Two views from my studio space taken on Friday with a gap of a few hours between shots. The murky morning turned into a more pleasant if very cold afternoon.

Feeling a little bit sad that the view has been curtailed since then by the installation of our new studio stairs, but on the other hand I've gained a new wall to hang work on and there's still plenty of light coming in from the high window.

Fortunately I can still see Nutclough Mill from my space, I just have to move to a more specific spot to get the angle right. For 14 years I had a view of Nutclough from the other side, from my rented house, actually one of the original mill workers dwellings.

During that time I took loads of photos of the mill from my kitchen window, in all kinds of weathers and at different times of the day. I'd like to put together a selection for this blog, but will have to digitise them first as they were all taken on film. A project for the new year I think.

Its strange how certain buildings seem to follow you around - even though they're totally anchored of course. When I moved from Nutclough City Limits (as we used to call it) I thought thats it I'll never gaze on the mill in the same way, but here I am a few years later still staring.

Festive Open Studios

2010-12-01T21:27:00.001Z

Yes its that time of year again, when we open up our gallery and studio spaces to our friends. acquaintances and the general public. I designed this poster over a year ago but it never got used except by me for a few invitations. So this year its getting a proper airing, or should that be snowing? The lace elephant is from a treasured remnant I had from my grandmother many moons ago.

It looks as though the heavy snow will put off many of our visitors from further afield, but if any of you are in the Hebden area over the weekend, you're very welcome to visit us and join in our festivities. I shall be making mulled cider again since it proved so popular last year. Hope to see you.

November Snow

2010-11-30T21:50:00.000Z

Oh the irony - my post dated 13th October mentioned about a forthcoming book making workshop at Cartwright Hall on 1st December. The post ended 'I doubt if it will actually be snowing at the start of December but you never know...'

Well not only have we got snow but its quite bad, especially in North Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales where most of the workshop participants were coming from. Anyway, the long and the short of it is that the session is cancelled, due to the weather, and thus highlighting one of the down sides of being self-employed - no work, no pay. Its very frustrating after I've done all the prep work, created a demonstration model and purchased some paper. There really ought to be a cancellation fee, but of course artists are always treated shabbily in these situations.

Whilst the snow surely makes a big problem for getting around, it does compensate in the beauty stakes. So to cheer myself up, here's a very recent photo of The National Trust's Gibson Mill at Hardcastle Crags just up the road .

Winter Calligraphy in Window

2010-11-29T23:24:00.001Z

A bit disappointed that the large-scale version of my Winter Calligraphy book wasn't able to go in the Scandinavian themed window at Spirals, as the space was too busy. Its in the other widow and has a prominent position facing out onto the main drag of Hebden. So I'm still hopeful it may create some interest and sales - I've had a few texts from friends who've seen it and recognised it as my work.

I've tried to take a decent photo quite a few times now but its impossible to get a good angle without getting run over and its always dark by the time I get down there so this is the best I can do.

Long-tailed Tits

2010-11-28T22:52:00.000Z

A selection of my bird prints are now available to buy at the Craft and Design Centre at Leeds Art Gallery, including this latest one featuring 3 long-tailed tits feeding on Hawthorn berries.

The low temperatures and snowy conditions have forced the birds to be more daring about getting food and my tiny back garden has seen a much wider range than usual coming in a flurry of urgent wings. This weekend we've seen wrens bullfinches, thrushes, blackbirds, a sparrow, blue tits and coal tits.

The blackbirds have developed a way of launching themselves off a hanging basket towards the frozen remains of the black grapes left on our wall-trained vine. We felt sorry for them and have put all the grapes on the ground for them now.

Giant version of Winter Calligraphy Book

2010-11-18T22:15:00.000Z

One of my tasks today was to make a very large (for me!) version of my tiny concertina book called Winter Calligraphy. Its for my friends Sarah and Helen, to be part of the Christmas window display in their shop Spirals on the main street of Hebden Bridge. They are having a Scandinavian theme featuring winter trees, reindeer and other lovely festive things. I'm really pleased to have been asked to contribute.

The photo is taken in my studio this morning, but you can't tell the scale so its hopeless really.
The pages are about 33 cm square, basically the largest size I can print on the old Epson 2100.

I meant to go down to the shop later on to see how it works in the window space, but got involved in a printing session and by the time I'd cleaned a huge slick of black ink and two rollers it was 6.30 pm and too late.

