The reality of making a work of art, cutting away at a small lino block using a very small tool and making the tiniest of cuts while hoping that I don’t cut the wrong bit. It’s slow work.
I won’t try to cut every last detail at the first go, I’ll cut close but not right up to the edges and then check to see if it needs more cutting.
I put a piece of tracing paper over the design and rubbed it gently with a soft 2B pencil so I can see how the cutting is going.
I carried on cutting from my brown lino today, the first stage of a collaborative print with GS Artists and Jamie Reid.
Nephew in a hoodie. Like it says on the tin. Drawn with a ballpoint pen into my A6 sketchbook. He’s so cute!
I know I said a few days ago that I woudn’t post any more Mari Lwyds until next year, but then I found the little lino I cut before Xmas and forgotten about. So I printed up a few today at Swansea Print Workshop, using Caligo Cranfield Safe Wash ink in black onto Hosho paper. I used the back of a wooden spoon to take the print.
The first cuts
Today I started cutting the little lino block of the word “Revenge” which will be stamped onto the screenprint I’m developing for the artist Jamie Reid and GS Artists.
The drawing ready to transfer to the lino block, in reverse
First, I had to decide whether to cut the block in wood or lino. The MDF is easier to cut and it’s easy to transfer the design using carbon paper, as the surface isn’t oily like lino. But the lino has a slightly rough surface which I quite like when it’s printed up and I think its hardness is an advantage because it’s better for fine cutting. So I went with the lino. I love the little curls….
Choosing between MDF wood or brown lino
Jamie’s solo show, “Dragon’s Revenge” runs at Galerie Simpson, 217, High Street, Swansea until St. David’s Day, March 1st.
I’ve started making a new piece of work. It will be an original print in an edition of 75 designed by artist, activist and troublemaker Jamie Reid. I’m producing it at Swansea Print Workshop for GS Artists and the first stage is to cut a stamp from lino or wood. This is where I start, tracing from Jamie’s original with a soft 2B pencil.
His solo exhibition, ” Dragons Revenge, Political Work, 1970-2020″ opened at GS Artists at 217, High Street, Swansea this weekend and Jamie will be visiting to do an “in-conversation” with Rhys Mwyn on February 22nd which includes a vegan lunch for £3.50 – there are a very few tickets left here. You can see the show until March 1st and if you want to get hold of one of the original prints, check them out here …
Here’s the last of the Mari Lwyds I sketched at the recent Gower Wassail. This one’s from Port Talbot, the Cwmafan Mari who was bedecked loads of bows. That should be the last of the Mari Lwyds until next New Year …..
It’s been Mari Lwyd season here in Wales, an ancient tradition harking back to the worship of the Celtic horse goddess. There have been quite a few Maris stalking the area and they’re all different, they all have their own personalities. Here’s a quick sketch of Mari Gwyr, the Gower Mari. She’s plainer than most and her strange headgear, a cross between a beret and a beanie, make her look a bit dim, in my opinion.
At the Plygain celebration over the weekend, after there had been plenty of Welsh carols sung and a break for tea and snacks, we had some surprise visitors. Some local Wassailers accompanied by the Coppertown Mari Lwyd (Mari Trecopr). We moved quickly from traditional Xmas hymns to Mari-led mayhem.
The Mari Lwyd arrives with her companions and knocks on the door to be let in. It’s the job of the people inside to keep the mischieveous Mari out so there’s a battle of wits and rhyme – a sort of ancient rap battle – until the Mari and her gang are let in. This frisky Mari tried to knock back a glass of mulled wine!
This wonderful evening of Welsh tradition was led by David Pitt (who inhabits the Mari) and Margot Morgan, who organises the Aderyn Du (Black Bird) Brynmill Community Choir.
Here are a couple more sketches I did at the Plygain celebration last weekend in Swansea. Plygain is a Welsh language carolling tradition going back at least to the 13th century. It had almost died out but is now going through a healthy revival. In the past, families would have precious books of Plygain carols handed down through generations. Plygain is competitive – carollers take it in turns to sing and no carol can be performed more than once during the service, so these ancient family books of Plygain carols are precious.
I sketched the carollers as they sang. The top drawing was done using the continuous line method – it’s easier to judge perspective and proportion I find. Then a few speed sketches just of heads.
Click on the image to see my series of silkscreen portraits celebrating great but often neglected women artists and to find out about their fascinating lives.
To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left.
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