Hand-tinted Twite Woodcut

2010-11-12T10:05:00.000Z

This is the hand-tinted version of the Twite woodcut fresh from the inking parlour! (aka the clean corner of my studio space). I am hoping to have these on sale at the Craft Centre and Design Gallery below Leeds Art Gallery in the very near future, along with some of my other woodcuts featuring song birds.

Cotton Grass

2010-11-10T23:08:00.000Z

Hurrah! I've finished the fourth woodcut print for the Pennine Prospects commission. Its not that I didn't enjoy the work but there's a certain satisfaction in getting the job done.

Carving the block for this image was fast and easy, but just like the Twite, printing was a problem. The same flaw in the wood was apparent - not surprising since I sawed a larger block in half. This time I had to resort to Makeready and Underlay, technical terms for adding customised paper padding above and below the block to affect the printing pressure in specific areas. Eventually the patchiness resolved itself into even black printing - much to my relief.

I feel that this image could be enhanced by the use of different coloured ink and tonight I've been playing with Photoshop to get an idea of the colours I might use.

Printed Twite

2010-11-04T22:02:00.000Z

So here it is - the first proof of the Twite print, in lovely black ink!

Its been a bit of a battle today as inking-up revealed some strange flaws in the wood which caused patchy printing initially, until I got the inking, pressure and paper just right.

This is the first woodcut I've done that features black line work as a major design element. It is very time consuming, but I'm happy to discover I can do it, and feel inspired to attempt more in the same vein. And only two not-very-serious cuts in my fingers as a result of all that gouging. I'm very pleased with the Pfeil woodcut tools I purchased at the start of the year, really sharp and comfortable to use.

Tweeting Twite

2010-11-03T22:23:00.002Z

The woodcut block for the Twite is finished at long last! You can see from the detail above that the image is reasonably complex for a woodcut and has demanded a lot of fine cutting - why did I choose to depict Yarrow, with its feathery leaves and tiny flowers? - well because its beautiful of course. Tomorrow morning I will be taking the first proof prints - it'll be strange seeing everything in mirror image, having stared at it this way round for so many days.

More clever woodcutters

2010-10-29T22:40:00.000+01:00

Finally found a few minutes to sort out a couple of photos from my woodcut class at Brooklyn Studios last Sunday. The sheer inventiveness and skill of almost complete beginners never fails to surprise and delight me. So here's two different takes on a woodland theme - Anna with her beguiling stag, and Rachel with her fabulous foxglove in the forest.

If you are interested in learning how to make woodcuts, my next intensive one day course is on Sunday 21st November, 10.30 am to 4 pm, at Brooklyn Studios off Valley Road in Hebden Bridge. For more details contact me via, angie(dot)rogers(at)talk21.com. This will be my final workshop during 2010.

Messy Studio

2010-10-28T23:21:00.001+01:00

This week I've been working very intensively on a commissioned series of woodcuts, and the studio has started to become chaotic - you can't really see the mess in this photo but there's heaps of wood shavings all over the floor and my main work surface is piled high with tools, coffee cups, bits of tracing paper, ink and paint, ugh!

The commission is for Pennine Prospects, a local regeneration organisation based in Hebden Bridge. Its the same company that's involved in the Watershed - Inspired by landscape residency I'll be doing next year.

Working out the design for this Twite aka Pennine Finch in its natural habitat has been a challenge. The leaves of the Yarrow are so feathery and finely detailed, my eyes are all mixed up. The thing that looks like a giant bee, hovering over the Yarrow is actually a large knot in the wood, exposed when I gouged too deeply in a moment of wandering concentration!

My Studio Space

2010-10-17T22:49:00.001+01:00

This is part of my studio space looking pretty cluttered. Its a very small area and I have to fit in all my various tools, equipment, materials and work in progress, so unless I'm very disciplined it all breaks down quickly into a chaotic mess.

December trees in October

2010-10-13T09:07:00.001+01:00

I've been asked to deliver an arty workshop for around 25 people attending a project evaluation day at Cartwright Hall, Bradford in December.

There's only one and a half hours to complete the task so it has to be something simple and straightforward.

The project is connected with the natural environment and the people will spend time viewing the botanical garden around Cartwright.

The magnificent mature trees are a dominant feature of the grounds and I wanted to focus on these if possible.

So I've designed this small book, made from 3 pieces of A3 card with a black jute closure. The structure is a very basic flag book and is easily adaptable in terms of colour for any season of the year.

I doubt if it will actually be snowing at the start of December but you never know...

Edition in progress

2010-10-12T10:48:00.000+01:00

So here's the result of cutting out the strips and joining them together to make the concertina.

I've printed this on my trusty old Epson 2100 pigment ink printer, using Somerset Enhanced paper. I love the matte surface and the richness of the colour but I'm not sure how well this paper would stand up to the wear and tear a book undergoes. So still plenty of work to do before I can make my edition for selling.

To compare this facsimile with the original hand-painted book go to: http://www.angierogers.com/#/land-books/4532044100

Artist's Books

2010-10-01T14:16:00.001+01:00

Preparing portfolios of work for recent interviews has made me take a long look at all the artist's books I've made in the past few years. At Cliffe Castle Keighley for the 'Watershed - Inspired By Landscape' residency interview I was given plenty of time to set out my books on long tables which was ideal as they are mostly in the concertina format. I was pleased by the impact they made en masse and the reaction of the interview panel.

Nearly all of the books I've constructed are 'unique' in the sense that there is only one copy. This means that even if I wanted to sell them, they would be too expensive for marketing in my local area. I'd love to make more editions using wide commercial printing to speed up the making process and I'm hoping that an exciting new development might enable this, but its still hush hush until I've had confirmation, so more of that later.

In the meantime, here's a picture of the lay-out for A3 printing of my Walk Around Ogden Water book. I quite like how it looks all in a block, but its actually meant to be cut into strips to make the concertina.

For Mum

2010-09-19T22:42:00.002+01:00

Inishtooskert, the northernmost of the Blasket Islands on the West coast of Ireland.

'What would the world be, once bereft

Of wet and wildness? Let them be left,

O let them be left, wildness and wet;

Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.'

From Inversnaid by Gerard Manley Hopkins

White Holme Moss

2010-08-18T15:41:00.004+01:00

After weeks of gloom and rain the sun reappeared in the South Pennines on Sunday, leading to a long walk along the tops to take in some rays. We parked up fairly near to the top of Blackstone Edge Road and took a track that leads westwards to White Holme Reservoir. From there we travelled clockwise past Light Hazzles and Warland Reservoirs. You'd think the reservoirs would be full after all that rain so I was surprised to see how low they are and how much of the stone tower on Warland Res is exposed.

Continuing in a huge circle with a diversion to Gaddings Dam for lunch, we marched along the Pennine Way before turning off eastwards past the rocky outcrop of Holder stones following the path along Warland and White Holme Drains.

These drains are constructed water channels like mini canals that quietly run for miles and miles around the tops, carrying the reflections of sky and clouds along with them. I call them the conduits and I like to let my thoughts slide away along their mirrored surfaces. I've been studying the conduits and taking photographs of them for years now. I expect many people will consider that a bit anoraky and I find it hard to explain why I like them. I think its mainly the sky-conducting aspect, or rather that they conduct light as well as water. On bright days they are sparkling blue ribbons across the green and manila moors.

52 Squared

2010-07-26T22:02:00.001+01:00

Thought it was about time I posted about 52 Squared, a collaborative blog project I've been doing with my artist friend June Russell. Every week since the beginning of 2010 we've been posting a square format image each on the broad theme of 'Journey'. The images are displayed side by side, mine on the left and June's on the right. We never consult about what we are going to post, but always try to respond to the combination of images from the previous week.

It would be possible to cheat, but what would be the point in that?

Its amazing how often we seem to be on the same wavelength, making the same visual connections. Some weeks it really is uncanny, for example week 28 when June posted a photo of the head and arching neck of an ancient Greek? horse statue from Corfu and I posted a photo of an old curling, rusty gatepost from Calderdale. Both images convey the idea of restrained coiled energy.

This project is so enjoyable, for the elements of surprise and synchronicity, chance and challenge, and I'm shocked to realise we are more than half way through the year now.

To view 52 Squared follow this link: http://52squared.blogspot.com

Watershed - Inspired By Landscape

2010-07-20T23:03:00.001+01:00

Exciting news! I've been chosen to be the resident artist for the Watershed Landscape Project in 2011 focussing on our wonderful moors and reservoirs here in the South Pennines.

When I saw the call for proposals way back in the Spring, my heart skipped a beat, to read my dream job description, and now I can hardly believe its actually going to happen.

I can't wait to get started and today I met Char March, who'll be the resident writer during the same period. I'm still taking it all in, but will post more when I have a bit more information. Its brilliant to have some work lined up for next year, and to know I'll be spending even more time immersed in our landscape.

Insight Exhibition at Earth Spirit in Hebden Bridge

2010-07-16T09:54:00.001+01:00

Its the final few days of the photography exhibition where I've been showing my first proper cyanotypes and mini photographic books, alongside interesting and beautiful work by three other photographers, so if you're in the area its well worth taking a look.

The gallery upstairs at Earth Spirit is a lovely space for showing work as it's so clean and airy with lots of natural light from big windows. The exhibition has drawn many visitors and received a very positive response.

Pontefract Liquorice Festival

2010-07-12T22:44:00.002+01:00

On Sunday I was with my friend Viv delivering a free liquorice jewellery making workshop for families at Pontefract Liquorice Festival, paid for by Wakefield Council. It was a lovely sunny day and our marquee was positioned right on the main drag by all the action so we had 5 solid hours of intense confectionery stabbing!

A giant load of liquorice, jelly babies and midget gems in 3 Kg bags was donated by the sponsors Tangerine Confectionery, and by the end of the afternoon it was almost completely gone. The four lovely lads above waited very patiently in a long queue before being able to make their adornments and I was really pleased they let me take their picture. I only managed to snatch a few, we were just too busy trying to keep the edible embellishments rolling out.

We met lots of great people and a special thanks goes out to Brenda from Surrey who battled through the seething melee in her wheelchair to bring us a cup of tea each - what a star.

If you've never been to this event, it really is worth going, for the great atmosphere and the on-street entertainment provided. This year there were some amazing sights, my favourite being a bright green strangely beautiful ostrich-like bird with an equally vibrant green rider - (actually all one talented person on stilts).

Cyanotype Photograms

2010-07-05T16:58:00.004+01:00

The past month has been madly busy with all kinds of ups and downs and one whole week involving Cyanotype mania.

The lovely Sarah and Helen offered me an opportunity to take part in an exhibition of photographic work in their beautiful gallery space above Earth Spirit in Hebden Bridge over the arts festival period.

Stupidly, I put myself under a lot of pressure by deciding to have a go at doing cyanotype photograms from scratch, using the chemicals I bought over 2 years ago, and to work on a large scale on thick watercolour paper. Things kept going wrong with the chemistry (I had no weighing scales), the weather became rainy and windy and some of the wild plants kind of went past their sell-by-date. I was running out of time and getting in a panic. Luckily the weather suddenly became sunny and stable and further on-line research showed me where I'd been going wrong with too much hydrogen peroxide bleaching out my prints instead of speeding up the oxidation process.

For logistical reasons I was working at home rather than my small studio space, so making the cyanotypes also involved complete chaos and mess in my kitchen although I was very careful not to contaminate anything to do with food...

The chemical solution had to be painted on the watercolour paper with a big brush, whilst grovelling on the floor, so why did I choose to use a circular motif I wonder? Because I love circles actually, and using a disused wire circle from a lampshade as a guide and a lovely wide hake brush, it wasn't as bad as I'd imagined it would be to get a decent shape. The cyanotype solution dries to a wonderful pale lemony green before its exposed to UV light.

After exposure to the sun, the paper is rinsed in a water bath and gradually the Prussian Blue and white pattern is revealed in all its cyan glory. I especially love the areas where the sun has partially exposed and you get pale blue shadowy areas. I also tried some more abstract arrangements of the plant structures but although these show promise for future work, all the ones I did during this session went wrong, with the colour bleaching out or the paper getting torn etc.

I can't wait to get started again, having invested in some digital scales to mix up the chemistry more accurately, and having made a timed test strip to guage how long the Yorkshire sun needs to perform the alchemy! The two images above show Horse Tail and Cow Parsley, and Foxgloves. I hated picking the foxgloves when they look so glorious in the wild, and spread out my raids over a wide area to avoid making too much impact on any one habitat.

New Mini Haiku Book

2010-06-12T23:32:00.002+01:00

Another project I've finally completed! This little Haiku picture book has gone through a number of transformations to get to its final state.

The book is called Thoughts on a Fragment (found in the ruins of an old school) and relates to the former open air school in Bradford mentioned in an earlier post (2nd May 2010). Its printed on watercolour paper with archival inks and is a signed edition of 75. There are 8 photographs, a Haiku poem and a tiny story.

Northampton High School

2010-05-30T16:41:00.004+01:00

I've been away for the past week, working as Artist in Residence with girls aged 7 and 8 at Northampton High School in Hardingstone, Northamptonshire. This is the third time I've been asked to work there and its always a pleasure. This year was especially enjoyable as the project was themed around the school's beautiful wild area. Regular readers of Tumbling Hills already know that I love working outdoors and find the natural world a constant source of inspiration and joy.

The May blossom has been particularly splendid this spring and the school's wild area was full of green and white abundance under bright blue skies and warm sunshine when we went out there to observe and make sketches. With many lovely trees, wild flowers and a large pond, the girls were spoilt for choice. Back in the classroom girls made individual paper collage pieces ready to be combined into a giant collage running along the back of the stage in the assembly hall.

I'm really pleased with how the final piece came together and impressed by the intricacy and inventiveness demonstrated by the little artists. I would not have expected them to be able to concentrate for so long on the subtle variations in bark, leaf form and overall shape, and to render these so well in the medium of cut and ripped paper. I had a great time composing the final image you can see here, although it took me a long time to get the placements just right.

These photos don't do justice to the real thing - being set back on a stage, the lighting was quite tricky. Its hard to choose a favourite bit but I love the pond, especially as it doesn't worry about matters of scale and exists in its own reality...

Spring Has Well And Truly Sprung

2010-05-19T10:35:00.001+01:00

Crossing over the Rochdale Canal just outside Hebden Bridge yesterday, I saw this lovely scene of verdant tranquility. Spring is always amazing, you can never become blase about the metamorphosis from brown to green.

Woodcut Course on 22nd May 2010

2010-05-03T22:13:00.000+01:00

I am running another woodcut printmaking course on Saturday 22nd May at my studio in Hebden Bridge. The courses have proved very popular and participants on previous days have created some very interesting and attractive woodcut prints, as can be seen in earlier posts below and on Brooklyn Studios blog.

The intensive one day course will run from 10 am to 4 pm and is suitable for beginners and those with experience. The course fee is £50 for the day, including all materials. For more information or to book a place, you should contact Angie Rogers, Brooklyn Studios, Unit 3, Hangingroyd Lane, Hebden Bridge HX7 7DD, telephone 0788 4307546 or send a message to angie.rogers(at)talk21.com the (at) should be the conventional symbol but I'm hoping this post will bypass the spam robots.

If you have never done woodcuts or indeed any other form of printmaking, don't be put off - the process is very straightforward and easy to get to grips with, and the results can be quite magical.

Cyanotypes and the Alphabet

2010-05-02T17:42:00.001+01:00

This Spring is turning out to be a time when I can complete some unfinished projects and reassess the direction in which my work is going.

A couple of years ago I ran a children's art project exploring aspects of the ruined site of an innovative open air school for children in a wood in Bradford. We made beautiful blue and white cyanotype prints using the leaves and flowers growing in the woodland. A cyanotype is a very simple kind of photogram that uses sunlight to power a chemical reaction on paper.

During the research stages of the project we kept finding small fragments of pottery - remains left from when the school burned down in the 1960s. The most evocative items were two little adjoining pieces of a child's alphabet plate, but not the usual alphabet, this was the sign language alphabet for the deaf, so all around the edge of the plate were tiny hand signals.

I decided to teach the project children to sign the alphabet and take photographs of their hands spelling out a message, with a view to making a book.

It seemed appropriate to tint the photos blue in keeping with the cyanotypes we made and the archetypal blue and white pottery fragment. In the end however, whilst the concertina contents went on display, I didn't get a chance to make covers and complete the book. But now finally 'An Alphabet Across Time' is finished I'm pleased to say. Its a unique book and I don't imagine there will ever be any other copies.

Cloud Atlas

2010-04-25T18:29:00.001+01:00

Its strange that I mentioned clouds in my last post, and then the effects of one should cause so much disruption and media frenzy in the past couple of weeks. I was on holiday in Cornwall when the flying ban was in place and I have to say it was wonderful to see the beautiful blue sky without any vapour trails.

I feel sorry about all the negative repercussions, like transplant organs being delayed and African farm workers being laid off, but there's something to be said for being reminded that we are far from omnipotent and lack the means to control the natural forces of our planet.

All this cloud interest reminded me of a book I made early in 2009 but hid away because it didn't turn out how I imagined it would. As you can see, the book is a kind of cloud atlas.

I'd been reading David Mitchell's novel Cloud Atlas and also studying The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney and contemplating the wonderful variety of clouds that drift over the moors of Calderdale where I live. During that same period I had to reorganise my studio and was wondering what to do with a stack of air mail envelopes I bought from a closing down Stationers, a pile of old security envelopes and an elderly UK road atlas...

Living in an upland region, you really notice how the clouds come swooping down the valleys and their huge dark shadows move across the hillsides in stately progression. I wanted to make my paper clouds 3D in some way, so that they cast shadows within the book.

Although I did achieve this to a certain extent, it took me ages and the shadow-casting wasn't as evident as I'd hoped and doesn't show up at all in these useless photos! The plan was to remake the book after more concentrated study in paper engineering, but mostly I forgot all about it. Maybe one day... But in the meantime, revisiting my little cloud atlas I like it more than I did before.

Blackbird's Beautiful Song

2010-04-07T22:44:00.002+01:00

Thank goodness for the cheerful blackbird whose early morning song has lifted my heart these last few days whilst I've been stuck in bed ill.

The enforced rest provided an opportunity to read David Mitchell's novel 'Cloud Atlas' again. I still think its a fine piece of work, the characters and created worlds resonating for a long time afterwards.

Draper Road viewed from Old Town

2010-03-26T22:52:00.002Z

At last I've found time to complete this oil pastel painting of Draper Road descending down from Slack, as seen from across the valley at Old Town.

I see this view frequently as its on the route I take for my constitutional walk whenever I feel in the mood. Obviously, things haven't looked quite like this for many many months, but unless its extremely foggy, you can always catch a glimpse of Draper Road glinting through the trees.

Sometimes in Winter its a silver curlicue in a world of black and grey, but the best way to experience Draper Road is on a hot day in late Spring, flying down the hill on a bike. The corner dropping into the trees is quite tricky and a bit scary if you're going too fast, but once past there its an intense freewheeling descent under the dappled canopy through invisible waves of
bluebell and leafmold. The same journey in reverse however, is a horror of sweat and toil too ghastly to dwell on ...

Sweet Birds Sing

2010-03-18T22:43:00.000Z

Finally finished the bird book, my first using the flag structure invented by Hedi Kyle.
Its called 'Sweet Birds Sing' and is a celebration of small birds and an expression of sadness at the loss of trees.

The whole thing is printed from woodcut blocks apart from the text, a little song I've written, which is inkjet printed over the woodcut printed pattern.

The cover has the same leaf pattern as the end papers, but printed in black rather than grey/green, and the closure is a length of bright green petersham ribbon.

On the whole I'm quite pleased with the way its turned out - its mostly as I envisioned it before starting and I like the way the birds poke out as a little flock. I feel I've learned a lot and would like to make another flag book that makes even richer use of the flag structure's potential.

It would be great to make an edition of Sweet Birds Sing, but it took so long with all the hand printing, I can't see how it would be feasible to make copies that anyone could afford.

The Bird Book is hatching

2010-03-07T18:54:00.000Z

I'm still working on my bird book. I've just completed gouging a pattern of willow leaves onto a wooden block for making the paper that will become the front and back covers. It was quite time-consuming and hard work, clearing all the wood in the spaces between the leaves. I can't wait to try printing from this block. To begin with I will print it in black ink on leaf green paper.

The birds are coming along too. I'm using a print and collage process, printing onto many different coloured papers and then collaging different areas to gain a multi coloured effect.
I was first alerted to this way of working by an article on the illustrator Hannah Firmin and a wonderful image of ornate Bali slippers. If you have recently read any of Alexander McCall Smith's 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency' novels you will have seen Hannah's work on the covers. I love both printmaking and collage but found it difficult to cut up my prints to begin with, possibly because I was trained in a strictly purist ethos. But who makes up these rules? and why do we feel constrained to obey them?

Woodcut birds

2010-02-27T22:27:00.005Z

I'm trying to make a series of woodcut prints of birds that live in the Calder valley. If things work out the plan is to make a little book with an unusual structure. A flag book is a variation on the concertina book and can give a kind of 3D effect. I'm making slow progress as things keep going a bit wrong, sigh.

I've written a simple poem/song about birds and trees and I need to find a way to incorporate this text into the flag book form. Anyway I'm making proof prints of the individual birds and experimenting with colours and papers. The bird here is a lady Siskin, not quite right yet but I'm getting there. She's printed on a yellowing page from my ancient paper-back copy of art critic Bernard Berenson's 'The Italian Painters Of The Renaissance'.

That book had a big influence on me when I was studying art history many years ago. I don't think I realised then how long ago it had been written or that Berenson was a 'reactionary conservative who used his influence to discredit twentieth-century art and to preserve the notion of culture as aristocratic privilege', as I saw him described recently. What I got out of reading him was the sense of a whole new world of colour, light and meaning welling up from the past, for which I will always be grateful. I certainly didn't feel shut out because I started life in a council house.

Another Woodcut Printmaking Course

2010-02-21T17:02:00.000Z

By popular request I'm running another woodcut course at Brooklyn Studios on Sunday 21st March 2010 from 10 am to 4 pm. This is an intensive one-day course for both complete beginners and those with previous experience.

We'll be using A4 size Japanese plywood and Swiss made cutting tools to produce the printing blocks. The trusty old A3+ relief printing press will be on active service again and participants will leave with a set of prints in both black and white and colour.

The course fee is £50 for the day including all materials and light refreshments. A £25 deposit will secure a place on the course. For more information or to book call in at the studios, email me on angie.rogers(at)talk21.com, or text/phone on 0788 4307546

More on powdered charcoal

2010-02-20T17:35:00.000Z

This is what Cretacolour charcoal looks like straight from the jar, a lovely velvety black that makes marvellous splat marks when dropped from height.

Powdered Charcoal

2010-02-09T22:06:00.000Z

This morning I was in Bradford again, doing a demonstration and workshop for members of The Living Well Art Club. We looked at two contrasting techniques: sgraffito with oil pastel on acrylic paint, and powdered charcoal applied with rag.

Its a shame that oil pastel isn't more popular as it is so direct and easily transported for outside use for example . But most people's initial experience of this versatile medium seems to be negative. Usually its because they are using horrible 'budget' pastels that are all grease and no pigment, in sets with harsh colours and no subtlety - no wonder people hate them. Much better to choose 4 or 5 individual, good-quality sticks in sympathetic hues. I use Sennelier oil pastels which are very buttery. It took me a while to get used to the soft texture but was worth it for the high concentration of pigment and wide choice of colours.

The charcoal powder is wonderful, you can quickly lay on intense dark tones over large areas or drag extremely light veils of the palest grey. Unlike my own home made powder which tends to be gritty, the Cretacolour charcoal from suppliers Great Art is extremely finely ground and moves around the paper like black mist. So far I've only used it dry but I'm looking forward to experimenting with water and other solvents.

Drawing in the sleet

2010-02-08T21:54:00.000Z

Since mid January I've been working for one day a week in a primary school in central Bradford. Its a Creative Partnerships project and I'm one of the artists involved over the next couple of months. The children I work with are 9 and 10 and full of energy and fun. We are looking at aspects of identity and local environment.

Last week the plan was to make drawings of the outside of the school building, an old Victorian Board School with later additions. Travelling in on a foul morning I felt sure things would be cancelled, especially as the school is sited on an exposed and windswept hill. But no, we went ahead despite the developing sleet and freezing cold. The children were so brave and the novelty of drawing outside seemed to outweigh the physical discomforts.

This is the view for the observed drawings

And this is the children's side of things.

Sadly, I'm not allowed show their delightful faces, but if I was, you'd see cheerful grins. There is actually a roof structure over the children so its not as cruel as it might look and the paper did stay dry enough to make some interesting and detailed drawings.

Each small group of children had about 20 minutes max to complete their work, so didn't get too cold. I on the other hand, was out there all morning and afternoon. Thats when you fully appreciate the properties of thermal underwear, combined with multiple layers of wool.

More Woodcuts

2010-02-05T23:14:00.000Z

All round good person Geoff Mitchell has kindly sent me a load of photos he took of the woodcut course on Sunday so here's a selection of the ones that best represent what we did.

Woodcut Course

2010-02-04T13:01:00.000Z

The two woodcut courses over the weekend were a tremendous success with everyone producing excellent work, even the complete beginners. I'm always amazed by how inventive and resourceful people can be when learning something new, and such a variety of responses.

It was a great pleasure to meet interesting new people and to spend time with old friends. The studio was filled with a wonderful atmosphere of concentration and purpose. Cutting the wood is quite hard work physically and many decisions have to be made about positive and negative areas in the image but everyone seemed to enjoy that part of the process and then the magic of seeing the print finally revealed! You never really know how its going to turn out and thats the continuing fascination of printmaking.

And after everyone had gone home all I wanted to do was start making a new print myself...

Here are some of the learners and their lovely prints.

Rowena

Jaffa

Alison

All Ready

2010-01-29T23:26:00.000Z

Thats it, I'm all set now for delivering my Woodcut Printmaking course at Brooklyn Studios tomorrow and Sunday. Everything's prepared and the new portable catalytic gas fires arrived in the nick of time to ensure a burst of heat in the studio.

I'm really looking forward to the next two days, seeing what everyone does with their piece of wood. Woodcut is such a beautifully simple process but the results are often stunning.

Here are some of my tools - new ones made in Switzerland by Pfeil bought especially for the course and some of my tatty old favourites that I've had for years and years.

Back to black, grey and brown

2010-01-19T11:16:00.000Z

Although its a relief the ice has gone and moving around requires a lot less concentration, the element of snow I miss most, apart from the obvious beauty, is the way it bounces light around, even in the shady places. Suddenly everything seems surprisingly dim, especially in this misty drizzle we have here in the South Pennine hills. Still, the trees never let you down, always some new angle to admire or familiar aspect to reconsider...

I love drawing on manila envelopes, something about the colour, texture and format. The trees are done with a reed pen I made from reeds gathered on the Vilaine estuary in South Brittany.

I suppose it would be even more appropriate to use a 'pen' made from a twig off the trees depicted - thats something to think about for later.

Spellbound

2010-01-05T23:47:00.000Z

The night is darkening round me,

The wild winds coldly blow;

But a tyrant spell has bound me,

And I cannot, cannot go.

The giant trees are bending

Their bare boughs weighed with snow;

The storm is fast descending,

And yet I cannot go.

Clouds beyond clouds above me,

Wastes beyond wastes below;

But nothing drear can move me:

I will not, cannot go.

Emily Bronte

Happy New Decade

2010-01-01T18:28:00.000Z

A Happy New Year to all and a special welcome to Barney who was born yesterday on the cusp of the old and new year.

Hebden Bridge and the South Pennines are still under the spell of the snow queen, just as they were at this time last year.

On new years day 2009 the wonderful winter umbellifers were coated in silvery iron filings of hoar frost, but this time they are sporting snow pom poms.

2010

2009

The Magical Forest Within

2009-12-20T21:25:00.000Z

Those who know me and my work will recognize this image as a transmutation of a paper sculpture I made from a Habitat carrier bag called 'The Magical Forest Within'. The original object has been photographed and Photoshopped into a variety of guises, mainly relating to the seasons of the year.

Like many other people I've always loved trees, and as I grow older I come to appreciate them more and more. Increasingly now I enjoy Winter trees, their stark beauty, architectural forms and amazing variety of subtle hued bark. Christmas seems a particularly poignant time for trees for obvious reasons and yet I can understand the urge to bring something green inside during the dark time of the year.

Today I went walking in the woods at Hardcastle Crags whilst all around the snow was silently performing its incomparable transformation act.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Woodcut Printmaking Course

2009-12-09T23:05:00.000Z

At Brooklyn Studios

Saturday 30th January 2010

10 am to 4 pm

I am running a woodcut printmaking course in the resource space of Brooklyn Studios where I'm based in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.

Create your own original and expressive prints during this intensive one-day course aimed at both beginners and those with some experience. Explore contemporary approaches to a simple and traditional printmaking process, exploiting colour and collage techniques to increase the impact of your images.

The course costs £50 for the day including all materials. Numbers are limited and a deposit of £25 is required to reserve your place. To book, send your name, address, phone number and email, along with a cheque made payable to A Rogers to: Woodcut Course, Brooklyn Studios, Unit 3, 38 Hangingroyd Lane, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire HX7 8LR.

Winter Open Studios

2009-12-01T10:27:00.000Z

Don't forget, its Open Studios again in Hebden Bridge this coming weekend. All the main studio groups are participating and of course that includes Brooklyn Studios where I'm based.

Anyone who is in the Hebden Bridge area over the weekend is very welcome to come and visit me in my space and I will be there both days. I'm exhibiting a varied selection from the different strands of my work with an emphasis on woodcuts and hand made books.

Open Studios is a great opportunity to talk to artists about their work, see whats going on in the gallery and partake of some festive cheer so hope to see you there!

Welcome to Tumbling Hills

2009-11-11T22:05:00.000Z

This is how I imagine the map of Hebden Bridge should look on a frosty November morning, with icy mist wraiths creeping down the valleys. I like the idea of an interactive map that changes colour depending on the temperature outside.